Who We Are.
The driving force behind Emerald The Label is none other than Emerald Udoka.
As a self-taught designer and seamstress from childhood, expressing oneself through clothing has always been the motivation for creativity.
Emerald, born to Nigerian parents, spent the early years of her life in Nigeria. Her love for fashion started at a very young age. She recounts sneaking her mom’s old clothes, cutting them up, and hand sewing dresses for her dolls. As she grew older, she convinced her parents to buy her a sewing machine, and continued not only to sew doll clothes with it, but to being trusted with the family’s mending and hemming needs.
Emerald always had a burning desire to see herself as a fashion designer, spreading and sharing her love for beauty and bold colors with the world, as far as it can reach.
The Woman Behind The Brand
When she was nine years old, her world shattered with the loss of her mother, causing her to relocate to the other side of the world, ending up in the suburbs of Edmonton, Canada.
It was there where a few years later, a neighbor, who was an experienced seamstress and whose kids Emerald used to babysit, would recognize Emerald’s deep desire for sewing and invite her to learn pattern making with her.
At thirteen years old, Emerald with the help of her neighbor, made her first ever item from design, to pattern, to sewing — a cherry dress! Emerald recounts wearing that ‘cherry dress’ proudly and endlessly, taking pride in compliments from people around her.
Emerald went on to receive her Bachelor’s Degree from DePaul University in Chicago, with plans to pursue a career in law, convincing herself that her dream of being a designer was nothing more than just a dream and did not fit into her reality.
However, this dream was never meant to stay just a dream. Keeping a sewing machine that she bought from Amazon and regularly sewing, her true desire to create beauty to share with the world was reimagined, and The Label was created. Through clothing, Emerald hopes to inspire women to be their true selves, to never give up on their dreams, and to feel the most confident while doing it.