Creative to Creative: Fisayo Longe
Image curtesy of Fisayo Longe
Fisayo Longe is a London based but globally influenced womenswear designer. Using her extensive travels and love for bright and patterned fabrics she curates a sense of empowerment through her brand under the name Kai Collective. Even the name Kai is of Hausa origin, translating to “Wow!”
For Longe, her collections are more than just clothes, they are celebrations of her Nigerian upbringing, and reflections of what she has learnt since going viral on instagram in 2020.
“The thread that runs through Kai Women is a lust for life,”she says recalling how her Lagos upbringing has inevitably influenced her designs, acting as a guide throughout her creative process. “Lagos is just so alive” says Longe, “lots of colour, lots of activity, lots of spirit”
Image curtesy of Fisayo Longe
‘Viral brands’ are often futile, but 7 year old Kai Collective still stands strong. Longe has recently been listed on Forbes 30 under 30 after announcing that Kai’s annual revenue has doubled to over 1.2 million pounds; Thus proving her ability to transform Kai from an online sensation to a lucrative business.
She discusses her journey from the comfort of her cousin’s living room, sporting a cosy neon green jumper, almost as bright as her personality.
“I'm genuinely someone who is ready for success, I'm ready for the next level of success. So we were not prepared but we were always going to figure it out,” Longe says.
Longe wore Gaia dress to the 2020 BAFTA awards. After a click of a camera and a post on Instagram “nothing was the same”. Requests poured in demanding the mesh, marble printed dress that sits on the body like a tattoo.
“I had a suspicion that it was going to be great,” The success of the sustainably sourced dress is much like the growth of a bamboo shoot. When first planted, bamboo will spend three years growing underground, before sprouting from the ground to unimaginable heights year after year. Similar to the success of Kai’s Gaia dress, crowned an overnight success.
Longe does however remember the guilt that shadowed her during a time of social unrest during the Covid 19 pandemic. Upon reflection, she conceded that the Gaia dress was not just a want, but a need. It was a burst of colour during a dark period. “It provided a sense of normalcy and a reason to connect,” says Longe.
Image curtesy of Fisayo Longe
“I'm a black woman and my brand represents very fiercely black women in all our campaigns.”
Kai is an extension of Longe’s DNA. “I'm a black woman and my brand represents very fiercely black women in all our campaigns.” Her eyes lit up as she remembered all the influences from her past that prompted her to create innovative designs.
When asked to describe the Kai Woman, Longe didn’t mention appearances “A Kai Girl is a woman who realises that she's limitless, she's a multifaceted woman who is passionate about life”.
The Kai women are her community. She credits Kai’s success to her focus on community building, having a focus on the women she designs for and their needs. “Kai Collective has literally made some of my fashion dreams come true by offering pieces that are not only timeless but crafted for women to look and feel their best,” says Curve editor of Cosmopolitan magazine Abigail Edwards.
Besides offering garments, she also offers her business savvy knowledge to her online community. With a previous career in accounting, she educates her instagram following amounting to almost 200, 000 with tips on business building. “How do I start a fashion brand is a question for Chat GPT '' is her response to those who are hesitant to get specific about the help they need.
Image Curtesy of Fisayo Longe
When starting out, Longe’s eyes were on the digits. Large digits. But as Kai has evolved, so have her goals. “I really do like the idea of limited quantities, and unique pieces. And I just love having a small fashion brand. I love how much of myself I'm able to put into it.”
Longe has found that she herself has evolved along with Kai. Acknowledging the burnout sensation sparked by being an online sensation, Longe focuses on healing and what healing looks like for her. “Healing from burnout is being truly untethered, this true disconnection from the things that occupy my mind.”
In that cleansing process, Longe makes plans for American expansion of Kai. “I’m not anywhere near where I want to be, there's still so much to do, there's so much money to be made.”
