7th February, 2014
Funsho Arogundade
Eccentric Nigerian-born London-based fashion designer, Emmy Collins, is fast becoming the unofficial fashion police. After thrashing top actresses including Genevieve Nnaji, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde and Rukky Sanda, he has found a new culprit in Mercy Johnson, who some bloggers over the weekend tagged her picture ‘sexy’.
But that ‘sexy’ appellation seems to have riled Collins, who took to his website to lash out at the actress. The designer not only tagged the actress classless, he described her as ‘so cheap’.
“Mercy Johnson looks so cheap here that if cheap were to be animated today, it would most definitely not want to be associated with Mercy Johnson. Yes, she seemed so hideously dressed in that hideous dress…I don`t even know where to start or end, the N3k Tejuosho dress, akpola shoes, the “mgbekerish” pose, the walls behind her (background), foot mat, et al. Yet some bloggers deemed it appropriate to tag this picture right here “sexy”. Kai, sexy don suffer ni. Abasi mbo, Chineke no n’eluigwe, Oluwa! What did we do to deserve this?” Collins wrote on his website.
The designer continued: “…More often than not, I wonder if these sort of classless half-baked celebrities that we are bedevilled with aren`t God`s idea of punishment for all the iniquities we commit against him daily. We have “afÍ anu” celebrities that are ineffective in all spheres of life, be it politics, fashion, etc. Tell me a Naija celebrity that has influenced any fashion trend?…Okay, Mercy, here is the deal. If you gonna be showing your mansion in Ajah, shouldn’t you be spending some dosh on your style as well?”
When P.M.NEWS Entertainment Cafe contacted Mercy’s publicist, BigSam Media for response, the PR firm said they would not want to dignify a character like Collins with a response.
“I think the guy is an attention seeker who wants to use some notable celebrities to launch himself back into reckoning. He deserves no response,” an executive of the firm said.
In July last year, Collins was at the receiving end of some people’s ire when he hit out at star actress Genevieve over a backless dress outfit designed by Deola Sagoe, which she wore to the EbonyLife TV Launch.
With signs that Genevieve had no halter underneath the dress she wore, days after, the eccentric designer wrote on his blog lashing out at the actress that she needs her bra all the time.