With the heart of a entrepreneur, 26 years old, Irina Oduro from Amsterdam has always been very ambitious in life. In 2009  she finished her second year at the University of Rotterdam / Fashion Design and decided to stop her study to follow her dreams. “I wanted to build bridges between Europe and US when it came to the urban fashion and music industry”.

What inspired Sugah Clothing?

The idea for Sugah clothing brand came as a result of what I saw missing in the Urban clothing market, with my background in design and my aspirations of becoming a designer, I decided to put that to use by creating something that was simple yet upscale and sassy to fit the niche market range of women from ages 16-25, with music and fashion going hand in hand, I tapped into the urban music industry for inspiration and it has played a vital role in our design scheme. ( the reggae and dancehall scene also played a big role ) So it started with our Tank tops which I believe was an easy way to get our foot in the door
What motivated you to take it from a dream to a reality?

I’ve always had the need to do my own thing and I’ve always had the state of mind of an entrepreneur. But it felt forced to combine it with things society expects from me, degrees, a 9 to 5, and what else not! So every day felt like a struggle! So one day I woke up and realized what makes me unhappy and asked my self..If I die tomorrow will I die content or satisfied? And I said NO..And I knew the answer why. Wrote down what I wanted to become and achieve, called my school and told them I was not going back anymore and thats when I started doing my own thing.

What were some of the most important steps you took that helped you along the way?

-Not afraid to make mistakes

-Taking risks

-Letting go of fears and doing it everyday!

Which was very hard. I started forcing myself in situations that would challenge me. And one of the most important thing was, reaching out to people, asking people for advice, help, inspiration and guidance. I have a couple of people close to me that I look up too and see as my “mentors” both in the business world and just daily life.

Irina designs everything herself, from the logo to the webshop to the tops, to see more of her work, visit http://sugahclothing.com/