THE NIGERIA FASHION WEEK 2012

On Thursday, November 8, the Nigeria fashion week event kicked off as fashion designers all over the world gathered at the Muson centre, Onikan, to showcase their various designs. It was such an elaborate and fun filled event. Out of the 50 designers present at the event, 20 were foreigners.
The auditorium was full to the brim as many who missed last year’s show obviously turned up this year. Fashion icons, international guests and celebrities were also present at the event. While it was easy for some to gain entrance, others writhed their way through as it was strictly by invitation and security guards gave no room for pandemonium.

Apart from Nigerian designers, top designers from countries such as Ivory Coast, South Africa, Kenya, Gambia, Canada, London, France, Italy, Spain, Australia and many more countries were in attendance.
The show was divided into sections; morning sections were from 12:00pm to 2:00pm, while evening shows were from 6:00pm to 8:00pm. Red carpets started an hour to the show.
The first day show was launched with the designs of Debby African Stitches, Abuja and ended in the evening with Frank Osodi, Lagos.
Day 2 show started with the going green collection and ended with Adebayo Jones, London, while day 3, the last day, started with Befenchy Couture Jewellery, Lagos and ended in the evening with Fred Eboka, Johannesburg.
Also, a cubicle was allocated for over 30 individual and group exhibitors and companies during the 3 days fair.

Guests were mesmerized as models paraded on the run-way, displaying the piece of each designer. Also, the models appeared elegant with their flashy make ups, high heel shoes combined with attractive accessories.
This event was organised by legendary gold limited in collaboration with the world fashion organisation and the federal ministry of culture and tourism.
Annually, the Nigeria Fashion Week, NFW event provides a huge platform for manufacturers of garments, fabrics, hair and beauty products to display their capabilities.

Surprisingly, the team for last year, ‘’Going Green’’ was repeated this year, many wondered why this was so.
Lexy Mojo Eyes, president NFW responded by saying the team was repeated for a purpose. ‘‘Indeed, beyond the success recorded in 2011 (as shown with the CNN report), we realised that many of us had linked the theme ‘’going green’’ only to the green colour without really understanding that it was much more than that. So the real question is, how does fashion contribute to the improvement of the environment?

Our modest contribution to the search of answers to some of the questions above led us to the ‘’going green 2’’.
This year, other activities are planned in addition to the ‘’going green’’ collection which is a runway show that includes all participating designers, who designed outfits in line with the preservation of the environment. This is the reason why Desmond Majekodunmi, an internationally acclaimed environmental activist, is part of this year’s event.
However, some of the designers expressed their gratitude to the organisers of the event and promised to come again next year.
Anne Mpinga, the CEO of Kipusa designs, Kenya, said the event gave her the privilege to meet designers from other parts of the world; it also gave room for networking. ‘’The NFW show is a wonderful event because it provides opportunity for interacting with other designers from other countries and seeing how they incorporate their own tradition into fashion’’, she said.

‘’Nigeria fashion week is a good event, it gives opportunity for fashion designers to learn from each other, besides, the show has really opened my eyes, I thought fashion was in the Gambia until I came to Niger’’, said Ida Sallah, president, Association of Gambia Designers.
AdewaleShittu, CEO, Fabade Toppy, said Nigeria fashion is multicultural, engaging and dynamic and it reflects tradition. ‘’The only thing we do now is fine-tuning what has already been established and bringing it into the 21st century. The population of Nigeria is overwhelming, thus fashion is inevitable in the activities of Nigerians in particular and Africans in general. We have wedding ceremonies, birthday parties, launching, funeral and lots more, so fashion cannot be divorced from African history. This broadly explains the significance of events such as this’’, he said.
Despite seemingly positive comments, some of the exhibitors complained of not making sales, saying perhaps the publicity was not much.

The NFW is a deliberate initiative by Legendary Gold limited to demonstrate to those who still doubt that fashion goes beyond mere entertainment. Fashion is indeed serious business. And if rightly managed by professionals, and funded by the state and private sector, it can generate significant revenue and contribute greatly to the GDP of our nation and in the process improve the lives and standard of living of our local communities especially that of the women and youth.