Essence of the Peacock: Showcasing Olayinka Ola

Olayinka Ola has worked in fashion since she was sixteen years old. Beginning as a model in Los Angeles, Ola knew by the time she graduated high school that she wanted to be a fashion designer. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Fashion Design from Otis College of Art and Design, before founding Ayo Collections, her very own label. The past few years have seen many impressive accomplishments for Ola, including being named Best African Female Fashion Designer at Seattle’s 2024-25 African Achievement Awards, participating in New York Fashion Week, and showcasing her work at January’s Black Panther in Concert event at Benaroya Hall.

Now through March 9^th, Ola’s Essence of the Peacock showcase is on display in Bellevue Square, featuring six thoughtful and meticulously crafted designs. While she seeks inspiration in various elements of nature, Ola is most inspired by the peacock, a bird she describes as being unmatched with any other.

“I see that in my designs,” she says. “My designs have elements of one-of-a-kind inspirations, […] not something you’ll find anywhere else.”

The peacock’s splendor is evident in Ola’s creations – vibrant fabrics, impressive draping and oft-literal plumage are common in her work. Each of her pieces pursues a “wow factor,” from iridescent overlays to intricate beadwork. The showcase’s centerpiece is an emerald green gown with dazzling beaded bodice, paired with a harness of peacock feathers, which Ola says is “actually the essence of the peacock.”

“She’s the main dress behind this whole line,” Ola says with visible pride. The dress’s high-low design and long train is meant to imitate the long feathers of a peacock’s tail at rest, with the harness evoking that same plumage on full display.

Another dress, made with an iridescent blue fabric, is one that Ola sketched with movement in mind, taking a risk in hopes that the gown would reach its desired effect once outfitted on a model. The results are dazzling.

“Most times when I draw up or sketch the idea I want in mind, it ends up looking a little different and better,” she says. “She’s meant to look like a peacock with the colors, but it ends up looking like a jellyfish.”

When asked what this showcase means to her, Ola says, “It gives me more steam to go higher and do more, because a local designer like me is being heard.”

See the Essence of the Peacock showcase, featuring six pieces by Olayinka Ola, February 20^th through March 9^th at Bellevue Square as part of our celebration of Black History Month through the Lens of Fashion.