Last year, actor Sheila Atim arrived at the Vanity Fair Oscars after-party in an exquisite Prada dress covered in shimmering red paillettes, with a rigid sculptural skirt, capped sleeves and a high neckline. “Everyone gasped, she looked magical,” recalls stylist Abisoye Odugbesan of the fitting before the event, which was extra special because it was their first collaboration together.
Though Odugbesan now describes the look as the “antithesis” of what they would usually gravitate towards, the dress “transformed” when it was on Sheila – a quality that she brings to every look she wears. “It’s about making sure that she feels amazing, authentic and it looks like her style,” she adds.
“Sheila has a great style and loves fashion as much as I do, we’re obsessed with the same designers,” says the stylist, who has helped Atim to be a permanent fixture on best dressed lists. “When I’m looking for the direction for a client, it’s really getting a sense of their personality. Having lots of conversations about what they like, what they don’t like, what they want to achieve, the things that inspire them.”
Nowadays, she has an instinctive approach. “We’ve gotten to know each other quite well so I have a good sense of the pieces that she will be drawn to. She knows what she likes, but she’s also open to trying out my ideas too, so we have lots of fun collaborating together,” she explains, adding that they always look for something unique; with a “bit of a twist or an edge”.
“I want it to feel like they’ve literally gone to the shops themselves, bought something and that’s what they’ve turned up wearing, rather than feeling like they’ve been styled,” she says of dressing her clients. “If I wasn’t involved, this is what they would find themselves if they went out there looking for it. I think that always comes across when someone feels really comfortable and confident with what they’re wearing.” This is clearly evidenced in the pictures on Sheila on the red carpet where her confidence shines through.
While Odugbesan struggles to decide on a single standout look – “I absolutely love every dress that we settle on!” – she says the molten metallic dress that she wore to the Cannes Film Festival last year (“it was like liquid gold”) and silver dress she wore to the BAFTAs in February (“it moved so beautifully”), which are both by Prada, are among her most cherished. “Those dresses were out of this world.”
Other favourites include the “effortlessly cool” merlot-hued Christopher John Rogers look that she wore to the SAG Awards, the custom Erdem for The Woman King premiere at Toronto Film Festival and the Robert Wun creation she wore to the Olivier Awards, which the stylist knew she “needed” the moment she saw it on the runway.
Sheila’s winning streak last year was also memorable; from her Olivier Award for Best Actress, to The Underground Railroad’s TV BAFTA and her Chopard Trophy at Cannes. “It’s been such an amazing privilege to go on this journey with Sheila. To be able to have a small part in those incredible moments has been so much fun,” Odugbesan muses. “I can’t wait for the next red carpet moment that we get to collaborate on.”
