Originally from Nigeria but currently residing in Nottingham, Elvis Kachi knows firsthand the far-reaching influence of fashion, beauty, and culture. Now the newest member of the BeautyMatter editorial team, Kachi is sharing his unique lens on the beauty industry, whether existing in the physical or digital spheres.
BeautyMatter sat down with the business- and tech-savvy journalist to discuss his professional journey, the most exciting talent originating from Nigeria, and where his passion for beauty and fashion began.
How did you get into writing? What was that journey like?
It's been an interesting one. I started working in fashion when I was very young. I remember styling my mom and my sister, but my parents also wanted us to leverage our strengths, and I was more inclined towards English. I wrote short stories, but I didn't know how to balance both of those pathways. I wanted to be a writer, but I also wanted to work in fashion. I also grew up with parents who would rather you do something along the lines of studying medicine, engineering, or law. I did go to university for my undergrad, and I started on agronomy and crop science. During that time, I became the Assistant Editor in Chief for my faculty magazine. I also registered for an internship at a fashion house in Nigeria, learning to sew, getting mentored in pattern drafting, and getting into Illustrator. That's where I learned the business of fashion.
I did set up my brand, KAWEDO, but when COVID happened, myself and a friend were in the middle of traveling. We couldn't travel back to our own cities, so a visit that was supposed to be two weeks, turned into three months. We decided to begin to write. I began to pitch ideas to a few magazines and publications; that's how I got the role of being the Senior Editor for Vanity Teen where I held roles of commissioning people and writing about the fashion, beauty, and culture of Africa.
One of my favorite projects was talking about colorism in Africa. I wanted to give a voice to oppressed people and bring up the idea that we have to do better as a society. We don't want to create minorities out of minorities.
A second editorial I was really proud of was one where I worked with middle management who represented people with skin uniquenesses. Living in Nigeria, it has one of the most draconian laws when it comes to LGBT people. You are already isolated from living expressively, and then the isolation of COVID was added on top of that. I wanted people to understand that “social misfits”—people who have vitiligo, albinism, skin grafts—we unconsciously isolate these people. Everybody was experiencing what it means to be isolated, but these people have been isolated from society for a very long time.
I started my full-time freelance journey contributing to Thomson Reuters, Condé Nast, Bloomsbury. I did this 4,000-word piece on queerness and the African fashion industry. I was excited to be commissioned to do that really deep research.
I have also delivered guest lectures to master's students at Falmouth University here in the UK, and bachelor of arts fashion students in South Africa. I focused on fashion, beauty, and entrepreneurship in Africa. We have seen so many success stories from African designers such as people like Adebayo Oke-Lawal and Duro Oluwo, but we do not understand what it has taken for them to be a global brand.
Especially for young entrepreneurs like myself, I want to make informed decisions, so I use my own experience to write about these things. I am the current Content Director for Marmalade Ventures, a media agency in the UK. It really focuses on stories from Africa and the diaspora through verticals like fashion, beauty, music, lifestyle.
What were your first memories of fashion and beauty?
For fashion, my mom would wear this head wrap called a gele. It's a very popular amongst Nigerian women, especially in the Eastern part of Nigeria. It's very elaborate, and I remember trying to help her with that. I also remember she and my sisters doing their makeup.
What is your opinion on journalism and its role in affecting change?
It’s pushing the conversations. Most of the time, people underestimate how much power it has; especially where I come from where there are a lot of corrupt leaders, and you see journalists pushing certain kind of stories being threatened. Social media has obviously played a huge role in all of this and really impacted the future of journalism. I has made everything very accessible but with that access also comes misinformation.
What helped you find your own voice in your writing?
I definitely like to write about my own experiences, which I feel are not exclusive and things that other people have experienced and want to see. I want to write stories that have nuance and depth; that can actually help people move forward and make informed decisions. Fashion and beauty are not exclusive to themselves; they could interface with anything. Fashion and beauty are linked to queerness, finance, race, misogyny, colorism, all of it.
You also have an interest in the role of TikTok in beauty, specifically as it relates to Nigeria. What are the subjects of beauty most exciting you at the moment?
Within the Nigerian beauty industry, TikTok really drives it. There's this trend now around Y2K beauty where people are going back to old Nollywood movies: loads of eyeshadow, black lip pencil, excessive amounts of gloss, and painted-on freckles. That’s one of the exciting things to see right now within Nigerian beauty: how young women are bringing in that sense of nostalgia. Now men are starting to enter into the conversation as well. They're starting to embrace the need to do skincare and wanting to feel good about themselves.
We have seen K-beauty, J-beauty, now A-beauty salons pop up, which are very organic. I remember here in Nigeria when the NAFDAC [National Agency for Food Drug Administration Control] banned products like bleaching formulas and wiith that came new markets. People are now starting to see the essence of shea butter, African oils, and more.
Are there any homegrown brands from Nigeria that are doing exciting things for the beauty market?
Number one on my list is going to be Arami Essentials. The founder grew up in the UK, but she's Nigerian. It’s an amazing beauty brand. One of her best-selling products is Onyx Polish [a liquid, clarifying African black soap] because of the demand for sustainable beauty. It's very clean, very minimal, brilliant.
What is your advice to other aspiring beauty journalists?
Keep going. I started writing three years ago and cannot believe that I have done this. Try as much as you can to shut your eyes and ears from any forms of competition. If you see something or someone who is going to make you feel like you're not doing enough, take some time to detox. I left social media for three months because it was so overwhelming and makes it difficult to navigate the industry in itself. Give yourself a pat on the back; understand that it's a journey and you will definitely get there in the end.
