When we think about the Modern Woman, we think about a woman who can do it all and if there's one woman that embodies that, it's Laila Johnson-Salami.

Fashion label Wana Sambo has released the first part of its new fashion edit titled 'The Modern Woman' which features woman of note who are doing extraordinary things in their chosen fields. For their debut, they chose to feature journalist, women's rights and youth empowerment advocate, Broken Record podcast host and the co-founder of the We Rise initiative, Laila Johnson- Salami.

According to the brand, a 'Modern Woman' should embrace the essence of her femininity without showing too much and a design cornerstone of the collection is modesty. For Wana Sambo's 'Modern Woman' collection, “vulgarity is not an option.”

In a statement released by the brand, they explained:

All cuts, patterns, and drapes were carefully created to channel strength, poise, uniqueness, and sophistication with hints of masculinity and buckets full of feminine edge, Wana Sambo’s latest collection accentuates the best parts of a woman without giving away her power.

The Modern Woman understands that to stand out she doesn’t have to be vulgar but her voice needs to be heard. She seeks equality: She is to be recognized as one who is as good as any man in any role. She, however, understands that men and women are different in certain ways and absolutely accepts it.

The modern woman is unapologetic about her beauty, her brains and her kick-ass personality, which all comes together to make her uniquely HER. The modern woman does not conform to the school of thought that says “she must not threaten the man.” A modern woman accepts that being a woman will probably be complicated and as a result, she doesn’t judge other women for their choices. In the pendulum of equality, women are constantly trying to find a balance between having a family/raising kids while working from home, working a 9 to 5 or being a CEO, etc. Because she understands these struggles are just like hers, she supports other women.

The Modern Woman is: Confident, Dynamic, Humane, Compassionate and Unstoppable, therefore we chose the face of this collection very carefully; Laila Johnson-Salami.

Laila Johnson-Salami is a Multimedia Journalist, an Advocate for women and youth empowerment and the Co-Founder of the We Rise Initiative.

She is a Politics and International Relations graduate from the University of Westminster and is currently based in Lagos, Nigeria, where she runs LJS Productions – a digital media and content creation agency.

She has previously worked at the House of Commons for MP Chris Williamson and Spice Television as a Presenter, Producer, and Voice Over Artist. Currently, Laila Contributes to the Financial Times and Corresponds for the Commonwealth Council.

Credits:

Makeup: @houseofnesha

Hair: @abbeymattheworks

Styling: @shegreatness

Assistant: @aizyq__

Photography and video: @libartystudios