Who runs the world? …Girls!
It’s just got to be those damsels. Their curvy waists swing every piece crafted out of fabrics into life. Their tender physique in bespoke garments makes every design look like a masterpiece. This species of human’s endowment, their poise, their carriage… all of it makes fashion delightful. Women are simply the spice of the fashion world. Without girls, fashion would be as tasteless as sawdust.
Cosmopolitan fashion brand was quick to realise this, and as a result, chose to dedicate its 2025 collection Debonair Demoiselle to honour the sophisticated nature of women across the world. Aside from women being his major customers, Arimiyau Kolapo Mustapha, the CEO of the fashion brand, has a deep respect for the said gender and deeply believes that it’s time to pay them the homage that they deserve.
Here’s Cosmopolitan giving its lovely senoritas their flowers… Isn’t that flattering?
Ladies, shall we check the pieces out and see if we’ll accept the brand’s homage? Let’s do this.
Just how sweet is this one-sided top?! From its fruity choice of colour to its juicy style, there’s no denying its yummy fashion taste. And there’s no refuting its feminine appeal.
Meticulously crafted, this work of art features one of the finest yet rarely used fabrics, Chambray. The material’s thick nature makes it exotic, durable and desirable. It’s no wonder that it’s amongst the top choices for sustainability, minded designers. Cosmopolitan sure knows its fabrics, and it is ingenious and thoughtful of the brand to select such material for this style. It suits it.
The two-piece design consists of a fascinating top with a highly enclosed round neckline. It is sleeveless on one side and styled to have an agbada-like overlay on the other hand. This highlights the creativity of Cosmopolitan’s design team, and it’s evident that the brand is not afraid to explore new ideas and set trends. Made by slightly pleating the fabric to the shoulder area of the attire, the funky sleeve is no doubt the highlight of this piece.
The idea behind the design is professional and shows it was crafted with intention. However, what seems to be missing is the neatness of this work and the finish. If one looks closely, there is a lack of consistency in the pleats, and it simply means that the team needs to pay better attention to detail. Also, this piece might appear better if blended with another colour, say white or even black. It could tone down the flashiness a little, just for those who are colour-shy. It appears as though the design team is sceptical about colour mixing, unsure of its outcome. This reveals Cosmopolitan’s hesitancy to take risks and get innovative with colours. Irrespective, this is a lovely design.
From its back view, this sleeve style gives the Ipele vibe. It’s that piece of cloth that the Yoruba women throw on their shoulder, the one that matches their head tie in their traditional attire. With inspiration drawn from culture, the ‘Yoruba demon’ boss of Cosmopolitan is indeed big on culture and isn’t afraid to flaunt it to the world with his design brand.
Paired with this funky top is a pair of floor-length pant trousers. It has an interesting pleated flay designed hemmed to it at the ankle of both legs. It’s suitable for all occasions, all body types and modest enough for all personalities. Rock this with a pair of heeled shoes, a black handbag bag and some dark shades, and you’ll make an entrance everywhere you go.
This first piece has us in a choke-hold, tempting us to speedily accept Cosmopolitan’s homage to women… but hey, we refuse to get carried away. Onto the next one!
This next attire reassures us of Cosmopolitan’s intention to eulogise women. The mixture of red with white strips creatively gives a baby a pink vibe, which is ladylike. And it’s an intentional move by the brand to depict the colours that women naturally gravitate towards.
For sure, 80% of women had pink as their favourite colour when growing up. It’s obvious that this move is intentional, and we’re loving it.
The two-piece attire features an armless button-down top and a baggy combat-like trouser that’s meticulously crafted with cotton fabric, a popular material that has served the fashion world for decades and counting. This choice of fabric is not only breathable and sophisticated; its ancient existence also symbolises women’s resilience, consistency and cultural legacy. And in transforming this timeless material into a modern style, Cosmopolitan honours the spirit of womanhood that’s ever evolving, but rooted in tradition. Hence, our argument that fashion is a form of art… don’t play!
Meanwhile, the top creatively incorporates medium-sized studded buttons that glitter through the chest of the wearer. It has flaps like collars on the upper part of the top that go around the wearer. Its armless style leaves the shoulders, arms and back bare, accentuating the freshness and tenderness of the female gender’s skin. This style is simple, yet stunning. The back view looks perfect; however, the finishing at the front view is imperfect. It has strands of thread hanging out at the button area. The design is outstanding, and the flaw is quite simple and excusable. But with a goal to be a top designer in the world, unclean finishes just aren’t good enough.
On the other hand, the trousers’ design is not only in vogue, it’s also creatively tweaked with two layers of fake combat pockets both in front and at the back, leaving a unique signature of the brand on the already trendy style. That’s boldness speaking. It’s free and funky, and it depicts the girly nature in every woman across the earth.
In addition to that, the edges of the fake pocket flaps are hemmed with cream-coloured frayed embroideries, which are intended to further make the pants stylish and elevate their desirable appearance. Although the choice of colour for these embroideries isn’t well thought-out. It’s as if the Creative Director of the brand was trying to save production costs and instructed the design team to make use of the available embroidery, whether the colour matched or not. It’s cool, but a better colour could have been used, such that makes the addition pop and not get lost in the design. This feedback is a recurring theme from the first piece….colour. Perhaps it would be safe to conclude that Cosmopolitan has a reservation for colours.
Overall, this is an awesome outfit, and the Cosmopolitan design team did justice to the piece.
Moving on, this next outfit screams elegance, and corporate work just got funkier with this three-piece classy outfit. The Chambray fabric is featured in this outfit yet again… and boy was it utilised in an awesome way, a long-sleeved blazer and ankle-length pant trousers. The flowery prints on this fabric exaggerate Mustapha’s intention to make women realise that they’re at the core of his creations, not just to put food on his table. He is deliberate in making them feel seen by incorporating every object that sparks their interest. Women love flowers, and the peach choice of colour is simply a brilliant idea that caps this design.
The long-sleeved jacket sits nicely on the high-waist pant trousers like a pair of suits. The huge collar flaps are held strong with a ‘stay’, making it fold up and lie neatly at the neck area. The jacket also has a large silver and black button that functions as a hold for the two sides of the jacket. This jacket is sweet-looking, and we get the creativity behind the large collar. However, does it necessarily need to have its tips higher than its shoulder level? To the point where you can see the pointers from the back view of the outfit. That’s highly unlikely.
But the ankle-length pant trousers are sure free enough to make us excuse the flaw on the jacket. With the incorporation of pockets on both sides of the trousers, it’s styled for comfort. The side zip is made invisible, which reflects the brand’s attention to detail and professionalism.
Tucked perfectly into the chambray pant trousers is the inner custom shirt. It is made with a porous chiffon material, which seamlessly matches the jacket prints. The sleeves roll up neatly on top of the jacket at the wearer’s wrist area.
With this piece, one can tell that Mustapha’s team hand-crafted it to showcase how hardworking and career-driven women can be, taking up leadership positions across various niches. We get it. We dig it. And we love it.
Generally, the Debonair Demoiselle 20025 collection has been a delight and must be flattering to every woman who learns of this honour from this brilliant fashion brand. Like every other collection from Cosmopolitan, this one is also a huge success, attracting attention from top luxury fashion stores across West Africa, including RJ4, and The Lotte.
And why wouldn’t it? Every stitch of each showcased piece was crafted with utmost creativity, sophistication and intentionality. It is indeed a tribute to the legacy that women wear and an appreciation of the future that they are shaping. If this brand paid attention to the feedback it receives, there’s no stopping it.
Thank you, Cosmopolitan; homage accepted. And cheers to every woman out there. You run the fashion world!
