Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Olumide has dual British and Nigerian nationality.[2][3][4][5] The name "Olumide" means "God has come" or "My Hero has come" in the Yoruba language.[6]
After her parents separated, Olumide lived in Wester Hailes, on the outskirts of Edinburgh.[7]
At 15, Olumide was spotted shopping in Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow,[3] and later scouted by Select models while visiting family in London.[9] At the time she knew nothing about the fashion industry. She took a break from modelling to go to university.[10] Over the years she has been signed with Premier, KOKO, Nemesis, Mega, La Agenica, VIVA, AMQ, Ford and IMM Düsseldorf.[9]
She has done fashion weeks and shoots in Japan, Paris, Milan, Barcelona, Poland, Germany, UAE, USA, Africa and the UK.[8]
Olumide's debut spring summer collection was inspired by her Afro-Scottish background and ancestry, a balance of European and British style tailoring and traditionally African fabric and patterns.[3][20] In 2016, she collaborated with Puma, Top Shop and Evisu on selected pieces, and produced her own accessories collection in 2017, consisting of spring summer and autumn winter sunglasses for men and women.[21] In 2018, some of this was included in a temporary exhibition at National Museum of Scotland.[22]
In 2019, Olumide produced an On-Schedule show for the British Fashion Council at London Fashion Week. NGRGFW included question and answer sessions featuring Dennis Calpone, Afuah Hirsch, Emma Dabiri and Nish Kumar as well as a fashion show, commissioned by Lambeth Council at Lambeth Town Hall.[23] Olumide used the event to draw attention to the plight of the Windrush Generation illegally deported from the United Kingdom in 2018, after a mistake by the then Prime Minister Theresa May and Amber Rudd.[24]
Olumide also played with acts including Skepta, Wiley, Roots Manuva, The Game, Common, Busta Rymes, Wu-Tang, OT Genesis and Jay Z. Between April and June, she toured the United States with The Roots and Mos Def in Orlando, Miami, New York, Philadelphia and Atlanta, and at the Bonnaroo Music Festival, a four-day event in Tennessee in June. She also supported Police Academy's Michael Winslow in the U.S. and UK.[25]
In 2018, Olumide was involved in a charity Christmas song called "Rock With Rudolph", written and produced by Grahame and Jack Corbyn. Recorded by 26 personalities in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital and released digitally on Saga Entertainment on 30 November 2018 under the artist name The Celebs. The song reached number two on the iTunes pop chart.[26][27][28]
Olumide was the second Assistant Director and played a role in BAFTA award winning short called Trouble Sleeping. In 2017 she played Rosie in After Louise Olumide appeared in the short film, One Sweet Oblivios Antidote', with Lenny Henry'.[25] Since then she has been a background artist in Star Wars Rogue One, The Last Jedi and Absolutely Fabulous.[25][34] In 2019, she landed a role in Noughts and Crosses alongside rapper Stormzy, produced by Shawn Corey Carter also known as Jay Z at Roc Nation USA.
Olumide produced and directed a show Metamorph through Open Art Surgery at the Traverse Theatre and founded the brief existence of The Official Youth on the Fringe at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and starred in The Chicken Trial at the Pleasance courtyard.[35][36] In 2017, she produced and directed A Work in Progress live at The Stand Comedy club. Stephen K Amos, Katheryn Ryan, Trevor Noah and Dane Baptiste also appeared.[37]
Olumide made online comedy shorts titled “Afrish” for the BBC off the back of her Fringe show, “Afropoliticool,” with Verona Rose and Ricardo P Lloyd as supporting leadsa.[38][39]
In 2018, she appeared on BBC Loop, the Victoria Derbyshire Show, Secrets of The Royal WardrobeQuestion Time, Lorraine, Good Morning Britain and BBC One's "Scotland's Treasures". In 2019, she interviewed Adrian Lester and Josie Rourke at the premier of the film Mary Queen of Scots for MOBO [44] She also participated as a panelist at the premier of The Hate You Give with George The Poet
Olumide produced a variety of youth groups across the UK in Brixton London and at Hillhead High School, Granton and Muirhouse's G-Code in Edinburgh.[47]
She is an ambassador for Zero Waste Scotland,[48] for issues of conservation and sustainability, as well as for Fashion Targets,[49][50] joining the ranks of Kate Moss, Edith Bowman, Twiggy, Alan Carr & Sharon and Kelly Osborne. She regularly fund raises for charities including Children's Hospice Association Scotland,[2] The Well Foundation, Love Music Hate Racism and is a global ambassador for Graduate Fashion Week.[9] Olumide is a patron for Best Beginnings,[51] and Adopt an Intern,[52] helping to get women who have had a career break back into work.
In 2015, Olumide founded her own art gallery representing artists including Richard Wilson, Tim Nobel, and Nick Walker.[53] In 2019, she became the first Scottish model to produce an on-schedule London Fashion Week show Next Generation Regeneration to raise awareness on the Windrush scandal. She also delivered a key note speech at the Houses of Parliament which chimed with an investigation on the impact of the textile industry on the environment. She participated in an initiative with union Equity to develop a framework and strategy to support fashion models in the UK.[54] She also set up Enigmatic Production and Promotion, through the Prince's Business Youth Trust,.[9]
Awards and nominations
Olumide was nominated for the Model of the Year in the Scottish Fashion Awards, sponsored by Vogue in 2011, 2013, 2015. She won Model of the Year in 2018 at the BBE Awards.[55] In 2017, she was featured alongside supermodels Stella Tennant, Winnie Harlow and Brenda Finn.[11] She appeared on the Front Cover of The Evening Standard with supermodel Adwoa Aboah.
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