Style Spotlight: A Visual Study with Emmanuel

From D.C. and aged 23, Ifedayo-Emmanuel—commonly known as Emmanuel—is a postgraduate studying “vision” in the Neuroscience and Psychology Department.

Would you say that you’re interested in fashion?

It stems from my interest in art. I’m quite obsessed with fashion: I go to fashion shows; I study Alexander McQueen; I study Burberry designers; I look at Karl Lagerfeld. Other creative people hold them at such a high status and that’s where my interest is…they’re such giants at what they do! Fashion, for me, is an obsessive interest.

Do you dress for the people around you or do you dress for yourself?

You’re damn right. I don’t dress for myself. I feel that fashion is a conversation. Those that are very fashionable or have this intuitive understanding of fashion are quite frail and vulnerable. There is this constant need to be adored. And personally, I wear what I wear for other people. I know they are going to react. I know that they will have a conversation about what I’m wearing. I like that.

Do you think anyone can dress just for themselves?

Anyone who says that they wear what they’re wearing for themselves, they are lying. People would rather be without clothes than wear clothes. People would actually be more comfortable naked than with clothes! Showers, sex, these are most comfortable—honest—elements were people have no clothes on.

What inspires you?

Obsession and restriction. And, it’s difficult when you have such a creative mind because there’s always something new. You can be obsessed for five minutes, and then after that, you’re looking for the next inspiration.

For me, restriction is so important to obsession. When you are obsessed by something, you become restricted by it. That’s why I empathise with the Victorian era so much. It relates to this restrictive space: the clothing, the paintings, the space and time was restricted. I understand what they mean by that, which also goes into why I like McQueen’s work so much. He was obviously getting to the same thing I am getting to here [with the Victorian era and restriction]. You don’t have to like it, but you just have to respect it. He understands this period of human experience; he takes from it and adds to it.

How would you describe your ‘style’?

It’s intuitive. Fashion is: you either have it or you don’t. You know what works. It’s not something you can learn. You can to a certain degree, train your eye, and train yourself—maybe through your environment. But style… you have it. You don’t need the brands, it’s habitual—it’s innate.

It’s about subject matter and objects… you’re born with the intuition. Why do you think the idea of intuition is still at an anomaly with science? I know what people want to see. Girls who wear tight clothing—they know that’s what people want to see. A need to see tight jeans is their understanding of clothing, and what they project to others.

You don’t try to copy what you see in the magazines, you get inspired by it.

Favourite outfit?

I have no favourite outfit. Everything for me is bound by white.

Is white a recent interest?

It’s always been an interest of mine; it’s just been more of something that works now. I see the reason why… I’m becoming much more obsessive of it. It began with jeans and a white shirt, but now I want to make everything white. Because I’m dark-skinned—giving my aesthetic perspective—it makes my skin much more apparent, and so what I’m wearing becomes much more apparent. It is these definitions of contrast I’m interested in. Whatever I wear is bounded by white, and bounded by quality and detail. It’s so important! For example, with this shirt that I’m wearing (and it’s from Burberry) I took the round neck of it, took African laces, and had someone sew it around the neck to make it more distinct.

What about your favourite brand and/or designer?

I’m so particular. My favourite brand right now… it has to be Chanel, because they are the most apparent. But, my favourite designer… it has to be the head designer of Prada.

 Where do you go to shop?

I don’t want to seem elitist in my answers. Part of the reason I wear white is because—I’m such a shopaholic—it’s harder to find something that is white that looks as good. Most of the stuff I wear, if not all, is Burberry. I’m starting to get a lot of stuff from Versace. I want to capture grace and masculinity. I want to capture beauty in Black—like Malevich’s Black Square. I want grace. I want to capture these graceful things: my posture, etcetera. And Versace, lately for me, has been producing a lot of things that captures that. A lot of white and cream, and they are kind of becoming “antique” in their look. Long story short: Burberry and Versace.

How do you feel about dressing appropriately for the weather or an occasion?

I never feel the need to change at night if I am going out for dinner or some event. I try to dress down even, visible but yet it works. I would wear what I’m wearing now even; whereas most people would wear a suit and a tie, I try to dress down. Most of what I wear, the quality is there. You know, I feel like people are defined by space, people allow this; for example, when I was coming down to this lovely house, people were in jackets and scarves. Yes, it had just finished raining, but it was not cold anymore. I came here in shorts, and a linen type of shirt, and I was not cold. People are defined by the fact that, ‘Because its winter I have to have a jacket, scarf, etc. Because it’s winter I have to have some type of thing that makes me fit into this space. I have to be defined by this space.’ And I come here in a linen shirt and shorts. But, it’s saying something. Something is happening there.

At the DW auditions, people were asking me, ‘Aren’t you cold?’ because it was outside, and I was wearing the same thing I am now—shorts. When someone asks you something like that, they are affected by their space; whatever it is… They always change dependent upon the space. If it’s dinner, they change for it; if it’s when they are with their friends, they change for it. So, for me, I don’t change. I am not defined by the space that I am in. I define the space that I am in. I don’t change when I need to go to a dinner, etcetera, what be it. When I dress once, that’s it. Chances are, you know—at least, the hope is—to try to make something… to use my art to influence the future designers who are designing the clothes that these people are wearing.

Redefining space, that’s what it’s all about—like Picasso, he wouldn’t wear a suit. He would wear something presentable, but it would be very simple and sharp. He wouldn’t be dressed for the occasion; he would be trying to redefine that space. I try to be the person redefining things, the one who people follow.