We know Odunayo Ojo from his YouTube channel and Instagram account called Fashion Roadman (formerly The Fashion Archive). He combines the digital habits of the generation he belongs to with the understanding of journalism that requires researching, reading, and examining the topics it covers down to the smallest detail.
So much so that, while preparing the content he covers, he is as meticulous as if he were working on his final thesis. First, he tries to communicate directly with people involved in the subject, obtains information from primary sources, and then devours books written on the subject. Then it's time for online resources. He compiles, describes, and records what he has obtained from this three-stage research process with a superior editing style. The reason he acts sensitively is his perfectionism in conveying correct information.
He says there is so much misinformation floating around digitally that even interviews can stray far from reality. This objectivity and the deep research behind the video content make it one of the most reliable sources in today's digital fashion journalism field.
Frankly, when I came across someone who was so determined about his work, I thought that he had been pursuing a career in the fashion industry since his childhood. However, Odunayo Ojo, or Ayo as people call him, has a chemical engineering adventure.
He is originally from Nigeria, but lived in London except for his secondary school years: “As a Nigerian, I have always had an interest in fashion. In Nigeria, we have an event we call 'Sunday's Best'; People wear their best clothes to church on Sundays. Compared to those in England, Nigerians take much more care in their clothes, having them tailored by a tailor or having their clothes modified to fit them perfectly. From this perspective, I have been interested in the style of fashion for as long as I can remember, but I did not think about building a career in this field until I did my first internship at a women's clothing brand called Deploy London in 2017.”
Ojo says that the economic inadequacy in Nigeria is at a level that people living in England cannot imagine. This poverty causes society to pressure young people to study engineering, law, or medicine in order to earn the maximum amount of money they can.
Ojo says that although he was not exposed to this pressure from his family, he was influenced by society and studied chemical engineering, but later realized that he could earn money by working in different fields with the development of technology and the emergence of new professions.
Fashion journalism is a very narrow field. When I asked him how he leaned towards this; “I realized that when I talked about these issues during a period when I was constantly reading fashion books, people did not understand what I was talking about, even if they were working in the fashion industry, so there was a big gap in this area of the industry. "At that moment, I decided to pursue fashion journalism," he says, and this is how he began his education adventure at Central Saint Martins.
Although fashion journalism is focused on in-depth research, he shares the digital channels he does his job with influencers, who are seen as new fashion authorities.
On the YouTube channel, you can find fashion content that spans a 360-degree perspective and equally touches on fashion houses from different lanes, from the Gucci However, if you follow Ojo closely, you have probably noticed that his interest in certain designers extends to admiration.
Ojo, aka Fashion Roadman, is keenly aware of the value of originality, both in content and design; He prioritizes this, down to the smallest detail of every job and content he does. He says that when he first stepped into the industry, when he was not yet positioned as an authority on social media channels, his dream was to shoot videos with designers and create documentary-like content, but he could not get a response from any of the addresses he wrote to. Now he has the power to make this dream come true, he says that he wants to establish a media company while maintaining the same originality in this goal and that he plans to shoot fashion films and designer documentaries in addition to The Fashion Archive magazine. He thinks that these broadcasts can take place on platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime.
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Odunayo Ojo: The Fashion Archive
https://www.kostum.media/blog/interviews/interview-with-odunayo-ojo-the-fashion-archive-youtube-channel
Fashion Roadman - YouTube