However, Nigeria (to the awe of many), made fashion news this past week after one of its biggest cities, Lagos, hosted a Fashion Week event. This event, a product of major fashion revival in the country, drew significant international attention, attracting buyers from all over the globe, many of whom lauded Nigerian designers for their keen eyes for refreshing color, appealing design, and unique, funky style, a mix of prints, patterns, traditional cultural materials, and an eye-catching blend of West meets East detailing.
"For me, Nigeria represents a fun individualism," a guest said, a sentiment many others echoed.
This "fun individualism" was displayed by many featured designers, my favorite of which was Nigerian designer Ituen Basi, who stunned guests with her line of clothes featuring a newspaper-inspired print. The fun and funky design caught the eye of of many buyers, who are looking to infuse such design into international markets.
As a Nigerian, I am quite proud and optimistic about the rise in international attention to Nigerian designers. I think that this attention is positive for Nigerian fashion markets and good for Nigerian entrepreneurs and industries including textiles, manufacturing, shipping, and more. Nigeria has the potential and the resources to make valuable contributions to make to the fashion world, and I hope that this will be realized.
How do you weigh in? Do you feel that their is enough attention paid to designers from third-world backgrounds?
0 comments:
Post a Comment