'Skales and May D Need to Be Styled Properly' - Noble Igwe

Presenting Noble Igwe the fashionista

The man behind 360 Nobs...

Noble Chibueze Igwe who is from Orumba South LGA, Anambra. Nobs is the fun part, Noble is the business man and Chibueze is the family guy. Nobs is Noble Igwe and Noble Igwe is fun

The journey...

I moved to Lagos in March 2005 to start work as a call centre agent in the now rested Virgin Nigeria. I would like to say I did so well; I handled the first year anniversary for Virgin and they moved me to Marketing and I started Events & Sponsorship. I did that from 2006 to 2008 and then I left because I wanted to have an idea of Advertising so I went to Advertising and I worked there from about 2008 to 2010. By then I was able to combine the knowledge I had gained from Virgin and Advertising to set up my own business. From there I was able to set up 360nobs.com, 360 Management, 360 PR, 360 Productions and branched out into 360 Delivery. So its been an improvement from get go and I thank God for who and where I am today

Who is the fashion man?

I am one of those young men who don't want to walk into a building without being noticed. I just feel like there are too many people in Nigeria and it would do you no good to walk into a place and not be recognised and nobody would say someone has passed. My things may or may not be expensive but I just make sure that nobody would forget me. So the fashion person is Noble. Also, they say first impression matters because there may probably never be another impression so I like to leave people with an impression which is the Noble Igwe impression

What is the Noble Igwe impression?

Some people think he's arrogant, some people think he has a big head which I do, some people think he's hardworking and goes out of his way for people (probably because of the free food they get in my house), others think he's enterprising. The truth is I am different things to different people but at the end of the day, I'm just me. As a human I'm not perfect but I'll continue to make effort to be a better person

Define fashion

Fashion for me is simply the way you want to be addressed. A lot of people do Vogue and what they think is selling at that point but I am not one of those people, I do what I think fits and what goes for that point in time. I do what I want people to recognise me for so I wouldn't wear tights because everyone is wearing tights at that point, I would probably wear skinnys because I think they fit me better than the regular baggy jeans. I wouldn't wear earrings because I think most guys that want to be seen as fashionable would probably wear earrings. So I think fashion is what everybody does but style is more about you, so I would rather been seen as a stylish person than someone who is fashionable

If you were to style any Nigerian celebrity who would you style and what would you style them in?

If there is someone I love their fashion sense that would be Mai Atafo, if there are people who I think need to be styled properly that would be Skales. He needs to be styled. May D also needs to be styled because he sometimes comes out looking mis-hip...you know when you're trying to dress hip but miss it. I would style them in something that suits different occasions

What's the first fashion item you remember buying with your own money?

Probably a shirt which my mother burnt. Growing up my parents used to buy us clothes and at some point I felt that the kind of clothes they were buying for us were not the kind of clothes I liked, so I saved up some money and bought a shirt which was a striped black and yellow shirt, my mother saw it, asked where I got the money to buy it from and she burnt it

What's your take on Nigerian fashion?

I think Nigerian fashion is on the rise. 6 years ago, a whole lot of people wouldn't wear a lot of the things that we wear now as Nigerian fashion because we probably didn't address Nigerian fashion like we do now. Now we can talk about a Mai Atafo suit or Tayo Gabriel suit or other people who make Nigerian clothes, this wouldn't have been the case 6 years back. Then I would probably be talking about a Zara or what I can do to make things work together but right now there are a lot of opportunities in Nigerian fashion, a lot of people who do Nigerian fashion can also pass on the international level. I give it to Deola Sagoe for the ladies and Mai Atafo or Tayo Gabriel for the guys because these people do suits the way suits should be done, they're measured to fit its not like the trousers are longer than the jacket and this exactly what people need

Best and worst fashion moments?

I can't particularly remember but what has always happened is that I see pictures of an event that happened in 2012 and I think oh my did I wear that? And people thought it was fashionable but this is me looking back and thinking I didn't do that, did I? So every other year as I get older, I wonder about my fashion choice of the previous year. Like I saw a picture of me in a bandana and I felt like it was a little bit too much but then I did it at the time and it is what it was. But really my best fashion moments is probably when I get 'I like what you're wearing' on the red carpet at events which is all the time

Favorite fashion accessory

I don't have it on but its my rosary

Are you a shoes, watch or perfume guy?

I don't know I think I'm all three really

Best Designer

I would probably give that to Mai Atafo, I'm proudly Nigerian

Why do you like skinny pants so much?

I feel I'm not a big person so I don't want to be swimming in my clothes so I think I need to wear something fitted

How would you describe your fashion style?

Futuristic, edgy and inventive

Do you feel colour blocking has been abused in this part of the world?

The question still remains what is abuse? I think we say we abuse things in Nigeria because people rush into something because they think it is good at that time and when a lot of people do it at the same time, people feel it is too much but I think people should be allowed to express themselves the way they think best to. So if you like a lot of colors, sure. For instance, I do like colours so I would probably wear blazers in bright colours but that doesn't necessarily mean I'm dressing to colour block but if people choose to call it colour riot and fashion happens to call it colour blocking then its fine.

How do people use fashion to eradicate poverty and help the community?

Sometimes fashion designers organise fashion shows for charity and fund raisers to feed hungry people. Sometimes these hungry people could also be the models and so if you're going to hire the models and pay them that's also eradicating hunger. Also for some people who are fashionable, their sense of style gives them the opportunity to be in the midst of people who are influential in the society and if they have a chairy they could use that opportunity to sell their ideas to save the people who are hungry in the society.

Has your appearance ever given you the opportunity to talk to people you never thought you would get the chance to speak with?

Yes a lot of times. Like I go to people's offices and I ask to see the MD and I pretend that I don't want to sit down because I feel like I should be important enough for the MD to come out and see me. Also a lot of times when I go for meetings, people always talk about my fashion and they remember me as that fashionable guy and that has opened a lot of doors.

Have you always been fashionable?

I would say yes. Back in secondary school I probably didn't have enough money to buy the kind of things I wanted to buy but I always loved fashion

Do you ever get criticised for spending too much on a fashion item?

I surround myself with people who can afford the kind of things I can afford so I don't usually get people telling me that the money I spend on clothes can be given to charity. When people are close to me and are friends with me, they work hard to afford the things they want and I also give back, I have people that I employ and pay salary so people can't necessarily tell me I don't give back.

What's your most expensive fashion item?

I have wrist watches that go for a little above a million. I also have some perfumes that people would probably think are pricey like the Tom Fords. I don't really know how much these things cost I just buy what I like and if they cost a little more I save for it.

Are you a bosoms, booty or legs guy?

Brains. But I think booty works too

Natural hair vs weaves

If your hair is bad, fix it up. You can't have bad hair and be doing team natural. But if you have nice hair show it. But once in awhile alternate, give us a bit of weaves and let the hair breathe. But you can't do what you think is acceptable at the expense of looks . If you have very bad stubborn hair do something that the eyes can bear seeing.

Would Nobs ever grow hair?

No. I'm not bald, a lot of people think I don't have hair but I do, I just shave it off. The thing is I don't think growing hair is very business-like. When I'm going for a business meeting I don't want to have to worry if my hair is combed or well-shaped, with shaved hair I don't need to worry about all that. So its more about convenience than style. Plus as I grew older I thought I can't be keeping hair and competing with students in BIS.

What is the one thing you can't leave home without?

My laptop because I need to work. Everything else I can do without including my phones but I need my laptop to send emails and do business.