This is a very good development. Nigeria can gain foreign exchange by exporting Nigeria fashion collections.
LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) - A model struts the runway wearing a
flowing newspaper print gown in this African megacity where international
high-end fashion buyers are looking beyond the country's bleak headlines to
uncover the next new thing.
There have been steady efforts to turn Lagos, a city with
a fearsome reputation, into a fashion destination. They reached new heights at
the MTN Lagos Fashion & Design Week that ran from Oct. 24 to 27 and drew
European high-fashion brands such as the United Kingdom's Selfridges & Co.
and Munich-based MyTheresa.com to Nigeria for the first time.
Ituen Basi's newspaper inspired Spring/Summer 2013
collection was among 39 collections spotlighted at the city's latest major
fashion week. The Nigerian's fashion collection evoked fun and glamour through its use
of print and color - characteristics which have come to define the vibrant
local fashion scene.
With local brands seeking wider platforms and
international retailers hungry for novelty, designers and buyers see
opportunities for collaboration.
"There's something about the fresh, the unknown, the
possibility of seeing a new brand springing forth into the limelight. ... These
are becoming interesting to people outside Nigeria," said Omoyemi Akerele,
the fashion week's founder and creative director.
An encouraging response to African-inspired designs by top
Western labels gives buyers confidence that designs straight from the continent especially Nigerian fashion market
will also sell.
"Over the past few seasons, there's been a strong
trend for print," said Bruno Barba, the brand public relations manager at
Selfridges. "If you look at the collection of Burberry inspired by Africa
last year; there was also Vivienne Westwood, Paul Smith. ... They've made that
inspiration quite mainstream now. So, for us, it was interesting to take that
trend and take it from its roots in Africa."
Online retailer MyTheresa.com, which ships top designers'
clothes including Miu Miu, Givenchy, Lanvin and Isabel Meron to clients in 120
different countries, is also looking for products in Nigeria that will sell
well. The company hopes that will set it apart from the competition in a
fast-paced industry.
"For me, Nigeria represents a fun
individualism," the company's buying director Justin O'Shea said. He also
said that MyTheresa.com was looking to work closely with designers and adapt
products for their clientele if needed.
Previously, several Nigerian fashion designers have helped put
the West African nation on the global fashion map.
Deola Sagoe has gained recognition from U.S. Vogue editor
Andre Leon Talley and Oprah Winfrey. London-based Duro Olowu is considered one
of Michelle Obama's favorite designers. Maki Oh has dressed American singer
Solange Knowles and Hollywood actress Leelee Sobieski from her Lagos workshop.
Jewel By Lisa, who has also dressed celebrities, designed limited edition
BlackBerry mobile phone skins and jeweled cases for Canadian manufacturer
Research In Motion Ltd.
While looking to Nigeria fashion could bring much-needed novelty
to clothes targeted to global audiences, it could also endear a Nigerian
clientele. Though the majority of the nation lives on less than $2 a day, the
nation's wealthy elite have a growing appetite for top-shelf brands. Luxury
goods stores are increasingly opening in a country where seemingly gratuitous
displays of wealth are the norm.
"Nigerians are part of our Top 10 highest-spending
foreign customers," Barba said. "It felt right for us to try and find
a response that would appeal to them, excite them and be over and above what
they already buy, almost as a recognition that they're an important part of our
consumer base."
JEWEL BY LISA
Fashion week after fashion week, Lisa Folawiyo, the
creative director of Jewel By Lisa, is a consistent Nigerian designer. She
recently started retailing at the New York-based online luxury store Moda
Operandi and continues to draw attention from international buyers and labels
looking for a modern interpretation of African style.
Her Spring/Summer 2013 collection is named
"Fula" after the Fulani women it draws inspiration from. The Fulani
are a nomadic people spread across several African countries, including
Nigeria. Their women typically have fine traits and slender frames, not unlike
the models that took to the catwalk with soundtrack that crossed the
high-pitched melody of the African guitar and the heavy bass of house music.
The Jewel by Lisa collection turned traditional loop
earrings into a motif that repeated itself throughout her satin fabrics across
stunning color combinations.
ANITA QUANSAH
LONDON
Anita Quansah London is a prolific one-woman operation
based in a London workshop. The Ghanaian-Nigerian fashion designer describes her work
as a "labor of love." She sells to a global market including Asians
and Europeans. She says she is now in talks to build a diffusion line to meet
up with the growing demand of her work that has caught the eye of such
designers as Christian Delacroix.
Her Spring/Summer 2013 collection is dramatic for
"ladies who want to make a statement when they walk in to a room."
Her show-stopping bib necklaces are embellished with
intricate bead work. The beads include imitation coral beads used for
traditional Nigerian fashion outfits in southern Nigeria. Some bibs are lined with chicken
feathers which also evoke traditional heirlooms.
Her dresses were understated and mostly in solid black,
ceding the limelight to the jewelry that included suggestive chain designs
inspired by bondage. Quansah said she wanted to show "women that weren't
afraid to be sexy."
LANRE DASILVA
AJAYI
Designer Lanre DaSilva Ajayi is well-known in Nigeria's
fashion scene for her love of 40s elegance. International buyers such as
Selfridges & Co. expressed interest in her designs for retail at their UK
stores.
Her ultra-feminine collection used a color palette
ranging from cool nude and turquoise to warm orange and gold. She showed
flowing silhouettes and easy-to-wear maxi dresses, using chiffon, raw silk lace
and the lace used in traditional Nigerian outfits to carve European shapes.
Her clothes are for the woman on the move, bold and
sophisticated.
JOSH SAMUELS
The MTN Lagos Fashion and Design Week 2013 was also the
culmination of a months-long competition for new talent. The competition winner
was menswear designer Josh Samuel, an architect turned designer that offered a
geometric collection.
"I like things organized and appropriate," said
Samuel who won the equivalent of $25,000 and the opportunity to be stocked in
some Nigerian boutiques
His collection called "Casanova" included
finely tailored clothes with classic checkered and houndstooth patterns and
matching string ties.
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