Founder, Creative Director, Entrepreneur, Artist & Fashion Designer
Born in April and raised on Berckley Street by Moloney in Ebute Metta, Lagos, Ibitayo Abiodun Jnr, professionally known as Bayano, is a multidisciplinary entrepreneur, artist, fashion designer, and creative director whose work is rooted in culture, resilience, and the belief that creativity can transform lives.
Growing up in Ebute Metta exposed Bayano to both the beauty and realities of urban life. Like many young people raised in working-class communities, he experienced firsthand the challenges of limited resources, financial constraints, environmental pressures, and the constant need to create opportunities where few existed. Yet, it was within these same streets that his imagination was shaped and his creative identity began to emerge.
From a young age, Bayano developed a fascination with fashion. While many children were simply wearing clothes, he was studying them. He became known among his peers as one of the few kids who consistently paid attention to style, fit, and presentation. His curiosity eventually led him into local tailoring and fashion shops throughout his neighborhood, where he spent countless hours learning, observing, and developing an understanding of garment construction, fabrics, and design. Those early experiences laid the foundation for what would later become a lifelong creative journey.
Driven by an entrepreneurial spirit, Bayano launched his first fashion venture, BayanoWears, while still young. The brand served as an early platform for experimentation, allowing him to explore his passion for clothing, branding, and self-expression. As his creative perspective evolved, so did his ambitions. In 2022, Bayano introduced Grown Soul, a project that reflected a more mature understanding of identity, culture, and storytelling.
However, it was through this evolution that the foundation for his most ambitious vision was born: FOTY.
FOTY, short for Fate Of The Youth, is more than a fashion brand. It is a long-term cultural vision dedicated to documenting, inspiring, and representing a generation of dreamers, creators, builders, and innovators. While still in its early stages of development, Bayano views FOTY as something much larger than himself—a platform designed to outlive trends, transcend products, and create lasting cultural impact.
At its core, FOTY explores themes of resilience, ambition, identity, pressure, and possibility. The project is heavily influenced by youth culture, football, streetwear, music, architecture, military discipline, and the everyday experiences that shape people and communities around the world. Rather than creating fashion solely for aesthetics, Bayano approaches design as a form of storytelling, using garments, objects, visuals, and experiences to communicate ideas that resonate with a global audience.
Beyond clothing, Bayano’s work spans multiple creative disciplines. As an artist and creative director, he has developed concepts, visual identities, editorial campaigns, product designs, illustrations, and cultural narratives that reflect his ongoing interest in documenting contemporary youth culture. His creative process is deeply rooted in observation, drawing inspiration from everyday life, personal experiences, football culture, global fashion movements, and the streets that raised him.
Among the projects developed under the FOTY ecosystem are FOTYTUDE and FOTYFIED. FOTYTUDE functions as an ongoing art project and creative archive exploring self-expression, resilience, culture, and identity through fashion, photography, illustration, design, and storytelling. FOTYFIED serves as an extension of the brand’s philosophy, representing the mindset, attitude, and cultural perspective associated with the FOTY community. Together, these initiatives demonstrate Bayano’s commitment to building not just products, but an interconnected creative universe. Additional projects are already being conceptualized, each designed to expand and strengthen the FOTY philosophy in new and innovative ways.
Bayano’s ambitions extend far beyond independent fashion. He envisions FOTY becoming a globally recognized cultural institution capable of collaborating with some of the world’s most influential brands, including Nike, Timberland, Rolex, Levi’s, and other iconic companies whose histories align with craftsmanship, culture, and innovation. For Bayano, these aspirations are not merely commercial goals but opportunities to create meaningful partnerships that elevate youth culture and amplify creative voices worldwide.
Despite his growing vision, Bayano remains grounded in the principles that shaped him. He continues to advocate for originality, perseverance, and the importance of building one’s own path. His work consistently reflects the belief that circumstances do not define destiny and that creativity can serve as both a tool for personal transformation and a catalyst for community impact.
Today, Bayano continues to develop FOTY as a long-term cultural movement—one that bridges fashion, art, music, entrepreneurship, and storytelling. Through every sketch, concept, garment, campaign, and creative experiment, he remains committed to documenting the spirit of a generation while building a legacy that can endure for decades to come.
For Bayano, FOTY is not simply a brand.
It is a vision.
A philosophy.
A creative ecosystem.
And ultimately, a lifelong commitment to shaping the future of youth culture.
