Inspired by the screen printing she saw in her AP World History class, Oru Wonodi started her own brand in junior year of high school.
Now as sophomore management and international business major, Wonodi is hoping to rebrand her line, NOVA Prints and Apparel, to get it to the next level. She said she started it just to fulfill an art project requirement, but her teacher encouraged her to create a brand.
In high school, Wonodi said students would buy her shirts after she was done using them for class. When her high school newspaper interviewed her, Wonodi realized she could turn her brand into something bigger.
“My parents are my biggest investor,” Wonodi said.
She also created an Indiegogo campaign that raised enough money for her to get her own screen printing press and other supplies to make more clothes. Before she bought the press, she outsourced to a Pennsylvania sweatshop-free producer. Wonodi said it’s really important to her that her clothes be made sweatshop-free.
Wonodi aims to make “affordable, fashionable clothes that also give back to a community.” She said most of the time, when people buy bracelets that support women in villages, no one wears them. She wants her clothes to be something people wear but that also support communities; philanthropy is a big part of her vision for her brand.
Other cultures inspire her, she said. This winter break, she plans to go to Nigeria, her home country, to get fabrics and inspiration for her next line, which will be based on West African culture.
When it comes to style icons, Wonodi cited Khloe Kardashian as one of her biggest fashion inspirations.
“[Khloe’s] really helped a lot of people be okay with their bodies, which I think is the biggest problem we have with fashion,” she said.
Wonodi also mentioned Michelle Obama, Beyonce and Ambre Renee as women who inspire her style.
In addition to a website, Wonodi also has an Instagram where people can check out her clothing.