Nancy Nwadire of Iconic Invanity: “Perfect Your Craft and Doors will Open for You…”

I am in awe as I scroll through picture after amazing picture of her creations; they are detailed, beautiful and breathtaking. They are African, but they are far from ordinary. Nancy Nwadire was created to mix and match materials, beads, thread and what not; she was created to beautify women through clothing.

This gorgeous and madly talented lady is the Creative Director of Iconic Invanity, the brand name for her works of art. Of Ugandan ethnicity, Nancy believes that her first brush with fashion occurred as she watched her mother create hand-sewn outfits for her siblings. Nurturing the vision for all those years was no small feat, but the little girl she had been was irrevocably hung up on fashion.

Nancy went on to study Fashion Retail and Management at the London Institute (an affiliate of the London College of Fashion.) she also learnt dressmaking, although she ascribes the intensity of her creativity to ‘passion and lots of practise’; practise they say makes perfect, ey?

Founded in 2009, the luxury lifestyle brand, Iconic Invanity exquisitely combines an ‘afrocentric’ flavour with the Western influences within the high fashion industry. In a short while Iconic Invanity has become the one-stop place for those who are serious about being fashionable the African way. Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, Tiwa Savage, Susan Taylor, Mo Abudu, Nike Osinowo, Asa, Folorunso Alakija, are just a few of the crème de la crème who rock Iconic Invanity.

In a feature for 53 Extra, Nancy revealed that some of her pieces take up to two months to complete…it is all in the details folks. She went on to reveal a trade secret: most of her dresses are ‘double-take’ dresses i.e the front and the back always have that extra oomph that will make an observer do a double-take. You can’t see an Iconic Invanity dress and take just one look at; no sir!

With all the local and international attention her brand is garnering, it is no surprise that Nancy was invited to showcase her creations at the Mediterranean Design and Fashion Week in Noto (Sicily), Italy [MadeinMedi.] She carted away the award for best brand after a fantastic outing. For a brand which displayed its first collection only a year ago in 2012 at the Arise Magazine Fashion Show, Iconic Invanity has grown in leaps and bounds and is set to launch in Los Angeles as part of its international expansion for the year 2013.

Its latest Spring/Summer 13 collection, “Luxury Sweet Candy” is an exuberant display of luxury fabrics, infinite detail, creative embellishment and sophisticated bead work typical of the contemporary yet wearable glamour the brand attributes to the wardrobe of the discerning woman.

Nancy is married to a Nigerian and divides her time between the United Kingdom and Nigeria. She has this to say, “I feel blessed to be able to do what I enjoy doing…don’t give up on your dream, perfect your craft and doors will open for you. Don’t worry about getting there; it happened for me, so it can happen to anyone.”