Sponsored by the Guaranty Trust Bank, the event held at the tastefully furnished GTB pavilion within Oniru Estate at Water Corporation, Victoria Island in Lagos. Hundreds of guests – young and upwardly mobile as well as the adults thronged to the venue to see and purchase items at the many retail fashion stores like Ejiro Amos Tafari clothings, Ituen Basi, Kimono collection, David Wej, Kiki Kamanu to mention a few.
Within the premises was the craft village where the Nike Art Gallery, founded by the iconic Nike Davies Okundaye and other craftsmen and women showcased their works like shoes made with local fabrics. Everyone who visited appreciated the immense creativity showcased. Middle aged-women were seen making wonderful patterns on white fabrics with cassava flour (Semi-liquid lafu). This lent to the credence that our culture is a goldmine that can be packaged and marketed to the outside world. What is needed is the support of the private sector which will promote the enterprise like what GT Bank is doing.
Inspiring Master classes
For the young men and women who have started out in making a career out of the fashion industry, quality information and wealth of experience was imparted at the training and workshop by top fashion celebs like Caroline Rush, Claire Sulmers, Sam Fine and Tilahun Bethlehem and four others. Popular make-up artistes, Sam Fine urged the trainees to step out of the box and have knowledge of the industry they are in.
Speaking about his two decades of experience in the beauty industry having worked with Naomi Campbell, Kevin Cooper, Alex Week and Vanessa Williams, the American who was in Nigeria for the first time said, “You can’t wait for the job, you have to get to do something. I was working for Naomi Campbell’s colleague when she saw me and I got a call to work for her as her make-up artiste. That led to other jobs. You have got to know what you want in this beauty industry,” says Sam Fine.
While answering questions, he had a practical make-up exercise. Ethiopian fashion entrepreneur, Bethlehem Alemu also urged the audience to be focussed and get trained in order to excel in the industry. The classes were indeed insightful.
Glamorous Runway Fashion
Top fashion designers across the globe showcased their haute couture and splendid designs at the fashion runway. Top executives from corporate bodies, fashion enthusiasts and celebs were present at the runway which held for two nights. A model casting call had been held weeks before the event for a search for models for the fashion weekend. Designers like DZYN, Nuraniya, Asiwa Osedume, Samuel Noon and others showcased their designs. Indeed it was an unforgettable weekend.
Fashion Industry: A Potential Goldmine
Perhaps, while the government searches for an elixir to the current economic woes being faced by the country, the fashion industry might just be one of the palliatives we need to revive an ailing economy as seen in Paris, London, New York and Milan. In UK, the industry provides over 797,000 jobs and hosts some of the biggest fashion brands in the world such as Alexander McQueen, Paul Smith, Next, Marks & Spenser to mention a few, making it the largest employer of all the UK’s creative industries. New York City, on the other hand, is home to over 900 world renowned fashion companies in the US and provides approximately 180,000 employees with $11 billion in annual wages, generating nearly two billion dollars in tax revenue each year. Given these impressive economic figures from the big fashion cities, it can be easily imagined what the impact of turning Lagos into a global fashion city will be on the Nigerian economy.