Fashion influencer Omila Gqoboka’s life took a young detour from the corporate world of economics to the fashion world of helping women discover their personal style and add extra flair to their wardrobe.

Born and raised in Eastern Cape, the wife to Blue Bulls and Springbok prop Lizo Gqoboka is staunch on her stance of image consulting and teaching her followers how to style their everyday wardrobe pieces in multiple ways. 

Possessing an economics background while practising in the field for five years, Gqoboka‘s life-changing moment was after having her firstborn child when she yarned to carve a new path into the styling world. 

“I started a company called Royal Couture Fashion House in 2018 which focused on personal styling, personal shopping and assisting a cover shoot for Bloss Magazine. I was also their fashion editor for their weekly blog post for close to a year. So that’s Omila in a nutshell,” Gqoboka explained.

“Outside of that, I am a mom, a wife and most importantly a child of God which is one of the things that define who I am!”

The proud mother of two who doesn’t entirely believe she is a bona fide influencer as it all happened by chance.

“It was not an international decision that I wanted to become a content creator, no, I just started posting my outfits and showing people how to put items together. I also started a YouTube channel that taught people how to style their pieces and how to value their clothes by showing them multiple times to wear certain items from their closets.

“When I saw a lot of people showing interest in what I was doing, I started being intentional about creating content that people can relate to and learn from. I sort of stepped into being an influencer without being aware of it!” Gqoboka said. 

As a fashion stylist, Gqoboka was able to interact and connect with a lot of other fashion content creators that she’s learnt a great deal. With this, she believes the influencer industry still has room for more unique creators who will bring a different dynamic to the branding industry.

Describing what sets her aside from other influencers, Gqoboka alluded to her “originality, the intention of being true to who she is and not willing to shadow anyone else or their content”. 

Feeling passionate about women empowerment, the fashion guru believes a career as an influencer is lucrative as many have used it as a means of income.