Excerpts: Why the name, Yummy Mummy?
The name, Yummy Mummy Maternity Couture, was birthed with the focus of providing glam, afrocentric looks for the pregnant mummy. I had thought of other names but finally settled for Yummy Mummy Maternity Couture because I wanted every woman to feel pampered and special when wearing my designs. Today, we have expanded our line and the change has necessitated a shift. We tend to go by YM Couture a lot more now.
What is the inspiration behind your maternity line Yummy Mummy?
The inspiration was born out of the desire to create something exclusive, breach the gap of availability and comfort. Fashion choices for pregnant women have been constantly evolving and staying fashionable during pregnancy has become a lot easier and more fun. I wanted to uniquely express myself while creating stylish and wearable clothes with that touch of afrocentric designs for the pregnant diva. Originally, Yummy Mummy Maternity Couture’s focus was to glam up pretty pregnant women, giving them a sense of a special feeling during the months when hormones and burgeoning bodily changes tend to make one feel a tad bit ugly. I had to accommodate non-pregnant clients when friends kept on calling me up to make clothes to suit them. Thus, the advent of the YM Tribal Tees, Tee Dresses, and YM Rococo were added to the list. Now, we cater for both pregnant and non-pregnant women.
Aside from dressing for comfort, what else should a pregnant woman consider when choosing her clothes?
Comfort is key. However, women are beginning to dress for other reasons. Some want to conceal their bumps in the early stages, prolonging the time between when they keep the secret to themselves and bask in it and when they want to share the happy news with the world. Yet, others want to be stylish and fashionable for the entire period. My advice is comfort first, and then safety. We don’t want those tight straps, cutting off your circulation and causing you a discomfort. Once you have that out of the way, try to infuse touches of your personal style throughout the entire period. Pregnancy should never be synonymous with being frumpy.
What distinguishes Yummy Mummy from other maternity lines?
Yummy Mummy stands out as being the forerunner of ethnic inspired maternity wear. When we kicked off there was no other maternity fashion line here in Nigeria and when compared with foreign counterparts, we are the only one, providing maternity couture with a decidedly ethnic twist and that African inspired touch. Using African prints as a basic medium and playing them against and alongside other fabrics of varying textures, Yummy Mummy Maternity Couture desires to craft and provide a unique African inspired touch to its products, captivating the trendy, classy, sexy, sassy and bold modern day mummy-to-be and the urban lady, a soon to be mummy.
Who is the typical Yummy Mummy Maternity Woman?
Every woman in the world, who wants to look and feel glamourous when pregnant, after she’s had the brood, and while anticipating that facet of life and every other woman in between. What are the challenges you face? Finding the time to invest in this project has definitely been my biggest challenge. However, outsourcing has been another key challenge.
What significant life lessons have you learnt on this journey?
You can start small. Outsourcing is hard and above all else, never let your dream die; no matter what it is, just get up, go out and achieve it.
How do you get your clients and how has the reception been since Yummy Mummy was set up in 2010?
I started out pitching to friends and family, and friends of friends and placing a couple of adverts here and there. I also use social media, my website and latch on to ‘marketing’ events. Thankfully, the products speak for themselves.
Certainly you have learnt from a few people in life, who are your mentors?
I am constantly learning and I am still learning, picking up a few things here and there as I go along so I can’t say I have any one specific mentor in the business.
How would you describe your designs?
Each piece is carefully designed to either be worn as a day dress, or to transition nicely for a casual evening event or for church, and cut to accentuate and celebrate the baby bump while still affording the wearer comfort uncompromised by style. The Maternity-Tees are designed to snuggle the baby bump in a very bold and trendy way while the Tribal Tees are Ankara and embroidery infused T-shirts for every woman, in every walk of life. The accessories are designed to either complement or to be worn alone and are carefully assembled by hand.
What else do you hope to achieve with your maternity fashion line?
I want to have a fashion line that stands the test of time and becomes a staple in every home, affordable for the middle class and embraced by celebrities and diplomats worldwide. We are looking forward to adding on our luxury line and kiddies line and being stocked in stores in every continent of the world
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Can you share your background with us?
My name is Edidiong Amama Ekwere. I hold a Bachelors’ Degree in Geology and currently work as an Exploration Seismologist, as my day job while moonlighting as the Creative Designer for Yummy Mummy Maternity Couture. Even though I studied sciences, I have always had a flair for all things arts and creativity. Designing, as a fall out, came naturally. I love the process of bringing something to life, that was once only a figment of my imagination, a few rough lines in my sketch patch or playing in my head. It is an absolute high. The best part is that you can be certain that there are pieces of you out there for someone else to enjoy.
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