In a word, the style of Olu Oluwatimi can be described as…bold. Incorporating bright color and drawing on his own influences and tastes, he is drawn to pieces that stand out. Our head of design, Aidan Sakakini, chatted with Olu (who happens to also be a lineman for the Seattle Seahawks) about his style journey and what makes having a suit worthwhile.

Interview

Aidan: What influences your style? 

Olu: When I was a kid, when I was young, I loved wearing suits to church and things of that nature. And once I really hit my growth spurt they became uncomfortable and my parents didn’t want to keep buying suits and things of that nature so I started to hate it.

“My last year of college I found myself wearing suits again, learned about how it’s supposed to fit you and perfect that over and over through now.”

Aidan: Have you ever had custom suits before, like did you have custom suits as a kid? 

Olu: Oh no, they weren’t custom as a kid, I didn’t have all that. My first custom suit was probably in 2022 by the end of the year, I got a suit made for a banquet I got to be a part of. 

Aidan: And this one, is nice, it’s a camel stripe notoriously you do like quite bright colors, has that always been the case? 

Olu: Yes, the suit that I had made for that banquet was a light blue with a yellow windowpane, so that was bright colors and that’s just kind of my style. 

Aidan: Where do you think you found that enjoyment of color? 

Olu: I think my being a darker individual, bright colors pair well with my skin and it’s kinda like from the first time I laid eyes on a fabric and I put it on I think this fits me, so then how crazy can I get, how far can I take it. 

Olu in Pioneer Square, Seattle

Aidan: It’s true and you can get pretty wild. Your wedding outfit, the traditional Nigerian outfits are also pretty bright, do you think that has influenced anything like when you’re wearing Western style suiting, do you like to bring that same excitement or keep those two things separate? 

Olu: I like to bring excitement in every part of my life, but those were really inspired by my mom and my aunt. Like those were the colors they were going to wear and things of that nature and my wife, those were the colors she wanted for the wedding. I’m always just throwing in, as bright as you can, as bright as you can. 

Aidan: I like it. What do you like about this suit in particular? 

Olu: Man, I like the stripe pattern, I like how the pink shirt pairs well with it and I feel like I have a big canvas with my body type so the more wild I can be with suits I feel like it makes it work.

Aidan: How do you like to bring these suits into your day to day? 

Olu: Pregame, we have the tunnel fits so being able to showcase some of my styles, some things I have in my wardrobe.

“In the spring and summer I have some weddings coming up so I definitely am going to be using some suits for that. And then I never know what life is gonna bring if I’m gonna be part of an amazing event where the dress code is very classic and then I gotta put on a suit”.

I’m not wearing it in my day to day life but whenever I get the chance.

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Interested in the fabric that Olu is wearing? Visit our shop and peruse our over 6,000 fabric collection.