The best 3 editorials from The Style Infidel in 2015

No editorial happens without a stylist.

From the lowly, functional look book to the glamorous, luxury magazine, the best editorials are blessed by the insight of a stylist. One who is able to gauge the purpose of a shoot and then dress the models to best demonstrate this.

Tosin Ogundadegbe, otherwise known as the Style Infidel is one of the best to do it. A multi-talented stylist and fashion editor for Olisa.tv, Ogundadegbe is known for his quirk of strongly influencing the creative direction of shoots he is called to style, creating magic in the process. These are in my opinion, his best editorial work from 2015.

THE BLACK RELIGION EDITORIAL

With Queen Onyemaechi, winner of the 2014 edition of  the Next Top Supermodel franchise in Nigeria licensed to Isis Model CEO Joan Okorodudu, our style infidel takes elements from Star Wars (all those elaborate hairstyles) and marries it with Japanese Harajuku streetstyle, with a dystopian post punk aesthetic for photography and imaging studio SpotlightSpectra’s December fashion editorial. Think Charlize Theron in Aeon Flux meets a badass alien. The result is a future so fashionable that we want to get a time machine.

NURANIYA STUDIOS RESORT AND DEBUT COLLECTIONS

It’s obvious that Uju Marshall is one of Tosin Ogundadegbe’s muses, along with Victor ‘Kwen’ Akomaye and Cassandra Ikegbune. He is at his most innovative when he works with these models, and he did some of his best work on the Nuraniya Studios Resort 2015 collection.  Ogundadegbe had already worked with Nuraniya on their debut collection with Ikegbune earlier in 2015 so it was quite pleasant to see them rehire him to help shape an image for their clothes.

Tosin manages to capture the essence of the brand; a decadent woman, unafraid of colour who prefers classic silhouettes to more adventurous looks. Though the two collections are vastly different (Nuraniya studios are more experimental in their second collection) both look books seem like chapters of the same story instead of two entire different books. This is incredibly hard to do, but Ogundadegbe pulls it off with aplomb.

THE MUSE FACTORY RESORT 2015

Serving as creative director for the Muse Factory’s Resort 2015’s look book was an inspired decision.

It was the softest we’ve seen Ogundadegbe go this year, and soft without dipping into nauseating is hard to pull off. There is a delicateness to the entire look book, an attention to detail that works so well with Rashida Hamza’s idea of replicating the fragility of flowers in her clothes. The set is a resplendent pink, there are no props save for small bouquets in the model’s hair, a small white table and a clear vase full of white flowers. The styling is precise and Uju Marshall is so at ease, it feels less like an editorial and more like stumbling on an incredibly stylish woman in her home. We are welcome intruders, peering into her closet and by extension, her life.

We can’t close out this list without mentioning Tosin’s work for Cynthia Asije’s Shirts by CYNIM collaboration with fabric makers the Adire Lounge with models Kwen Akomaye and Queen Onyemaechi. The use of plastic basket bin covers as oversized Asian inspired hats was genius and transformed the campaign into something visually interesting.

We cannot wait to see what Tosin does in 2016.