Society & Culture
In this podcast interview, we got to talk to the amazing Evelyn Onyejuruwa, better known as Evelyn O. She is the Founder/CEO of Ankara Miami. Born in Nigeria and raised in Florida, Evelyn has been investing great time and effort into representing and redefining the beautiful African cultural trends through Ankara Miami, a special events company that specifically carries out events for black or culture-focused businesses. Evelyn also manages Ankara Delights, a shop and series of pop-up shops specializing in African print fabrics, apparel, and hand-crafted goods. Being in the retail industry, Evelyn loves visiting markets around the world and exploring various fashion trends in the African Diaspora. Take a cultural fashion trip with Evelyn and Collective Drift in this interview, as she tells us about the wonderful African fashion and her love for the rich Nigerian culture!This episode of the Collective Drift podcast is sponsored by Truist. Truist is here for better. BB&T and SunTrust formed Truist with a shared purpose—to inspire and build better lives and communities. With our combined resources, collective passion, and commitment to innovation, we’re creating a better financial experience to help people and businesses achieve more. Go to truist.com for more information.Here are a few of my favorite parts of the interview:Collective Drift (CD) / Evelyn Onyejuruwa (EO)CD: So Evelyn, how would you describe yourself?EO: Well, I think I am a multi-dimensional creature. I’m a weird mix of reserved and social at the same time. But aside from that, I describe myself as a visionary. I have a lot of grand ideas. I have a lot of things that I like to collaborate on. And I just try to find out how to work with different types of people and deal with different types of cultures and demographics, etc. I gravitate towards being consistent, being able to adapt to different types of people, and being able to watch my surroundings. CD: Where does the idea behind “Ankara Miami” (Florida’s premier African fashion week) come from?EO: The overall idea is related to my culture. I was born in Nigeria. I've been primarily raised here in Florida, but I do go back and forth. It started when I won the Nigeria Florida cultural pageant back in 2011 in South Florida. The thing that I loved about it was that it wasn't based on beauty, body, and things like that. This pageant was based on promoting the culture, so it was quite different. It was just young women representing the area that they're from by mixing in tradition with modern fashion and showcasing the beauty of what our culture is. Read more: https://collectivedrift.com/post/evelynoWhere to find Erica and Collective Driftcollectivedrift.com/instagram.com/collectivedrift/youtube.com/collectivedriftWhere to find Evelyninstagram.com/evelyno11twitter.com/EvelynO11Where to find Ankara Miamiankaramiami.cominstagram.com/AnkaraMiamifacebook.com/AnkaraMiamiWhere to find Ankara Delights509 S 21st Ave STE 101Hollywood, FL, USAankaradelights.cominstagram.com/Ankaradelights