@Shaiguy

Wow! All the photos I missed from the runway. These are beautiful. I'm headed to Eko Hotel now.

Josh Samuels just won the MTN/ British Council YOUNG DESIGNER OF THE YEAR. The kid has some really amazing designs. Even though I was all for WEIZ DHURM FRANKLYN, but I must say, Josh Samuels really deserved it.

big up to the 9ja fa$hion industry



October 29, 2012
European Fashion Buyers Look to Nigeria


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 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 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 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 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."

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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 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 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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Online:

Lagos Fashion & Design Week: www.lagosfashionanddesignweek.com

I grew up thinking every guy at a fashion show was gay. Well, blame that on Hollywood. Models, designers, makeup artists, photograpgers, all gay. That of course was till my "BarBaric STYLE" handler, Bunmi Ologe, and The Borographer went AWOL on me. Thence did my journey begin which to me, was akin to flying outer space.


Lagos Fashion and Design Week 2012 has come and gone, and while it lasted, made a believer out of a fashion stereotyper. I come now with the gospel: flipping through pages of "Elle" or "Vogue" does not compare to being right there, au temple de la mode. The flow of the gowns, the scent of the fresh fabric, it can't be captured...it just can't.


That said, I promise those of you who missed every single day of the Lagos Fashion Week, the photos you're about to see will never take the place of all you missed, but well, when did beggars start having choices?


The exhibition was very colourful, with my favourite stands being the those of Konfidence Fashion ( big brother Confidence. remember?), and the Leather Designers Of Nigeria.


The very first collection to light up a spark on the runway came from a name I'd never heard in Nigerian fashion previously, but it was nonetheless, eye-catching:
KINABUTI


So sitting there all aloof, yet trying real hard to fit in, the collection which called out my indifference was by the Ghanaian, ANITA QUANSAH. This was the real beginning of LFDW2012 for me, and you should see why:

It got a tad bit drab after that, and suddenly, Shades Of Blue by MAI ATAFO, followed by "Weddings By MAI" which together just blew me off my seat. As a fact, all I kept thinking as each model hit the runway was "I need money...I need money". Gentlemen and ladies, MAI:


The runway had gotten so heated up, and Ituen Basi had no plans of cooling things down. Her colourful sassy pieces:


Other designs who made a memorable impression were:
ICONIC VANITY

JEWEL BY LISA

LANDRE DA SILVA AJAYI (LDA)


Then there's this man, EMMY COLLINS, creative, unconventional, and bold:


...and finally, the guest designer of the Lagos Fashion Week 2012, none other than the English designer, MATHEW WILLIAMSON.


Yet again, that still is not all. There were awards for enterprising youths in the fashion industry, most important of which was the Young Designer Of The Year Award won by Udiminue Joshua of JOSH SAMUELS


O yes! That's four million Naira on the cheque, plus other prizes. One thing I can say personally about his pieces is that when I tweeted all the pieces from all the finalists, his got the most retweets and comments.


The Model Of The Year Award went to Roots Odufola from Beth Models, taking home a cheque of one million Naira, and various other prizes.


The pictures have said as much as they can, in a few more words, I'd say I enjoyed myself in a way I'd not done ever before. The Lagos Fashion week 2012 was an experience I'll cherish for a very long time. My eyes are now open to what Nigerian designers can do, especially with the leather designers. I'm still in awe.

If I could mention some minor disappointments, the first bubble to burst would be that of the lead sponsors, MTN. Inadequate publicity of the event meant the first day saw less than 50% butts on seats. They really should have done more. We're aware the sort of PR they unleash on us when they sponsor concerts.


Time too was not duly considered while planning the event. A press conference in Lagos at 10 am? On the Island? On a week day?


During the event, there were a few prizes given away, and somehow one of the organizers was winning a BlackBerry device. Seriously, we should just grow up!


My greatest regret at the Lagos Fashion and Design Week 2012 was the desperate attempt to be "Oyibo". The designs tampered with some African inspiration, however, the organization of the event, the coordination of the runway, and worst of all, the models. The sharp contrast between those attending the event and the models was too extreme. There was too much eagerness to be European. Would it have been so wrong to see such a beautiful African model on the runway of an African Fashion Show?


PLEASE TO SEE THE ARTICLE WITH ALL THE PHOTOS, http://thediaryofabadman..com/2012/10/lagos-fashion-week-2012-keeping-it.html

[quote author=nex]WEIZ DHURM FRANKLYN [/ iquote] I luv weiz's work esp dos frm his butterfly n black summer collection

Ah! I liked his designs O! Up until the moment he started sending male models on the runway in skirts!

nex: Ah! I liked his designs O! Up until the moment he started sending male models on the runway in skirts!

lol datz y its called fashion. Do u v aa pix