Best Wardrobes in Britain: Julie Adenuga

No one has more energy at 10 a.m. on a grey Thursday morning than Julie Adenuga. Fresh from filming, editing and promoting her new show Work In Progress, Adenuga is camera-ready and raring to go, and all before coffee. As you would expect from the second youngest sibling in one of Britain's most prolific musical families and a DJ in her own right, the soundtrack to her Best Wardrobes in Britain shoot is a heady mix of party-starting R&B and Afrobeats, although she changes songs with each outfit to curate the right kind of mood.

Once we're in the spirit of things and switching effortlessly between Raey tailoring and Corteiz tracksuits, we're eager to ask about the rest of her wardrobe—is she a handbag collector? A jewellery obsessive? Well, one thing you won't find are any jeans (her house is a denim-free zone), but if you're a shoe fan, you'll be entertained. "Bags and accessories aren't really my thing; I prefer to spend my money on shoes. It already takes me long enough to get ready without having to choose between five or six different bags," she muses as she sifts through a wardrobe of carefully archived red carpet gowns. The shoes in question range from box-fresh Nikes to killer stilettos, and should you be wondering, they have their own immaculately organised wardrobe separate from the rest of her collection.

Whether you know Adenuga from her beginnings at Rinse FM, her stint hosting shows for MTV and Comedy Central, her live tours and karaoke nights or her celebrity interviews, once you've seen her you'll remember her. She may be small in stature but her presence is mighty, and she comes alive on camera with an ease that reiterates why she's such a sought-after talent. Although she may be used to asking all of the questions, this time around, she's comfortable being the subject, and we took the opportunity to ask her all about how she gets ready in the morning. From embarrassing fashion faux pas to being a front-row mainstay, keep scrolling to read about the intriguing style evolution of Julie Adenuga.

You’re a born and bred Londoner. How did growing up in the capital influence your style?

A lot of the things that I thought were cool to wear happened because I grew up around boys. Growing up in North London, specifically surrounded by grime and music, everything that was cool to me was tracksuits, Nikes [and] Reebok classics. The look of a "roadman" was my favourite style. I didn't have any female fashion icons going up at all, and I loved baggy men's clothes, baggy clothes—actually [like] Eminem used to wear; I don't know why. But the dungarees and hoodies? That was my thing. You wouldn't see me in crop tops, low-cut, cleavage, all that stuff. I was just drawn to warm, comfy trackies and T-shirts. Any hand-me-downs were from my bros, so it might be an old Moschino something from Junior.

So, designer hand-me-downs and tracksuits aside, what is your earliest fashion memory?

Oh, it was a red dress that my mum made me wear, and it was almost like lederhosen, you know with the straps at the top? Yeah. The skirt was huge, like a big Princess-style skirt, and then there was a floral pattern on the chest. If I look back at pictures of myself as a kid, that's what my mum and dad were dressing me in, and I don't know why. I don't know if one of the aunties had also bought their daughters one and they wanted me to look like that. It's so depressing. But that's my earliest fashion memory of when it wasn't my own choice. When it was, I would wear Spice Girls merch. That white T-shirt that had their faces in the "S.P.I.C.E." That and terrible, terrible BHS trousers. As a teenager, I'd shop in Jane Norman, but I never really had an idea of what I was doing—I wasn't looking for clothes that made me look good; I just wore clothes because I had to.

As I got older I never used to wear trad [traditional Nigerian dress] unless I was going to a party or something. We'd have stuff made, but I hardly ever wore it. By the time I started learning to sew, I was probably around 16 and I got a sewing machine from Argos and I would make my own clothes. It couldn't make anything big, and if you tried to sew any fabric like denim, it'd be a wrap, but I'd go to the fabric shop in Edmonton Green and come up with my own thing. I used to love taking things apart. I would take the handle off the door in my house just to put it back together. And I think I had a moment where maybe I was just looking at clothes, and I thought, "So with that shape, you get this." It was literally just me experimenting. When my brother and his wife got me a proper Singer sewing machine, I was gassed. I was so happy I didn't have to learn how to thread a bobbin properly and all that stuff. I'd do little mini photoshoots in my bedroom in the outfits that I'd made and then rope my friends in. I've probably got rid of them now. I do miss them.

What if a brand approached you now—would you want to collab on something and try designing again?

I'm a huge Haute Le Mode fan and when Luke does his reviews of fashion shows and things I think, "Oh, this just doesn't come naturally to me, I don't have that natural skill." But what I do like and what I think I am good at is being a consumer of things. My forte is being able to tell you what makes sense and what doesn't in terms of what you're trying to achieve, but I don't think I could design from scratch; it's something you really have to work on and study. I'll put on a pair of jeans and identify why the silhouette is wrong or why the bottom should be open and wide-leg rather than elasticated, but the product has to be made first. I'd be a great brand consultant.

If we looked through your wardrobe on any given day, what could we expect to find?

Now? Crop tops, easily. Bras that are not bras, bras that are not for under-wearing. Cargos all day long. Jogging bottoms all day long. What else would you see? Oh, unitards! Long-sleeved, short-sleeved, square-neck, high-neck, low-back, full-back, spaghetti-strap, flared-bottom, split-in-the-hem, short, mid-knee, mid-thigh—but always in black. Just an array of those for comfort and practicality. When I can't be bothered to put on a whole outfit, I know that if I just have a nice skirt that I can wear over my unitard, or shorts if I'm not bloated, I can get away with a tight bodysuit and a nice pair of trainers and it still has a look to it. Put a bomber jacket on top of it, and we're laughing. It feels like the foundation of any outfit when I'm trying to do a quick get-out-the-house.

In an interview with Style and City Diaries podcast you talk about working closely with stylist Rhea Francois. What clothing brands best represent your style evolution, and how has that changed?

A.W.A.K.E Mode never lets me down. I wore an A.W.A.K.E dress to the Brits the other day—they get me. Burberry is another one—I always imagine that Burberry is my mature self when I'm not wearing a tracksuit and some trainers. If I want to put on a nice outfit and get dressed up, Burberry is a go-to. Daily Paper is another big one—I don't know how they do it but across the board, I can find dressed-to-the-nines outfits and lounging-around-the-house-quickly-pop-to-Sainsbury's outfits as well as everything in between. It's so different from when I was younger and I didn't wear any brands other than Nike. Nike trainers still just do it for me, no pun intended.

If I think about what's on my mood board now, it's the "It girl mum." It's like, "I'm not dressing the same as I was when I was 17 but I still look super swag." It's Tracee Ellis Ross, it's Kelly Rowland, it's Hannah Waddingham. They look fly, and they're not trying to dress how an "older" person "should". It's very polished. Before I started working with Rhea, COS was that to me—those clean, sharp, Scandinavian silhouettes that are super minimalist. Whereas I think those three have an extra element of like… sexiness and aren't afraid to show breaks of skin in there. So it's not as low-key as COS, for example, but it's still something you can drop your kids off to school in and then go to dinner later in the same 'fit.

Those who have followed you for a while will have known you with a shaved head, braids, an afro—how does beauty play into how you choose to experiment with your look now?

Well, wearing my natural hair as often as possible started out as a challenge. Because I had a shaved head for 10 years and my hair started growing back, it would have been easy for me to just start wigging my way through life. But my immediate thought was, "Why? Why not wear your natural hair?" It was just a challenge for me to see what would happen, and I'm not gonna lie—it's fucking long. I went from being able to get ready in 20 minutes to taking two hours. But over time, I'm learning how to take care of my natural hair, to see a trichologist, to figure out what products I should be using for healthy hair, you know.

I'm pushing myself past my comfort zone and getting to a point where I don't get annoyed with my hair because I want it to do things that it doesn't do. And all of those things over the last four years have been amazing and I actually feel great. I feel better. I like how much time I put into my hair now, and when I come home, I'm not running around still trying to do emails or anything like that. I think, "No. I'm gonna go and spend an hour putting my hair in little twists or whatever for the week." It's an act of self-care. I was a confident person before but I think this is really, really taking my confidence level to a different place.

What was your favourite red carpet or event outfit that made you feel like you could walk into a room and own it?

There have been a few. There's the Damian Campbell outfit I wore to Junior's Mains fashion show. The jacket was stunning—a white blazer with black feathers that go all the way around the back. Such a beautiful shape and a fucking beautiful jacket. I wore it with a plain black miniskirt but it's actually part of a full suit. The other was actually an accident. We were walking through a shop and I saw this CFCL dress, and it's so plain and simple because there's nothing to it, but I just love the wrists and that neck design and it was actually too big for me but when I put it on I was like, "No, this is a vibe." It was the last one in stock. Those two looks stand out for me.

Who is on your list of all-time style icons?

Maya Jama without fail. I think it's easy to say she looks good because she's beautiful, but at the same time, finding things that compliment your style is a skill. Sometimes she'll just be wearing like, a black leather miniskirt, jacket, black boots and a cap, and she just looks like her. I guess that's what it is—her style. That's why she's a style icon for me, because she has her look and it speaks to her personality perfectly. Also, Tracee Ellis Ross, as I mentioned earlier. She was the first person I followed on Instagram and I used her page as an actual mood board. I like the way she carries herself and the style choices that she makes. You can tell she loves fashion she doesn't have to wear the baitest brands—there's a level of respect for fashion there. Some people wear stuff because it's "in", and I think she's found a style that works for her and it's a really nice marriage.

You started your career in radio, transitioned into TV presenting and now you have worked with some of Britain's best artists and personalities. When did you realise what you wanted to do with your life, and was it an easy decision?

I'm very good at knowing how I want to spend my time versus how I definitely do not want to spend my time. I know who I want to speak to, where I want to be sitting, what I want to be wearing, where I want to go, what job I'm gonna be working. I'm very, very good at knowing that even if it's challenging or difficult if I want to do it, it gets all of my focus. Equally, saying "I don't want to do this anymore"—that's just the way that I operate. Is it enjoyable? Am I having fun? Am I learning something? Do I feel like I can get something new, like a new skill, earn my stripes and make me a better version of myself? I want to look back with pride at the badges I've collected on this journey of life, and if it's not serving me, it's detracting from my energy.

I dropped out of uni in year one—it was dry. So I had to make a judgement call and think, "Okay, I want to earn some money." I worked in retail until I could close my eyes and still serve 15 people in my sleep. People would come to my queue because I was quick and I'd learned the shortcuts on the keyboard. I knew how to talk to customers, and once I'd mastered the art of being on the tills? Okay, I've stopped now. The next thing was thinking it was my dream to do radio and get on a drive-time show, so that steered me to Rinse FM. I was on the radio Monday to Friday, three hours a day, and oh my gosh, it was so mad. But over time, eventually, I'm like, "Oh, I can do this. I can do it really well. People are enjoying it." And eventually, I know the playlist inside out, when each song is gonna end, and I'll jump in and say something, then play the next tune, but what else though? I want every decision, every choice I make to be exciting to my brain, and if it doesn't do that in any capacity, it's not really worth it.

Who have been your favourite people to interview and what did you learn from them?

KSI is up there. I was so nervous about interviewing him because I really wanted it to be good. He's someone that everybody has an opinion on so it was so important for me to be able to give people a new perspective than what they've seen already. It can be so hard to interview someone like that when there's so much information about them out there, so we spent weeks researching him and it was a bottomless pit of information. You can watch videos, listen to podcasts, read interviews, watch documentaries and read his tweets; you can search his name and go for all the news articles ever written him or scroll through his Instagram. So I tried to think and settle on a new angle. I talked to my brother Jamie because he's got a great relationship with him, and you don't get a guy like KSI in and say, "Okay let's talk about trauma." So it put the pressure on and I was so nervous. But then he came in, sat down and we were just laughing and being very, very honest, and It didn't feel fake. He ended up just reminding me of my little brother. So yeah, that was easily one of my favourite interviews.

Another one was Erykah Badu, I just couldn't believe I was talking to her—I'll never forget sitting in L.A. and hearing her voice on the other end of the phone. Normally with a phone interview, because I'm not in front of you, even if I'm shaking or doing stuff, it's fine because you can't see, but with her, I could hear it in my voice. When she finished talking I was so tuned into what she was saying that I wasn't even asking her the next question because I was still processing her answer. But her presence made me relax and feel at ease. She's fucking amazing.

Other than interviewing Erykah, what's your proudest "pinch me" moment?

My proudest pinch-me moment is always going to be interviewing Jay-Z. That is until I get to interview Beyonce. Or Rihanna. There were moments when I was tripping over my own words, but I just had to remember in my head that he's him and he's done his thing, but you're you, and you've done your thing too. We're just two people having a conversation. It was the same with Alicia Keys. I remember buying her album and putting it into my CD player and reading the lyrics from the Diary of Alicia Keys album, and I didn't think there would be a world where she would be sitting next to me in the Roundhouse in Camden. It's like it wasn't even real to me.

So I've had plenty of those moments, for sure. But Jay-Z stands out because it was at his film premiere [for The Harder They Fall], so it wasn't his usual wheelhouse. I got to interview him as an executive producer and didn't have to ask the same questions about what it was like making an album; it was a new chapter for him and a new chapter for me. I was so excited to be talking to him in this evolved state of who he was as a person. That was super cool to me.

When you set about starting a new project, whether that be a TV show, putting together an event or curating a panel, where does the inspiration come from?

It's boring, but lots of thinking. Just endless thinking and talking things over with my friends. Sitting down, thinking, driving, thinking, going to sleep, close my eyes, get up, write notes in a book, go back to sleep. Think again. But also, watching stuff. David Letterman, Philip DeFranco, Hollywood Reporter roundtable. All of those references live in my brain until there is a moment where it's like, oh, that could be an interview series where you do research and interview people. I think my natural state is to be inquisitive. That comes back to what I was saying before about taking things apart and breaking down why they are, analysing things and hearing someone else's perspective on stuff. Call it nerdy, but for me, there are very intricate thoughts that I don't think anyone else really thinks about because I'm just a bit weird.

I'm reading Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon at the moment, and it talks about having a swag folder of stuff that you just think is really cool. Keep things, take a picture of buildings you like—for me it was my brother's invitation to his fashion show. Or he did a karaoke night ages ago called KaiKai, and they lay the entire venue with a furry carpet so when people arrived they took off their shoes and he gave them KaiKai branded socks. If I ever do an event I want to think about things on that level of detail; they live in my brain until they all merge into an idea. Getting things off the ground comes from having, I believe, a good reputation with people, so that when I call them and say, "I want to do something," they say "Okay" rather than "Why?" It's like stubbornness and a belief that I'm just going to do it.

You set up creative house Don't Trust the Internet and produce and host your show Work in Progress on Youtube. How important was it for you as a creative, as a woman and as a woman of colour to be able to create a show that allows you to set the agenda and tone of voice?

It wasn't that it was important, it was that it was my only option. I didn't think of a show and then go and sit in front of a commissioner and try to explain to them why it's a good idea. I don't have any desire to do that ever. I didn't imagine I would have to go and find a financier who would help me put the money up to do the thing. My only option was to make it exactly how I imagined it would be. And I was open to asking for assistance and help once. No, my only option was to do it the way I wanted to, as a black woman, as a creative. I do not waste any time waiting for people to get on board or for me to be the hot topic of the diversity and inclusion meeting. I don't have any patience or need to even think about that. I want to say, "How am I going to do it? Let's go and do it." The end.

What does a typical day look like for Julie now?

Well, I just moved into a new office, so a typical day for me now is actually being a grown-up! My bag is packed for the office; no more carrying a laptop around and mashing up my back and having to get massages all the time. All my stuff for the next day is ready, so now I'll go to the kitchen and actually eat breakfast, take my lunch in a nice little bag with an ice pack in there to keep it all refrigerated. Then the train. I've got a book instead of being on my phone, and I can have a nice little moment with whatever book I'm reading and a blueberry muffin. Then in the office, I sit down and take a look at my to-do list but always make sure I make room for an hour's lunch. I haven't taken an hour-long lunch break in years, but now I spend that time going for a walk or renting a bike—just being a person and enjoying actually having a break. Go and do some reformer Pilates, whatever. Not coming home, overworking, sitting there stressed out and my sciatica starts kicking in. None of that stuff anymore. Just actually going to work and loving it again.

In the spirit of streamlining your day, if you had to wear one outfit for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Ooh, it would be my Pangaia tracksuit bottoms; they're A*, the best tracksuit bottoms you'll ever find. Then any kind of crop [top], both black with a cropped bomber jacket. That is me. Oh, and then some Air Max 90's, all black.

Are there any pieces in your wardrobe that are particularly sentimental to you?

There is, and it looks like okra stew with red pepper in it. It's a green African print top and a matching skirt. I don't actually know where the skirt is now, but my mum came back from a trip to Nigeria and bought it for me, and when I tried on the top my niece started crying. I said, "Rose! What's wrong?" And she said, "I want that." I told her that anything I ever have in my life, if she wants it, she can have it. And so then she wore the top and I wore the skirt and we took a picture together in it and she would not stop smiling for the rest of the day. For her birthday in May, I'm going to get it made properly for her so that it fits. It means a lot to me because I know how much she loves that we'll have matching outfits. She's just so cool.

What’s the best piece of career advice you’ve ever been given? And what can we expect next from Julie?

The best piece of career advice I've ever been given is from restauranteur and broadcaster Akwasi Brenya-Mensa: "What got you here won't get you there." Which I really loved. We were talking about the projects I'm working on at the moment like Work In Progress and a business that I'm launching later in the year and all the things I've done to get up to this point. And he said to me, "Don't be scared to pick up new things, and go out and ask more questions," because all the things I've got used to here are not necessarily going to push [me] to the next stage. So, "What got you here won't get you there" reminds you that you can't rest on your laurels. That's a really brilliant piece of advice, bro. And if I had a T-shirt-making factory, I would print that on a T-shirt.

What's next? Well, there are two new episodes of Work In Progress coming out and I'm super happy. We've got the KSI episode coming out soon, which I'm very excited for everybody to see, and then an episode with Big Zuu coming after that. I'm excited to see the reception to that episode too, purely because we uncovered a lot of stuff in our research that helped me understand the things that he does and why. Lots of people don't really know him in depth—there's the guy that does the cooking show and he's loud and fun. But we were also able to break down who Zuu is and what he means to our generation.

Thanks for having us, Julie!

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