Behind the Scenes: Brand ambassador Aizak Buyondo

Blogger, TV presenter and brand ambassador Aizak Buyondo never went to fashion school but has a natural flair for style which caught the eye of TellusFashion designer Nico Didonna.

Aizak, 32, started his blog about fashion, art and events two years ago and now receives over 2,000 hits a week from all over the world. He attends a-list events including London Fashion Week, the Ralph Lauren parties and the InStyle Magazine party, sometimes hitting three parties a night, but never without a stylish outfit from Nico Didonna.

Aizak and Nico met each other at a fashion show last season at Fashion Week when they were both admiring each other’s style across the room.

Now Aizak provides a face for the brand and borrows pieces from the Soho-based menswear and womenswear designer to flaunt in front of big names in the industry: “Even Oswald Boateng asked me, ‘where did you get that piece?’”, he told us when we met up with him earlier this week.

Nico and Aizak plan ahead for the events Aizak will be attending and construct a look that works for the occasion.

Aizak’s style is identifiable by unusual silhouettes, flashes of bold colour, dyed red hair and layers of accessories. It defies gender and conformity.

What do you think it was about yourself that Nico thought was valuable to his brand?
“My ability to stand out in a crowd.”   

What attracted you to Nico Didonna?
“I really believe in his stuff. He’s got really, really nice clothes, for different sizes, different people. He’s the only designer I know who can create a dress that has six or seven looks. He’s an absolute genius. He is one of the unsung geniuses of our time.”

Being a brand ambassador provides more for the designer than just a clothes horse. Nico uses Aizak as inspiration for new pieces with the conscious thought of ‘can I imagine him wearing it’ as he designs.

We asked Nico Didonna about Aizak’s role in the company. He said: “Aizak as a brand ambassador is able to promote both the brand name and the pieces themselves to an audience that would otherwise be difficult to reach. 

“He really encapsulates the brand philosophy in portraying our luxurious and opulent image. We strive to produce directional, cutting edge pieces each season, and Aizak himself is an eccentric character who represents the brand to its full potential.“

Aizak wears a lot of one-off samples from Nico Didonna which adds to his unique style. Nico also gives him clothing as a thank you. His favourite is a pair of black bondage trousers which can be worn as ordinary trousers during the day and then twisted and tightened at the bottom and secured with their unusual stirrup feature to create a whole new look in the evening.

What is your top style tip?
“Life’s too short to blend in.”

Brand ambassadors and muses are more common amongst the big fashion houses such as Isabella Blow and Alexander McQueen, Agyness Deyn and Henry Holland and Claudia Schiffer and Karl Lagerfeld and it is an important job. Aizak explains that there’s more to it than just being a pretty face: “It’s a very huge responsibility because you have the whole reputation of the company on your shoulders.”

It can be difficult to find that one person who encapsulates your entire brand but if you can there are many benefits, including press coverage such as Nico has received from Aizak’s abundance of friends working as stylists.

It was these friends that invited him to fashion parties and led him to start his blog. Nowadays he is on the receiving end of the party invitations which he is at, on average, three nights a week. 

Aizak also works with Kirk Originals glasses and is also talking with Kokon Tozai to wear their clothing during London Fashion Week.

He is a bit of a fashion dogsbody and believes you have to do lots of jobs to work in fashion and be a person of many talents. On his blog he says that creativity is “the only love I have that has never disappointed me”. He was the menswear expert for Fashot TV Asia and also works as a wardrobe consultant working with busy business men and women from Africa and Asia who don’t have the time to explore London’s shopping scene. A native-Ugandan, Aizak has been in London for ten years uncovering raw fashion talent like Nico Didonna, doing the legwork for his clients.

And with Lord and Lady March once approaching him at a party and saying: “If you’re not a popstar you should be, you look fabulous!” who knows what he might turn his hand to next.

Before we let Aizak head home for a rare opportunity to rest there was time for one final tip.

What are your favourite London hang-outs?    
“Sketch, W Hotel and Dean Street Townhouse for breakfast.”

Read Aizak’s blog here.

SHOP: Nico Didonna.