Fashion has many expressions and comes in many different forms. Sometimes, it is playful and fun and other times it is serious and glamourous. At other times, people decide what their fashion choices are based on their personality or mood at the moment. Whatever it is, there is a brand out there for each fashionista.
This week on Inside Africa we look at Sisiano, a fashion brand that started as just another business but bloomed into something colourful and unique, drawing the hearts of Nigerians to itself. Here’s how they have been able to achieve that;
From dance artist to fashion artist


Sisiano, founded by Paolo Sisiano in 2013, is a menswear and womenswear brand that specialises in the creation of dreamy outfits for contemporary men and women. The brand started as a business by its founder who was then a dance artist. Over time, it transitioned into a thing of passion with Sisiano enjoying the process of creating fashion and seeing it turn into something big and new. Through this process, the brand Sisiano was born.
He told FashionHandbook, “When I started the brand in 2013, Sisiano wasn’t born out of passion. It was meant to be a business while I still danced. Now, I don’t know what I would do without my brand. I have fallen so much in love with the process of creating and watching it become even bigger from when I first started.”
For the designer, each collection starts with a sound and that sound is a song that plays on repeat for weeks or months depending on what he is searching for. It becomes the reason as to why the garments should move a certain way and fit a certain time. Explaining how he works, Sisiano said, “Following that, I sketch the looks inline with the sound. Every now and then I just pick up fabric and twirl in it, looking for shapes that might be of interest to me. On other days I just dance while looking for the imagery through my own movements.”
Read Also: Here Is How Signature Styles Carved A Niche For Anjy Luminee Couture In The Industry
Signature Styles by Sisiano
Sisiano creates menswear and womenswear for various occasions. the brand specialises in creating timeless pieces that do not flow with trends. Its outfits are sensual, flowy, and easily wearable with a distinguishing dreamy aesthetic to them.
Outfits by Sisiano are so versatile they can be worn interchangeably to casual or corporate events. Just by the way you style the outfits, you can easily switch on a corporate look for the day and turn it over to a casual or party outfit for afterwards. Also, most of the pieces by the brand are suitable for both male and female, making them unique and special in their own way.
Sisiano is characterised by being whimsical, eclectic, sensual, carefree, and artsy. The pieces are made out of a variety of colours, ranging from soft delicate hues to bold vibrant colours. Lately, the brand has focused more on using unique hand-painted and hand-dyed fabrics for its creations to set them apart from the crowd.
How Sisiano Creates Versatile Styles for Its Audience
Over the years, the Sisiano brand has grown to great heights. With its dreamy and easy-to-wear outfits, it has created a niche quite like none other for itself. Through this, the brand has become a staple for celebrity photographer TY Bello and has attracted the likes of Mimi Onalaja, Alex Ekubo, and Adebayo Oke Lawal.
So, how has Sisiano been able to create whimsical outfits that draw the hearts of men and women? How has it been able to create unisex clothing that effortlessly suit both male and female? Let’s take a look at it;
1. Infusing the Theatricals into their Outfits
Paolo Sisiano started out as a choreographer, dancer and stage performer and now the brand infuses this into its collections. By doing this, it gives the outfits a playful and fun feel that draws people in.
Since each new collection gets inspiration from a song and music speaks to everyone, anyone can relate to the brand’s aesthetic and message.
2. Using Colourful and Dreamy Fabrics
The type of fabrics you use for outfits plays a major role in how the outfits turn out and the feel it gives off. The brand uses flowy fabrics for its outfits that naturally tends to calm a person and give that feeling of freedom and peace.
By adding hand-painted and hand-dyed fabrics into the mix, it has been able to create something new. The touch these paintings and dyes give the outfits is rare and makes them stand out from the crowd. This adds to the overall dreamy theme of the brand.
Even though men are not normally seen as so into colours as women are, the mix of colours that Sisiano uses for its outfits somehow sits right on men. This makes it easy for both men and women to don the pieces.
3. Originality
The Sisiano brand creates outfits quite like none other. Even though many of the outfits infuse Nigerian traditional cuts into them, the theatrical feel that mixes with it makes the designs original.
This uncommon and unusual blend of inspiration into fashion is quite like none other. All of the outfits, because of their cuts and fabrics, scream originality in every sense. This unique blend of cuts in each outfit makes them look great on any wearer. This explains why many of the pieces can easily be worn by both men and women.
Sisiano has made an indelible mark on the Nigerian fashion industry. The brand is proof that music and fashion affect each other in more ways than we think. With its originality, it has been able to bring more colour into the Nigerian fashion scene.
6 comments
What i don’t understood is in truth how you are
no longer really much more neatly-preferred than you might be now.
You are very intelligent. You know thus significantly in relation to this topic,
produced me personally believe it from numerous various angles.
Its like women and men aren’t interested except
it is something to accomplish with Girl gaga! Your individual stuffs excellent.
All the time handle it up!
It’s going to be end of mine day, however before end I am reading this great piece of
writing to improve my knowledge.
Pretty nice post. I just stumbled upon your weblog and wished to say that
I have really enjoyed surfing around your blog posts.
After all I’ll be subscribing to your rss feed and I hope you write again soon!
Its like you read my thoughts! You appear to grasp a lot about this, like you wrote the guide
in it or something. I believe that you can do with some p.c.
to force the message house a little bit, however other than that,
that is magnificent blog. A fantastic read. I’ll definitely be back.
Useful information. Fortunate me I discovered your site accidentally, and
I’m shocked why this twist of fate did not happened
in advance! I bookmarked it.
It’s going to be end of mine day, except before ending
I am reading this impressive paragraph to improve my know-how.