Nigerian Designer Mowalola Ogunlesi is One of Six Designers Chosen to Style Barbie

Nigerian designer, Mowalola Ogunlesi,is internationally renowned with an impressive resumé to prove it. From styling Solange Knowles for her Daze Magazine cover, Skepta's 2018 "Pure Water" music video, Nike's popular World Cup kit (which was recently relaunched this year) to Grammy award-winning rapper, Drake, sporting one of her custom jackets in the past, Ogunlesi is certainly a trailblazer in the industry. More recently, British Vogue has commissioned Ogunlesi and five other designers to dress the iconic Barbie doll in their own signature styles.

There is scarcely a child who didn't grow up having a Barbie doll or at the very least, wasn't pining for one. It's been sixty years since the doll was first released and to commemorate the global impact it's had as well as its evolution over the years, British Voguehas enlisted the help of six young designers, including London-based designer Ogunlesi, to celebrate the diversity of the doll range.

Describing her signature design for Barbie, Ogunlesi said, "Mine is a world where everyone is free in terms of what they wear, in terms of how they think, and my women aren't threatened by anyone—they are taking back their power." She added that, "She [Barbie] is a Mowalola superhero. [She's] strong, captivating and ready to have a really good time. I want to be wherever she's going."

Ogunlesi's Barbie design, a neon green tie-dye ensemble, is a part of her SS20 collection.