Yemi Kosibah – Kosibah

Articles Tagged with: Yemi Kosibah

October 6, 2022

YEMI OSUNKOYA INTERVIEW ON THE LUXURY BUSINESS PODCAST.

I was privileged to be one of the few businesses in the luxury space , Founder of Elizabeth’s Cake Emporium, maker of luxury wedding cakes, world renowned sugarcraft teacher, author and luxury expert Elizabeth Solaru chose to feature in her Luxury Business Podcast. Find below her introduction to the podcast episode and the episode itself.

INTERVIEW WITH YEMI OSUNKOYA OF KOSIBAH

I first met Yemi years ago at a luxury wedding show. I had heard of him prior to our meeting as he was the only black couturier in the UK wedding industry at the time. Although the show did not go as well as planned, I was struck by his professionalism, calm demeanour and his grace under fire.

After a few years, we became friends and did many projects together. A consummate professional, he is kind and a great listener. He has a passion for creating beautiful silhouettes and his many brides are very grateful for his ability to make them look and feel amazing.

This podcast revealed a few things about him that I did not know and I’m sure you will enjoy listening to it.

Please listen to the podcast by clicking on the link below.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/luxury-business-podcast/id1607790782?i=1000562684594

I would love to hear from you if you have any comments about this episode.

January 9, 2022

Kosibah at the V&A Museum, London. 2008.

A look back at footage from my catwalk show at the Kulture2Kouture fashion show at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, organised by the Mayors Office to celebrate Black History Month.

April 24, 2017

A London Couture Designer in New York

After 25 years of running my couture bridal and evening wear brand Kosibah in London, I moved myself and my business to New York in September 2016.

I expected a bit of an adjustment and prepared myself for it, but the reality of the move was more profound than I could have imagined.

I have always believed you should never rest on your laurels or believe you have ‘made it’ because change is constant and you must keep up with it.

What I came to realise it is that despite my flagging up the possibility of my move from London to NY, it didn’t register with a lot of people and so I’ve had to step up my marketing and brand presence strategies to rectify this.

The move is a very positive step for the Kosibah brand because aside from my UK clients (I still retain my London studio and visit every 8 weeks for client consultations and fittings) the Kosibah brand is now easily available to clients all over the US.

I have thoroughly enjoyed exploring the Garment District of NYC and especially love the fact all you needas a designer (fabrics, trimmings, equipment, sample makers etc) can be found within 7th to 9th Avenues and 37th to 40th street.

Here are some beautiful fabrics I’ve come across and look forward to using to create my couture gowns.

l am now planning to visit a few cities in the US to hold one to one Bridal Consultations with potential clients. To get them to see and possibly try on Kosibah Sample couture gowns and then have a gown designed especially for them.
Which city and state do you think I should add to my list? The more the demand the more likely I’ll visit that city.

July 2, 2015

Kosibah Real Bride Yve.

Today I share with you images from Kosibah Real Bride Yve’s wedding. Creating Yves dress was a joy for many reasons. For one, she was getting married to my good friend Deb and I knew a lot of our mutual friends would be seeing my work ‘in real life’ for the first time. It was also an opportunity to create a fusion design that incorporated aspects of Deb’s Asian culture.

I decided to use Sari Fabric, deconstructed and put back together with silk duchesse satin. We chose a rich burgundy red and gold sari.

The wedding took place in the grounds of the magnificent Tudor mansion Leez Priory with the wedding breakfast in a hall within the mansion.

Here is a short video captured and edited on my iPhone that encapsulates the whole day.

October 11, 2014

Kosibah Inspiration Board VI

Today’s inspiration board features Kosibah couture gown ‘Imogen’.

The fishtail gown features a pearl and diamanté embellished neckline and waistline. The skirt is sprinkled with hand-cut Swaroski diamanté encrusted Lace appliqués hand sewn into place.

The pearl and diamanté accents are taken as a theme for the cake, shoes and earrings.

Please share your thoughts below.

August 23, 2014

Kosibah Real Bride Asia- A couture Nikai bridal gown.

Today I am sharing with you the process of creating Kosibah Real Bride Asia’s couture gown for her Nikai ceremony held in Tanzania.

It involved hand cutting appliqués off the French Lace fabric and reassembling them on silk tulle, by hand, thereby creating a bespoke fabric for the center back panel of the fishtail skirt.

Asia teamed her gown with a head-wrap in the same silk satin as the gown underlay and wore an embellished veil for the ceremony.

This gown would also be perfect for a Reception dress after a white

Please let me know what you think.

June 11, 2014

Kosibah Real Bride Charlotte

It is always a great show of confidence in one’s work when as a designer you get to create bridal gowns for more than one member of the same family. It was such a case in today’s Kosibah Real Bride Charlotte as I also got to create her sister’s bridal gown a couple of years later.

Charlotte wanted a fitted fishtail gown with some texture in the fabric. I created a gown featuring an asymmetrical empire-line bodice hand-draped in silk duchesse satin with a Swarovski embellished knot leading to 2 detachable shoulder straps. The corseted lower bodice and fishtail skirt was in textured silk tulle with Swarovski diamante crystals added on in the Kosibah Studio.

I also made the dresses worn by the 2 Bridesmaids (one of whom I later made a wedding gown for), the Mother of the Bride and the Grandmother of the Bride. As I usually do when I can, I arrived in the morning to dress the whole bridal party.

Charlotte, the daughter of Lord Boateng, a peer of the realm, had the privilege of getting married in the beautiful St Margaret’s Church, Westminster Abbey with her reception taking place across Parliament Square at One Great George Street , a magnificent Grade II listed, four-domed, Edwardian building .

Charlotte removed her silk tulle cathedral veil after the wedding service and just before cutting the cake with her new husband, removed the detachable shoulder straps which created a more informal look to her dress.

Enjoy the images, especially the interiors of both St Margaret’s Church and One Great George Street.

May 27, 2014

Kosibah gown features in OK! Magazine.

The red zibeline and organza couture gown created for our client Sunny Nersian for the party to celebrate her engagement to her fiancé Danny Andre was featured recently in OK! Magazine.

The gown that featured over 1440 hand affixed Swarovski diamanté crystal had a form fitting bodice and textured fishtail skirt.

Here are some images of the dress being created in the Kosibah studio and tear sheets from the magazine.

February 20, 2014

Kosibah Bridal Inspiration Board V

Sorry for lapsing so early into my new regime of regular posts here on the YemiKosibah blog. Today’s Inspiration Board features kosibah couture bridal gown ‘Irina’.

The antique white silk duchesse strapless gown has a fitted, draped bodice cinched into a tiny waist ,achieved by the internal corset, and falls into a soft A-line skirt with hand stitched Lace appliqués.. The back features covered buttons fastened with rouloux loops. The removable long sleeves chemise in silk organza also features covered buttons.

The simplicity of this gown enables you to indulge in extravagant accessories. The iconic red soled fully crystallized Christian Louboutin shoes are a perfect example.

Image by Damien Lovegrove

January 14, 2014

Kosibah Real Bride Amina.

Today’s Kosibah Real Bride is Amina. She wore an empire-line corseted dress in champagne duchesse satin, with a champagne silk organza overlay featuring old gold Lace appliques embellished with Swarovski diamante crystals. Amina opted to wear her hair in loose curls tumbling over her right shoulder. On her head Amina wore a champagne tulle cathedral train with hand stitched Lace edging to match her gown as well as a bespoke jeweled headpiece by Kyles Collection. The wedding service took place at the beautiful St Peter’s Church and the reception at the English Heritage former stately home Kenwood House.

Kyles Collection .