The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Fashion designers

  • Erelu to fashion designers: don’t imitate others

    Ekiti State Governor’s wife Kayode Fayemi, Erelu Bisi Fayemi has been a strong supporter and patron of the African Fashion Week London (AFWL) since 2012. She speaks with Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME on the challenges hindering the growth of African designers in the global market, her plans to establish Ekiti Entrepreneurship Week, her dream of the yearly fashion event holding in August in London, among other issues.

    You have supported AFWL since 2012. What are you looking forward to at the ninth edition this year?

    I am truly pleased to have been a part of AFWL’s work since 2012, when the Founder of AFWL, Ronke Ademiluyi, asked me to be the Patron of AFWL 2012. The 2012 event was really nice and when I attended in 2018 after a number of years had gone by, I was very impressed to see how much AFWL had grown. In 2019, I am looking forward to seeing more designers and more of a connection with a new generation of Africa based designers who could do with international recognition.

    How do events, such as AFWL, contribute towards the reputation of the African continent?

    Events, such as AFWL, remind the world that the African continent, in all its diversity, is rich in all areas of fashion. Fashion is an integral part of our identity as Africans. Through our various textiles, tapestries, embroideries, hairstyles, jewellry, permanent and non-permanent tattoos, we tell stories that reflect our history, values, complexity and uniqueness. Through events, such as AFWL, we showcase our creativity and the ways in which we celebrate every new dawn through dressing up in ways that reflect occasion, mood and convention.

    What do you think has hindered African designers from achieving the same success that western designers have achieved?

    There are many factors responsible for this. I will mention just a few in no particular order. First, there is the uneven access to global attention via international media attention. There is the perception that you cannot get anything coming out of Africa that can be better than what an Italian or French designer can come up with. Second, there is the issue of access to international markets, which is a fall out from the first challenge I identified. Third is the problem of finance. Without adequate capital, designers cannot produce at scale, will not be able to invest in marketing and advertising and cannot overcome production hitches caused by weak infrastructure such as electricity, poor roads and so on. Fourth is the sensitive issue of realistic pricing. I am aware that there are high production costs associated with fashion all over the world. However, the markets are different. Just because designers sell an outfit for $500 in London or Paris does not mean designers in African countries can charge the same rates. Yes, there are many who will buy but most people certainly will not do so on a sustainable basis. There is a designer in Nigeria who made nice outfits for me a few years ago, I almost had a heart attack when I got the bill! Even if I can I afford to pay, I might want to prioritise other things other than spend so much on a single item, when there are people around me with school fees and medical bills to be paid.

    Could you tell us about any fashion-related projects in Ekiti?

    I am starting a project with young designers and dressmakers in the State. In October 2019, we are going to have the Ekiti Entrepreneurship Week and a component of that is going to be devoted to exhibiting the works of Ekiti designers as well as a fashion show. The fashion industry can help create jobs and wealth. We also have a weaving industry in the state which needs to be revived and promoted. I am going to be actively involved in that, too, through collaborations among my office and the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and Social Development, the Directorate of Employment and the Council for Arts and Culture.

    As the AFWL Global Ambassador, what will you like to see this platform achieved?

    I will like to be able to draw attention to the need to invest in women and girls. The economic, social and political empowerment of women is very important. No development is possible without taking into consideration the needs of half of the population. I see the fashion industry and its entire value chain as one way in which we can promote the voices and creativity of both women and men, with an emphasis on paying attention to the fewer opportunities that women have for growth and development.

    Why do you think African fashion has recently come to the forefront?

    I think industry watchers and citizens around the world now understand that Africa has been at the forefront all along. Whatever it is – creative designs, originality, colour, wearability, glamour, pizzazz, grace, elegance, attitude, you name it, we have it!

    What does the future hold for African fashion and organisations,s such as AFWL?

    The future is quite bright for African Fashion and AFWL. We should focus on the things we do well and not worry about imitating others. You can only be the best version of yourself otherwise you end up as a poor imitation of someone else. No African Fashion designer should be aspiring to be the next Coco Channel, Tom Ford or Vera Wang. We have fabulous designers who can claim the world as their own. It would be my pleasure to continue working with AFWL to play a role in that.

  • Don’t compromise on quality, fashion designers advised

    A renowned fashion designer, Bolaji Olumoh, has admonished fashion designers and entrepreneurs not to compromise on quality.

    Olumoh, the Chief Executive Officer of Bolaji Sparks, a male fashion conglomerate, gave the advice in an interview in Abuja.

    The fashion chief with a clothing line ranging from traditional wears to shoes, among others, said the industry had its peculiar challenges, but admonished designers to be true to themselves.

    “Put your head up, be true to yourself and don’t compromise on quality, because after collecting money from your clients, quality is what will make them come back or run away from you.

    “Therefore, don’t compromise on the quality of your work and don’t try to exploit your clients; anything you cannot sell to people with low income, you will not be able to sell to anybody.

    “You need to be considerate in fixing the price for your products; making it big is a gradual process; don’t rush to hit it big, you may fall easily,’’ he advised.

    On the level of patronage for his brand ‘Bolaji Sparks’, the Kano-born graduate of Law from Ilorin, Kwara State, said it had been good, saying: “We keep growing by the day.”

    He, however, said the mentality of Nigerians about indigenous products has been encouraging. “But then, seeing the kind of quality we have, that perception is changing,” he said, adding that despite the high cost of fueling generators because of lack of steady electricity supply, the firm has been trying its best.

    The designer called on the government to step up sensitisation on Nigerian-made products, adding that the government should provide better infrastructure, soft loans and incentives for young fashion entrepreneurs.

    The fashion icon said that young Nigerians with passion for fashion should follow their passion to break-even in the country.

    “If fashion is your passion, pursue it; don’t do anything that is not your passion, you are just going to be a stranger there, you are not going to last.

    “However, if it is your passion, even if you fail, you will be happy to get up and get back on track,” Olumoh said.

  • Don’t compromise on quality, fashion designers advised

    A renowned fashion designer, Bolaji Olumoh, has admonished fashion designers and entrepreneurs not to compromise on quality.

    Olumoh, the Chief Executive Officer of Bolaji Sparks, a male fashion conglomerate, gave the advice in an interview in Abuja.

    The fashion chief with a clothing line ranging from traditional wears to shoes, among others, said the industry had its peculiar challenges, but admonished designers to be true to themselves.

    “Put your head up, be true to yourself and don’t compromise on quality, because after collecting money from your clients, quality is what will make them come back or run away from you.

    “Therefore, don’t compromise on the quality of your works and don’t try to exploit your clients; anything you cannot sell to people with low income, you will not be able to sell to anybody.

    “You need to be considerate in fixing the price for your products; making it big is a gradual process; don’t rush to hit it big, you may fall easily,’’ he advised.

    On the level of patronage for his brand ‘Bolaji Sparks’, the Kano-born graduate of Law from Ilorin, Kwara State, said it had been good, saying: “We keep growing by the day.”

    He, however, said the mentality of Nigerians about indigenous products has been encouraging. “But then, seeing the kind of quality we have, that perception is changing,” he said, adding that despite the high cost of fueling generators because of lack of steady electricity supply, the firm has been trying its best.

    The designer called on the government to step up sensitisation on Nigerian-made products, adding that the government should provide better infrastructure, soft loans and incentives for young fashion entrepreneurs.

    The fashion icon said that young Nigerians with passion for fashion should follow their passion to break-even in the country.

    “If fashion is your passion, pursue it; don’t do anything that is not your passion, you are just going to be a stranger there, you are not going to last.

    “However, if it is your passion, even if you fail, you will be happy to get up and get back on track,’’ Olumoh said.

     

  • Fashion designers to set pace this year

    Fashion designers to set pace this year

    NIGERIA has produced some of the best fashion designers and Lagos is a great place to find them all in one city. We all know that Lagos is the city to look towards for emerging fashion talent, as it is where clothing is made experiment with. Today’s fashion has been an unavoidable part of our life as clothing is a basic need in man’s life. And the fact remains that the story of fast-growing fashion industry is not complete without the contributions of highly creative and talented fashion designers whose works are earning the respect and admiration of fashion stakeholders at home and abroad. Here are some fashion designers who will set the pace in 2018.

    Mai Atafo Inspired (MAI)

    His work ranges from pretty red carpet glamour to trendy statement casual pieces. Mai Atafo established and runs his clothing line Mai Atafo Inspired (MAI) as he worked in a full time job. Mai Atafo Inspired (MAI) specialises in glamorous red carpet dresses for women and suits for men. His designs are versatile, timeless and notably classicist.  Mai is Senior Brand Manager turned luxury designer.

    Ejiro Amos-Tafiri

    Ejiro Amos Tafari is one of the fastest growing brands in the Nigerian fashion world having stormed the fashion industry after emerging the best student from the Arts and Garment Technology Department of Yaba College of Technology.

    Lisa Folawiyo

    Lisa broke into the fashion scene and took the fashion community by pleasant storm. She sparked a new revolution in red carpet couture by embellishing her collections with sequins, mesh fabric, layers and the like. She made a name by churning out fantastic designs. That she draws inspiration from a myriad of sources is evident in her skilful blending of styles, textures and fabrics. Her designs rocked on and off the fashion runway in 2017.

    Sandrah Tubobereni (TUBO)

    Sandrah, the Creative Director of TUBO, an emerging Nigerian designer, best known for her creativity in redesigning the traditional African bridal outfits, wedding dresses and stylish ready-to-wear fashion clothing, came into the Nigerian fashion scene in November 2014 when she switched from her career in Business Development and Finance. She’s one of the most incredibly talented young designers around. This creative designer knows the ABC of the fashion industry. Within a short period, she has carved out a niche for herself on and off the runway.

    Olakunbi Oyelese of April by Kunbi

    With a vision to be ranked among the best 10 designers in Nigeria, Olakunbi Oyelese boasts a large number of celebrity figures in Nigeria. April by Kunbi is a fashion label that specialises in couture and ready to wear fashion for women who place a premium on the principles of fashion, fit and functionality.  April by Kunbi is one that came to our awareness with sparkling form-fitting dresses that radiate much sexiness as well as confidence. Her wide ranges of highly versatile and wearable collections have lots of shiny sequined fabric the brand is well known for.

    Toyin Lawani of Elegante by Tiannah Styling

    Toyin worked with high quality and exquisite fabrics, showcasing the beauty of velvet, chiffon, satin and lace. She uses quality vibrant fabric to produce contemporary pieces designs that are her signature. Almost all the women of calibre have two or more of her designs in their wardrobe. She’s one lady who’s changing the way we look at lace and satin fabric.

    Lanre Dasilva-Ajayi (LDA)

    Lanre’s brand first arrived in the fashion scene in 2005 with iconic 1940’s couture signature designs, a result of what has evolved into a much more modern and cutting-edge brand and a full-blown fashion house. The label’s collection includes couture, off the rack, and accessories such as hairpieces and statement jewellery. Regardless of the label’s strong historical design roots, LDA creatively combines pattern, print, exquisite and even traditional fabrics to produce day wear, evening wear, gowns and cocktail dresses that bridge time and make the label successful within and outside Nigeria.

    Adebayo Oke-Lawal

    Adebayo the Creative Head and founder of the Orange Culture brand was selected by Fashion Scout London as one of the beneficiaries of the-ones to watch – award for Autumn/Winter 2017 during the London Fashion Week has a multitude of talents. His label caters to the needs of the modern man.  And the brand’s appeal is to the diverse, multi lifestyle of the modern day gent.

  • FASHION DESIGNERS REWARDED TOO

    ASIDE the show, laughter and music at the ‘January 1st Concert’, seasoned comedian Alibaba also rewarded entrepreneurial fashion designers.

    During a segment of the concert tagged ‘A Stitch in time contest’ Alibaba called on stage some fashion designers from the audience to compete for a chance to win a brand new sewing machine worth N100, 000 and N300, 000 reward.

    Given three hours to sew and complete their designs from scratch, the selected few went on to pick volunteers from the audience so as to model for them.

    After three hours, the designers ascended the stage with their models respectively and a winner was decided by the audience and judges which included Uche Nnaji and Mai Atafo.

    The winner went home with a brand new mechanical sewing machine and N300, 000 reward.The first and second runner up however, were also gifted N200, 000 by an individual from the audience and another N100, 000 from another impressed personality from the audience.

    Alibaba also emphasised the need for Nigerian youths to dabble into an array of crafts as skill acquisition is one of the keys to stay afloat, especially in these trying times.

  • Fashion designers laud BoI’s N1bn fund

    Fashion designers laud BoI’s N1bn fund

    •Demand production hubs

    Few months after it launched the Nollyfund, an initial program limit of N1billion and single obligor limit of N50million for individual loans for the Nigerian motion picture industry, Bank of Industry (BoI), has extended the same facility to the fashion industry.

    The project which was launched penultimate Tuesday, is part of the bank’s support for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), meant to boost the creative arts industry in Nigeria.

    Managing Director of the bank, Mr. Rasheed Olaoluwa, who noted that Nigerian fashion designers are one of the most creative in the world, said the fund was an initiative under the Gender Unit of the bank, and also targeted toward women-owned businesses only.

    “There has been a lot of talk about SME funding, but with less action. This is why BoI has decided to increase its funding initiatives to cluster creations.

    “BoI has so far recognised 34 cluster creations nationwide to drive our funding initiatives. So, we are able to tailor each cluster based on its peculiarities.

    “We are excited about this fund because of the impact it is going to make in promoting job creation, especially among the youths because the fashion business globally is worth about $1trillion.

    “And with the growing population of over 170 million, increasing purchasing power of the middle class, it is obvious that the fashion business is, and will be a money spinner for Nigeria’s economy in the next few years,” he said.

    President of the Fashion Designers Association of Nigeria (FADAN), Mrs. Funmi Ajila-Ladipo, who lauded BoI for the initiative, however proposed the funding of a fashion production hub, which she said is central to the challenges of Nigerian fashion designers.

    The FADAN boss also urged the management of the bank to provide training, build capacity and guidance for budding entrepreneurs in the industry, adding that funding is not the only challenge facing the industry.

    Ajila-Ladipo’s thoughts were supported by other fashion designers at the event, and Mrs. Stella Awoh, Head of Yaba College of Technology Fashion School, who urged BoI to also provide support for fashion interns and graduates to set up their businesses.

    Awoh disclosed that the college churns out about 450 graduates annually, who mostly end up roaming the streets because they had no funds to establish businesses.

    Mr. Olaoluwa received a rousing applause by the fashion designers, having assured them that he would look into their request of a production hub in the country.

    He encouraged the fashion designers to consider e-commerce platforms as a viable marketing alternative.  “We see an opportunity to support Nigeria’s leading fashion businesses, to increase their production volumes and quality, thereby making them more competitive in both the domestic and international markets,” he said.

    Mr Babatunde Joseph, Head, Large Enterprises of the bank, said the bank had put in place risk management systems to monitor the loans.

    Joseph said the criteria for the loan would be a five per cent deposit of the loan sum, two reputable guarantors, a bank guarantee, and most importantly, a business with a consistent cash flow.

    Joseph said referral from standard, relevant association would also be needed to facilitate the loans, and a maximum of five million naira only would be given out to individuals.