A Nigerian college student shares his heritage with a cultural fashion event

RICKSBURG – A local college student is hoping to share his culture with the community with a special event that explores Nigerian history, fashion and food.

Lincoln Eguko, 23, is a student at Brigham Young University-Idaho with a minor in apparel construction (fashion) studying business finance. He was born in Nigeria and grew up in various parts of West Africa. He came to America at the age of 17. He began his studies at BYU-Idaho in 2017.

He is married to Ashlyn Iguco of Sparks, Nevada. They have a five-month-old son together, Ziggy.

On Saturday, Lincoln said he was doing a Nigerian-themed fashion show for fun. He has five to seven friends who are co-designers and help him put the show together. His wife, along with his friends, model his creations.

Lincoln said his goal was to make it accessible to everyone, regardless of their culture or location.

“The problem I had with my first dress was that people saw it – it was good, but it was only for Africans, it looked good on black people,” Lincoln explained. “How can I change his mind?” Therefore, the fashion show will bring some clothes to the top. Upcycling is a great thing where you only change two things in an outfit. You can take a piece out of the sleeve and replace it with another piece of fabric.

Lincoln’s mother ran a fabric store while he was growing up, but his true passion emerged when he got to BYU-Idaho.

“I decided to have my own label, to be my own person,” he explained.

He said he made his own connections while serving a two-year Latter-day Saint mission.

“I had a reputation for being a well-connected elder. I didn’t want to rely on someone who would make me a relationship. I wanted to learn how to make my own ties. I made a couple for myself, a few for my dad. My dad wore his ties to the meetings (people were) like, ‘Where did you get those ties?’ He is like, ‘My son will prepare them,'” he explained.

Lincoln honed his tailoring skills by making his own clothes, such as shirts, pants, and shorts.

He shows 30 to 40 different clothes at the fashion show.

There will also be Nigerian food, music and trivia.

“Being at BYU-Idaho, I feel like every time I meet someone new, I get some questions. Like, ‘Oh, your English is good. Have you always known English? Where did you learn English?’ Nigeria is an English speaking country,” Lincoln said.

Ashlyn is also excited about the trivia. She says that she always learns something new about the country from her husband.

“When we first got married, I had the wrong idea of ​​Africa,” says Ashlyn. “I didn’t know Africa had highways or big houses…so I think this is what I’m most excited to share with the public, to show that our perception of Nigeria or Africa in general is wrong in some ways.

If you are interested in purchasing tickets to the event on Saturday at 6pm at the Veterans Hall, 480 West 2nd North, Rexburg, click here.

“Lincoln put a lot of work into this and it’s amazing to see his dream and vision come true. We hope people can see it,” Ashlyn said.