How I leverage nudity as my business strategy – Toyin Lawani

Nigerian style entrepreneur and social media personality, Toyin Lawani, seems to have perfected the art of courting attention on her Instagram account through which she appeared nude and the images instantly went viral. Many of her followers lambasted her for posting such pictures, while some praised her for being bold.

In a recent interview with SATURDAY BEATS, Lawani stated that posting the pictures was a part of her business strategy. She said, “To be honest, I have always been that way. Now that I am single and building a brand, people keep forgetting that this is also a marketing strategy. At the end of the day, it doesn’t really have anything to do with me.

I am so passionate about all my products, and I believe that nobody can promote them the way I do. No matter how much you pay someone to help promote your products, you have to be the brain behind it.”

The serial entrepreneur maintained that she wasn’t bothered about the criticisms that greeted her post. “I don’t care and I don’t read them. It is when you bring it to my page that I would see them.”

She also claimed that she didn’t have anything against another social media personality, Noble Igwe, who was one of the people who criticised her. “I don’t have any ‘beef’ with him and I don’t know what his problem is. Internationally, my works are well known and respected.

I have created some of the best masterpieces that the world has ever seen, so if you go online and try to water down my brand, that shows who you are, not who I am. There are many people who celebrate my designs and even copy them. I am a trendsetter I have worked with so many big fashion brands internationally and they pay me,” she stated.

Recalling how she started her business career and what has kept her going over the years, Lawani said, “I have always been very hard working and I am still working. By December, I would have spent 20 years in this industry as an entrepreneur. Passion is important when running a business.

If you don’t have the passion and you are not consistent, a lot of people can spring up and surpass you. I believe it is the hunger and the love for what I do that has allowed me to stay above all these years. I also know how to rebrand, reintroduce and reinvent myself.”