A woman in a black top and pink patterned skirt sits among folded clothes, with shelves of colourful shoes behind her.

YOMI ADEGOKE: INSIDE THE CLOSET

17 SEPTEMBER 202617 SEPTEMBER 263 MIN

We caught up with Elle contributing editor, Guardian columnist and bestselling author of The List, Yomi Adegoke for her LFW edit.

BY Kemi Alemoru

Yomi's Closet

Inside The Closet

If you’re as nosy as I am, you might also wonder how fashion’s front row always manages to look so well put together. Well, Whering decided that, in the run-up to Fashion Week, we would raid their real-life closets to get their edit of go-to looks for when you want to be ready for your close-up.

“I love taking risks. Since I was younger, I’ve loved icebreaking, conversation-starting pieces. I love walking around with logomania bags because people just assume that it’s fake, so I never get robbed. But I also don’t like feeling like I’m walking around in costume, so I will mix the out-there pieces with something a bit more pared back. I love mixing references.

I love art and music, and I do think fashion is now an extension of that expression. I think when I had long hair it read as cutesy. Now I have no hair; it reads as catwalk. I definitely have got more bonkers as time has gone on, though. My Charles Jeffrey shoes, which I got at a sample sale for £100 down from £1500, are in my top five in my shoe collection.

Smiling woman holds a colourful, oversized floral boot in a stylish shoe closet, surrounded by neatly arranged heels, sneakers, and sandals. — Photography by Lewis Vorn

A collage of close up shots of Yomi Adegoke and her favourite wardrobe items — Photography by Lewis Vorn

Shelves display an eclectic shoe collection: white combat boots, hot-pink heels, sandals, sneakers, flats, and black footwear in a wardrobe. — Photography by Lewis Vorn

“I’ve landed on quite a man-repellent style”

The claws really love to fall out, but I found the one cobbler on the planet that could replace them. They kind of are a weapon, but a very chic one. Fashion week is a time for a lot of experimentation, and whereas before I would want to look cute – everyone looks sexy, you’re going to all these parties, you never know who you’re gonna meet – I’ve landed on quite a man-repellent style.

I’m in my mid-30s, so f*ckability isn’t really very high on my list of things I’m even thinking about when it comes to dressing. The other day I was wearing this gorgeous piece by Dye Lab, the Nigerian brand. It’s a modern twist on the agbada, which is a type of traditional dress, and I was wearing it, and I looked in the mirror, and I was like, ‘Oh my god! Like, I literally look like a floating blob.’”