Dressing up with Emeli Sandé

My dressing room at the Olympic Stadium was right next to the Spice Girls’. It was Geri’s birthday and she had this organic vegan cake. Seeing all the Spice Girls in one place was quite bizarre.

A lot of thought went into the Jonathan Saunders dress I wore for the opening ceremony. We spent weeks discussing it.

When I first came to London I felt liberated. I kept cutting my hair shorter at the sides until I finally shaved it and got a mohawk. It marked a new stage of my life, from being a well-behaved medical student to taking a risk in the music industry.

I met Miley Cyrus at a pre-Grammys party and we bonded over our hairstyles. She said: ‘Oh yeah, we don’t give a f***!’

I had a massive Afro when I was little — my mum was never sure what to do with it. She used to put headbands on me and would stick colourful bits in it.

I’m embarrassed about the clothes I used to wear. Every year after Christmas my sister and I would go to the C&A sale and I once bought a pair of lime-green tartan jeans.

When I started working with Alicia Keys she bought me a green leather Gucci bag. It felt like my big sister sending me something cool. I’d never seen such a fabulous bag.

Alicia is powerful and that’s reflected in her style. I love how she mixes streetwear with couture. She remembers where she’s from, but she’s evolved as well.

I rarely wear anything too ladylike,

I bought a big Rolex with my first pay cheque, but it wasn’t really my style, so I ended up giving it to my dad.