By Chudi Ozokafor
“Last week was the Lagos social media week and one of the week’s event discussions was centered around the Nigerian fashion industry. The event at the L’espace store in Victoria island had Eku Edewor, Toke Makinwa, Funke Babs Kufeji, Lanre Da Silva Ajayi, Latasha Ngwube, Isoken Ogiemwonyi, Ezinne Chinkata, Samantha Dimka as panelists. The panelists addressed the controversial ‘African Brands are Inferior’ mindset and what we can do, if anything, to change that.”
One of the major topics that struck me as very relevant was the sudden emergence of fashion houses in Nigeria calling themselves blah blah couture or house of … A resounding point was that there should be a vetting committee because these are actually titles earned by good work and craftsmanship. The committee would serve to curb the uncensored low quality fashion houses popping up which negatively affect the confidence in the Nigerian fashion industry.
On the other hand there are still some designers out there doing some great work, the well known names in the industry like Mai Atafo, Lanre Da Silva, Deola Segoe. These designers have earned their stripes in the industry. DEspite the fact that their pieces are a bit pricey for the average Nigerian, the cost is defendable because of the attention to detail and finishing of these pieces.
The panel also delved into the difference between luxury, and as the panel coined it, “uber luxury” ( excessive luxury). Luxury is being able to buy that 10,000 – 20,000 Naira bag and uber luxury is buying that 100,000 – 200,000 Naira bag without even flinching. Because a lot of Nigerians cannot fit into this spending bracket the world of bespoke and couture remains among a select few who can afford it. The rest of the fashion conscious have to content themselves with less well known and often sub-standard designers.
The Nigerian fashion industry is definitely not where it is supposed to be right now and compared to the rest of the world we are actually kind of backward. There was talk of teaming up with the ministry of education to set up and fund major fashion schools in Nigeria. This would be a step in the right direction and will help to support young start ups and teach them about finishing and doing fashion right. Africa is already emerging as one of the major fashion giants but that is because the rest of the world is generally more interested in what’s happening in our local fashion industries than we are.
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