Yemi Osunkoya

London, 1991

Yemi Osunkoya was born in Ibadan, Nigeria. He took a BA in Fine Arts and Textile Design at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, then studied couture design at the Paris Academy of Fashion.

He founded Kosibah in London in 1991, in a recession. “It was a recession and no one was hiring, so I started out on my own. I've never worked for anyone else.”

Thirty-five years on, the house is still his alone, and every gown still begins with his pencil.

The sketch

Every Kosibah gown begins as a drawing. Yemi sketches in front of the bride, in real time, while she talks: her figure, her venue, the hour of the ceremony, the traditions that matter to her family. The drawing is the brief, and it becomes the dress.

The hourglass

The Kosibah hourglass is the signature fit, built in the corsetry rather than added over it. It is settled in the calico toile, pinned on you, before any silk is cut.

Clients

His clients include royal households in Nigeria and Ghana and senior staff of the British Royal Family.

Harlem

Kosibah came to New York in 2016. In 2025 it returned to Harlem, to a brownstone on Manhattan Avenue, where every consultation and fitting now takes place.

“It's a great joy to bring a Black-owned, creative business to the home of the Harlem Renaissance. The space, its light and its ancestry elevate my work and me.”

A Black-owned couture house, in the heart of Harlem.

Awards

• 2002Designer of the Year, Mahogany Bridal Awards
• 2004Designer of the Year, Mahogany Bridal Awards
• 2005Diamond recognition, National Wedding Show
• 2006Excellence Award, Gathering of Africa's Best
• 2012International Designer of the Year, City People Magazine
• 2014Pride of Africa Award, Africa Fashion Week Barcelona
• 2025Top 10 Nigerian Bridal Designers Making Waves, City People Magazine