Meet The Maverick of The Fashion Scene, Monalisa Kelechi Okere, CEO LISAKAY APPARELS
By Mcanthony Onuoha
According to a renowned philosopher, ” each of us possess a spark of individual brilliance, every one of us is capable of accomplishing something in our own unique way that cannot be accomplished by anyone else. Striving to discover what is our niche in this vast human market is part of our conquest of life”.
Monalisa Kelechi Okere is the CEO Lisakay Apparels. A Port-Harcourt based Fashion designer. Monalisa is from Nnorie, in Ngor Okpala Local Government Area of Imo State.
She is in the compendium of the young minds that discovered where they want to be early in life and moved towards that direction with determination laced with uncommon passion.
You can call her Lisa but those who love expertly tailored apparels, inspired by high sense of artistry have become her major clients and they call her Lisakay which is increasingly becoming a popular clothing line.
When asked how she came up with her brand name, in her words; To be honest I had a little difficulty on that one, I came up with several names before I settled to use my first and middle name coined together and that was how I came up with LISAKAY.
Lisa said that she joined a fashion training course on a part time basis in 2016, the same year she had to do her compulsory National Youth Service Corp (NYSC). She found it hard to balance the two programs because they both demanded a lot of time and attention but with the support of family and friends and a passion to succeed in the fashion industry, she was able to persevere. According to her, Fashion designing was something she always loved right from her teenage years and she’s willing to do whatever it takes to succeed.
For the hardworking and highly creative CEO, Fashion was something she ventured into, not because of the business aspect but for personal gains at the time. After a few more trainings in fashion designing, she consistently got so good that everyone suggested she ventured into fashion business proper, and that, she seriously considered. Knowing the advantages such as more personal time and financial growth it would simultaneously provide, she stuck to doing something she is so passionate about, something she loves dearly.
” So, few months later l quit my job to start my own business. I started my fashion business from my one room apartment with a little Online presence that consists of friends and family, and shortly after that, I was able to save enough money and rented my first physical store.”
” I attended few other trainings and got better in pattern drafting, sewing, and cutting as well as dress designs generally. Having all these in my kitty, l became a fashion tutor and started taking on students in twos and then it increased to 10s and then as much as my physical space can take. And in Oct 2021 I held a fashion exhibition/store opening with a large space for my fashion school in GRA Port Harcourt.”
Lisa carved a niche for herself in couture dresses and mastered the art of corset making. Interestingly, in 2021 Lisa held her first Online corset class on telegram that had over hundred participants.
She also had ready-to-wear collections that dotted her store as she also catered for every other fashion need, for example, casual wears, street wears, corporate wears and even lost count of traditional wedding dresses she has made over the past few years. In her words, ” l made dresses for thousands of people, and I am also a ghost dress maker for several boutiques. l know what l want and where l want to be; and the bottom line is that l will keep working hard till l get there”.
