Osman Yousefzada’s clothes are worn by the likes of Lady Gaga, Emma Watson and Rita Ora.
And when Beyonce picked up her Grammy award, it was an Osman Yousefzada jumpsuit she was wearing.
Osman was inspired by his Afghan mum who moved to Balsall Heath in the 1970s and ran a dressmaking business from her home, making clothes for the Asian community.
At 18, he left for the bright lights of London and made his debut at London Fashion Week in 2008.
“I’m honoured that my clothes have been worn by such high profile people,” said Osman.
“The first celebrity to wear my clothes was Thandi Newton, she’s lovely and comes in for fittings.
“I don’t always meet the celebs who wear my clothes, they often go through a stylist.
“My life is not as full of celebs and pina coladas by the pool as people might think,” he laughed, “I’m a Brummie made good."
“When Beyonce wore one of my jumpsuits to pick up her Grammy three years ago, that was an amazing feeling.
“That image was used on the cover of newspapers all over the world. We had press clippings coming in from everywhere from Uzbekistan to India.
“She’d sent me tickets to go to LA to see one of her concerts but I couldn’t go.
“Lady Gaga has worn my outfits four or five times and I’ve made stuff for her videos.
“I feel blessed.”
Now Osman, who is based in London, is back in Brum for his exhibition which features themes of sustainability, fast fashion workers producing clothes for the high street and male domination in migrant communities.
“The exhibition is semi autobiographical and quite poetic,” he said.
“I grew up in Balsall Heath which is a big migrant community with lots of different communities living on top of each other.
“Like everywhere else, it has its pluses and minuses.
“This is about celebrating migrant communities, the Irish and the Polish communities too, it’s not all about me.
“There’s a big contrast between where I come from and what I do now and Ikon was really interested in that.”
Set across three galleries, one installation is based upon his mother’s bedroom.
“My mum’s been here 40 years but she still behaves like she’s on the move,” he said.
“Everything’s wrapped and folded, ready to be on the move, and when she buys something, she puts it away for later use rather than enjoying it now.
“Both my parents are illiterate and when they arrived they were asked to sign papers.
“In the home country, in the border regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan, they would sign with a thumb print. Here they signed with a cross.
“My mum had a dressmaking business. All these women would come to get their clothes made by her.
“So I grew up in this realm of craziness where these women would descend on our home. I found it fascinating and that’s what really inspired me to go into fashion.”
Now, the celebrity fashion designer has returned to his Brummie roots for an exhibition at Ikon Gallery.
The Being Somewhere Else exhibition, which runs from June 6 to June 29, features a series of works by Osman exploring cultural displacement and the social impact of ‘fast fashion’ made by low-wage workers and sold on the high street.
“I wanted to show the other side of fashion, behind the allure and glamour, a way of taking the lid off everything,” he explained.
“Fast fashion has eroded manufacturing in England.
“We had a large rag trade in Birmingham with lots of clothing made here.
“But a lot of these industries have been pushed out because of labour equation.
“I understand the need for instant gratification, we like to buy something new because it makes us feel happy, we’re all consumers at the end of the day.
“But I’m not sure people really understand the cost and social implications in these processes.
“We try to make our clothes as sustainable as possible, with most of our production taking place in Europe.
“We all have a responsibility.
“I’ve been and talked to the guys making clothes and they have a completely different idea about what shoppers at places like Primark are like, they think they are super rich.”
Selfridges Birmingham is hosting an in-store pop-up destination on Womenswear on level 4 to mark Osman’s first solo art exhibition.
As the exclusive stockist of Osman in the city, there will be an edit of his current and new season lines, as well as a range of exclusive T-shirts.
Sam Watts, general manager of Selfridges Birmingham, said: “Birmingham is a vibrant arts and cultural city with a rich history of diversity. As a department store that thrives on innovation, we’re thrilled to partner with Ikon to bring Osman’s’ first solo exhibition to the city.
“We’re looking forward to seeing the Ikon exhibition first hand, also supporting it with a series of events in store and welcoming Osman.”
The exhibition coincides with Ikon’s Migrant Festival, which runs from June 14 to 17, which Osman is also curating and will include themes of migration, fashion, art and music, as well as a screening of the 2015 film The True Cost, with an introduction by executive producer Livia Firth; fashion illustration workshops; and an In Conversation with Osman event.
Events to coincide with the Migrant Festival include a fashion illustration workshop with couture designer Gregory Mark Lewis, who has designed commercial art works for Christian Louboutin, Givenchy and Chanel.
Now based in Birmingham, Lewis will hold a life-drawing session at Selfridges on Thursday, June 14 from 5.30- 7.30pm.
Just ten tickets are available and cost £20. To secure a space, click here
For more information about the exhibition, click here
