Young and In Charge: Kabir Abubakar

Getting this young man to take out time for this interview was one of the hardest things we have had to do since we started the blog, now we know we have started work, Lol. But as I put the finishing touches to the interview, I am reminded all over again why I love this section the most, and I realise that every minute spent trying to get him to do the interview was worth it. Meet Kabir, a young and dynamic "garment constructor", whose love for what he does shines through in all his projects.

Tell us a little about yourself?
My name is Kabir Abubakar-Babiotos, I am from Niger state, and I'm a Fashion designer / dress maker & garment constructor who is very passionate about what he does.

      What was growing up like?

My childhood was very interesting I’d have to say. Raised by the most loving parents & amidst siblings years older than I am, I was given the best of both worlds. It’s like they struck a perfect balance between giving me everything I wanted and at the same time allowing me to go out into the world on my own to explore, experiment & experience this thing called ‘life’. More like a bitter-sweet symphony I guess.

Tell us a little about your educational background?

I started my early education in Kaduna State; Essence International School up till my Senior Secondary school years then transferred to F.G.C Kwali Abuja where I acquired my Senior Secondary School Certificate.

After a brief period of “soul searching” and “career contemplation” I proceeded to University in A.B.U Zaria where I graduated from the department of Business Administration.

And then my first Fashion Design Course at The Fashion Academy (T.F.A) here in Abuja.

     So what is Babiotos Couture all about? What does it mean and how did you come up with the name?

Babiotos Couture is a Fashion house set to achieve feats in the areas of garment construction; mainly dress making, weaving of intricate texture to mention a few.  With the fashion industry in Nigeria booming we at Babiotos Couture draw from a pool of experienced hands and innovative methodologies applicable for delivery of world class services.

Actually the name Babiotos is my pet/nickname. It started as Babi (pronounced Baabee) and it was one of the 1^st words I said as a child.  According to my Mum I said it all the time, she thought it was silly because no one knew what it meant but it was like the only thing I could say at the time. Shortly after it evolved into ‘Babi-Otos’ .  She often stated that I even got upset when people called me kabir, I’d squeeze my face & tell them my name is Babiotos.   There is no original basis to its meaning but I'm;loi very much attached to it, its stuck on me.

      How did you get into it?

It’s fair to say I stumbled into it by accident, even though I did a lot of drawing & sketching as a child. It all began as a mere bet between me and a very close friend of mine (who is also a well-known fashion designer). I told him I could make five sketches of for female garments in ten minutes; and I did. He encouraged me to take it more seriously but I didn’t give it much thought until late 2011, I had a lot of free time on my hands at the time, not like these days. I tasked myself to create fifty individual sketches in a month. And by the time the month had elapsed I had over two hundred sketches and that was just enough to give me the momentum I needed to venture into dress making.

After taking a tailoring/design course at The Fashion Academy (T.F.A), participating & making it into the Top 12 contestants in the upcoming Reality TV show “The Garment maker”  and working as head fashion designer at the renowned Berry’s Couture owned by  the elegant & very  talented Hadiza Yakubu, I knew it was time for Babiotos  Couture to break into the Nigerian fashion scene. I vividly remember stating to Hadiza Yakubu how I wanted to be where she is in the next year and by Allah’s will, I’m on my way there. At Berry’s I acquired all the knowledge applicable to all the technicalities associated with running this line of business.

      What is your typical day like?

I'm a certified workaholic; this fact is completely verifiable. I take my job very seriously, or too serious according to my friends and family. I wake up around 7:30M and I'm off, cutting, sewing, sketching, tracing the day away. I'm usually awake at late hours of the night, working till 4am. That pretty much sums up my entire daily routine from Monday through to Sunday. I used to be an all-out sociable fun loving person but not any more  My personal life is some-what boring nowadays, but I love what I do unconditionally and wouldn't trade it for anything else. Maybe if in some crazy mix-up scenario I find out that I'm the long lost son of a filthy rich Arab oil sheikh, I dunno woh….! But nah, I'm only kidding I still wouldn't give up on fashion design.

      What do you love most about you what you do?

For me it’s all about the end results like seeing a perfectly fitting dress on a customer and the smile on their face to complement it. Turning pieces of fabric into finished clothing or merely putting pen to paper to create a design. Or even when a random person comes up to me & makes good remarks about my work. There’s a great sense of fulfilment attached to such encounters and I guess that’s what gives me the magic I need to keep on pushing through.

      What’s been your best work ever?

That’s a tough one but I’d have to say it should be the very first mini-collection I did. They looked more or less simple on the eyes but were indeed very difficult to sew; secretly they were sewing pins holding parts of the garments together because they weren't completely finished. I kept hoping & praying that the model wouldn't get pricked by the pins and thankfully she didn't.

I see them as my first babies, they serve as a form of motivation for me; I look at them & think to myself how impossible I thought it was for me to make them. I see them as a reflection of hard work, determination  several hectic days and sleepless nights I spent on them.

      What are the difficulties involved?

 I'm sure my fellow designer colleagues would agree that this line of business can be very frustrating at times; a crooked seam, shifted zipper, broken needle, common cut thread and other small technical issues can mess up my whole day. Moreover when we take into consideration difficulties associated with delivery and meeting deadlines. It is a common belief that tailors are the most unreliable people on earth besides boring politicians. As much as I strive to prove this theory wrong, keeping up to time has been the most uneasy thing so far. Constructing a garment isn’t just ‘cut here-join there & garment is complete BAM!’, there’s so much happening in between before the garments reach their finished stage.

If you weren't doing this, what would you have been doing?

I'm so stuck on this that I can hardly imagine myself doing anything else, I'm guessing randomly though but maybe I’ll be working in an Advertising Firm or in the marketing department of a banking institution. I initially wanted to become an architect.

Have you ever felt like giving up Babiotos Couture?

     Not now but not never, I have made peace with the fact that nothing good comes easy, hence I will always, “God willing”, triumph over difficulties because they will come whether we like it or not. It has been a bumpy ride since day one but I guess that adds the thrill to it apparently. 

And every day is a battle, I may scar or bruise in the process but I’ll definitely persevere and fight to the end of it. Keep on keeping on, every new day is a new lesson learned, it makes us so much stronger.

Who or what inspires you?

So many different things, mainly people and places alongside the constant need to create something beautiful. My sketches always reflect my state of mind; I put my Gemini features to good use in this perspective. The people around me play major roles that impact me without them even knowing it for instance; the ever so knowledgeable Mrs.Nina Kwande who taught me everything I know ( it’s like there’s no limit to what she can teach), Hadiza Yakubu for giving me my 1^st fashion related job(even though I feared not being up to the task at the time), Carmen who bluntly criticized my designs (including the ones I loved the most) and Ummi, Bamanga, Mubarak, Bosco and Gazelle who give me glimmers of hope (during the darkest hours).

I'm fascinated by various cultures if the world, I want my clothes to tell a story, what I mean is that we all as individuals have our stories each one unique and different. I see myself as someone who is constantly searching for something beautiful; that’s pretty much my story and I apply the thought of these individual people to my designs making each piece as beautiful, unique and different as the people wearing them.

Considering the level of success you have attained, youths out there would be itching to know how old you are

I can comfortably say I'm somewhere around mid-way to 50 years old. Hehe!!

         Asides work, what do you do for fun?

I love to explore and experiment with stuff like food, I like to cook. I also recently discovered the fact that “One knows how to cook” and “One likes to cook” are two completely different things. Sadly I belong to the latter category. I make nice pancakes though.

        Advice to youths that wish to follow in your footsteps.

Very simple; sometime in December 2011 I got that best advice from the most unlikely person. He gave me a small piece of advice that completely altered my mindset and psyche “Block all forms of negativity in your life” these eight words made tremendous positive impact in my life.

As usual, picture speak a thousand words.

Indeed his clothes tell a story, a story of how bright this young man's future is. Hope you enjoyed getting to know Kabir like I did.

You can reach Kabir through any of these means.

EMAIL: kabirabubakar@hotmail.com

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/kabir.abubakarbabiotos?fref=ts 

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/Kb_Babiotos

WEBSITE:  http://babiotos-couture.tumblr.com/