In a world where fashion often rushes forward, Chinenye ‘Chichi’ Ezurike chooses to move with intention for her new ready-to-wear collection “Nwanyoo Nwanyoo” for her brand, Zurik.
Chinenye ‘Chichi’ Ezurike stands at the intersection of culture and fashion — a designer whose work tells stories that reflect the modern woman. As the founder and creative force behind Zurik, the contemporary Nigerian fashion house celebrated for its couture, she has spent over a decade redefining what ready-to-wear can look like for her brand.
Zurik has embodied an undeniable force in contemporary African fashion, and with her new collection, “Nwanyoo Nwanyoo” — which translates to “slowly but surely” in her mother’s native Igbo — the designer invites us into a world of colour and fluid designs. It’s a phrase that echoes her personal and creative journey: a reminder to move with intention, to trust the process, and to find beauty in patience. The result is a collection that is soft in its aesthetic and made for the modern woman who is curating her lifestyle.
Drawing inspiration from the discipline and poise of ballerinas, the collection captures the duality of softness and strength that defines the practice of these designers. Silks, feathers, and linens move effortlessly in muted tones of dusty pink, lilac, champagne gold, and butter yellow. The palette reflects a design that transcends seasons and continents. “Nwanyoo Nwanyoo” embodies the rhythm of real life, offering timeless, ready-to-wear pieces for women who navigate the world with both grace and purpose.
In this exclusive interview, Chineye takes us through the creative journey behind her designs for her ready-to-wear collection for Zurik. She offers a glimpse into her inspiration and design process. She also shares how her love for Lagos and cultural expression merge to create a collection that embodies confidence, versatility, and timeless sophistication.
What inspired you to start the Zurik brand, and how would you describe it?
I was inspired by my sisters to start Zurik. I’m the youngest of four older sisters, just seeing them be themselves, wearing clothes and doing makeup, I learned so much from them. I also never used to go shopping, and I would always get the hand-me-downs. Zurik first started as “Zurik girl”, and the “girl” behind it was an ode to my sisters. I’ve always had a passion for fashion, and I knew it was a path I was meant to follow. I would describe Zurik as a pivotal journey. A journey I started at a time when not many people were in fashion, and over the years, we’ve grown beautifully. It’s been such a meaningful experience for me.
What inspired you to expand Zurik from couture to ready-to-wear?
I actually started Zurik’s ready-to-wear collection earlier on, but in 2018, we stopped. What re-inspired me to start over and re-launch the ready-to-wear collection was definitely being in Lagos. The Lagos woman is always on the go, and I want to be a part of dressing this group of women who have places to be, even if there’s nowhere to go, they are still dressing up. Lagos women always look the part, always showing out. I felt it was time to bring back the ready-to-wear as well as simultaneously launch a new store. I look forward to people walking into the store and being able to shop the new collection.
Why did you stop making ready-to-wear in 2018?
At that time, I was also working full-time for my parents. I studied business management and hospitality management; I was a double major. My parents, on the other hand, had two pizza restaurants in Chicago, and I was managing them both. It was a hectic period for me. I was also still trying to figure out if I wanted to be based in Nigeria or Chicago.
Ready-to-wear is also very seasonal. I struggled with having to create new collections for spring, summer, and fall. Back then, the fashion scene was dominated by fast fashion — with brands like Forever 21, Nasty Gal, and ASOS leading the trend. As a designer, I looked up to those kinds of brands and tried to keep up with their fashion calendar. Then I began discovering emerging brands that embraced slow and ethical fashion. They had more focus, they had a purpose, and that is what I really want to channel for Zurik. Now, the ready-to-wear collection is not going to be about putting out a collection every season. I want to be very intentional with every collection that we put out.
How did working primarily on Couture shape the direction of the new ready-to-wear collection?
Custom bespoke outfits are more intentional; you have to take your time because it’s a longer process. We have to work hands-on with the client. This has definitely prepared me for making garments wholesale and ensuring that each item is perfect for each individual. Our goal is to ensure our sizing goes beyond the small spectrum, creating pieces that celebrate mid-size and fuller-bodied women as well.
What’s the vibe for the new collection?
Very soft, but powerful. The collection is titled “Nwanyoo Nwanyoo”, which means slowly but surely in my mother’s native language Igbo. It’s inspired by when our aunties used to say nwanyoo nwanyoo — take it easy, be gentle. Whatever you’re doing, do it slowly and with intention — there’s no need to rush. This energy just fits perfectly with my whole journey with the brand. From when I started in 2013 up until now. Everything has been a slow but steady process.
What can we expect from the new collection?
The collection pulls from the ballerina aesthetic. When they dance, they have to practice almost 100 times to get a routine. They’re very disciplined, they are soft, yet they are very strong. This duality creates a perfect balance and inspired me to create this collection. I’ve been inspired by and interested in working with The Leap Dance Academy in Lagos. I want to do something with them for my collection title reveal — maybe even a campaign.
Beyond designing what I love or think people will like, I spent time researching how to make my pieces truly transitional, since my audience includes both Americans and Nigerians. It was important that they could work across seasons, from fall to spring, and that the ready-to-wear collection would fit seamlessly into every woman’s wardrobe. The colour palette definitely reflects soft but graceful, powerful, muted tones like dusty pink.
We also have lilac, champagne gold, some brown shades, the popular butter yellow, and I also have colours that pair very well with black. The main colour of the brand is actually like a gold yellow; I’ve just been obsessed with yellow lately. For the fabrics, we have silk and feathers, which I love because they give a luxurious aesthetic. We also have linen. Linens are always very comfortable. They’re always easy to style. It’s a fabric that looks rich and can still hug your body while allowing you not to be stiff and rigid in the outfit.
What did you mean when you described your ready-to-wear line as being designed for real life’s cadence?
I want the Zurik woman to be able to have pieces that they can wear to the airport, and something they can wear to an event or to meet their mother-in-law. I designed a variety of different styles that you can fit into your everyday life.
When you decided to come back to ready-to-wear, did you feel that there was a gap that you needed to fill within the market?
I’ve been hearing that the market is oversaturated, but I don’t let this affect my design process because I have a long history of what I’ve been doing, and I like to do things my way. I’m not pressured to fill in any gap or pressured to do what everybody else is doing.
You call your aesthetic dynamic afromodernism. Could you expand on that?
We use a lot of bold prints and patterns, but with fabrics that are not too harsh, not a lot of organza or cotton. Usually, Ankara prints will come in cotton, but we’ll put it on a fabric that clings to the body. A lot of my inspiration for this collection was from Pucci’s early 20oo – 2003 collections and also some of Jacquemus’ designs. Our aesthetic is a mix of fun, Afro, yet modern and classic.
You’ve been working within the fashion industry since 2013, which is over a decade. What has been your experience of that?
Before fashion, I had done nothing else outside of working for my parents. Fashion has been my only thing, it’s been my passion, it’s been my goal, and I believe it’s my purpose. Working in fashion is when I am the happiest. When I started, it wasn’t about money; it was more about purpose. I felt like I was destined to do this. The journey has been long, but it has also been rewarding.
Many fashion brands that opened in the 2010s had a hard time surviving the COVID—19 epidemic and economic crises. What decisions did you make with Zurik to survive that?
COVID actually helped me make great decisions. This was when I opened my first store in Ajah. This was when I also stopped ready-to-wear. I wanted to focus on wholesale because I saw a real need for it. Many of my friends would ask how I handled production. Several of my American clients were also interested in producing in Nigeria — something I was already doing. So, when COVID hit, I saw a perfect time to pause and move back home. That was when I decided that I was going to 100% be in Lagos, Nigeria. When I was on ground, I realised that I needed to be here to actually push the brand. That was really a great moment for me. It made me decide to move to Nigeria. It wasn’t easy, but I felt like Nigeria was home. I chose not to look at it like it was hard; I felt like I was back home, and I had to be here.
How have your clients, many of whom return again and again, influenced your creative direction?
My clients have influenced my creative direction in many ways. Most of the time, custom dresses are usually for plus-size clients. They’re specific to a certain type of body that they have, and they want to make sure something fits perfectly. With that at the back of my mind, I am always trying to make sure that the outfit looks good. Thinking about how it will look when you sit down, if you have bigger thighs and making sure you can bend over. These clients inspire me to always make dresses that show your confidence. When you walk in, they instantly know — the girl in that dress is confident.
My breakthrough moment came when I started doing prom season. We had a viral dress called the sugar dress; we had so many knockoffs of the dress. I realised it was a dress for the girls. Many of them were high schoolers. And I was selling this dress for $1,500, and we’ve made over 119 of that dress.
I had to start asking each of my girls if they were in the same high school because I had a situation where there was a whole ruckus when the girl was like, “Another girl had the same dress in the same colour at the same school.” Every time we get an order for that dress, we have to ask them which high school they go to. We try to make sure we’re not selling two of the same colours.
We’re gonna sell you the dress, but we cannot sell the same colour just to make sure you’re not going to the prom with the same dress as anyone else. I care about my prom clients because they take it so seriously. It’s like their first wedding day.
What are your thoughts on slow fashion, and what are your thoughts on working outside of the fashion calendar for ready-to-wear?
For Zurik, slow fashion just keeps me less anxious, also it’s more ethical. You don’t have to waste too much product because I still have a lot of fabrics that I haven’t used in the past few years. This time around, I’m going to do ready-to-wear at my own pace.
I’m not going to rush or try to put out too many collections. I’m going to speak to the clients and see the things they like or what they want. I want to create more fun transitional pieces that you can wear even after the seasons change. So you’re not looking solely towards the next summer collection or the next fall collection. Making sure our customers can pair our items with something else and that they can be layered to wear for every season.
You worked with Nigerian employees on the craftsmanship for your collections. How was that?
The majority of my workers have been with me since I started. In total, I have about 10 of them that are hands-on with the ready-to-wear. I have the people who are doing the ready-to-wear, the bespoke, and then the wholesale. I have a tight team; it’s not just anyone making stuff. We have a togetherness that makes sense for the brand to be able to succeed.
How does affordability affect the decisions around the ready-to-wear collection price point?
The internet has been saying that ready-to-wear in Nigeria is getting out of hand, that it’s very expensive. But I do understand why the brands are going that route. But Zurik’s price range would be not too expensive but not too low, just spot on for the working girl.
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