Celebrated Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has opened up about the reason she stopped hiding her love for fashion and even started wearing mostly Nigerian brands.

The award-winning, globally acclaimed author spoke in an interview with YouTuber Folashade Samagbeyi, where she explained that she and women in high-profile positions, like politics, used to feel pressured to pretend they are not particularly interested in fashion in order to be taken seriously.

The 47-year-old mother of three, however, said she made a conscious decision to be publicly passionate about fashion to empower other women in similar positions.

She said, “For some people, liking fashion means you’re not a serious person. So I went through a period of pretending because I wanted to be taken seriously as a writer.

“I was also tired of pretending that I wasn’t interested in fashion, when in fact I was. I’m interested in hair and makeup, so I thought that if I talked about it publicly, other women like me would feel they didn’t have to pretend.

“Part of the reason I started talking about fashion is because many women who are into politics, who have ideas, also like fashion. Why should we pretend?”

Chimamanda also spoke about the reason she predominantly wears Nigerian fashion brands even though foreign designers send her clothes.

She described her decision as a deliberate strategy to use her platform to support and showcase local talent.

“Choosing to wear mostly Nigerian brands, which I started doing a number of years ago, was something I did intentionally. For me, it is a kind of fashion nationalism,” she said.

 “I’m fortunate to have this platform, and I’ve gotten to a point where foreign designers would send me clothes. So I thought it was a great opportunity to start wearing Nigerian brands. It’s just a subtle way of showing up for my people.”