New York, London, Milan and Paris, have long been touted as the fashion
capitals of the world. With merging boundaries and shrinking trade ties, many
African cities are emerging in the fashion world map. And cities like Lagos,
Johannesburg, Dakar and Nairobi, are waiting to ink their name in this fast
moving industry.
While the fight to finish wasn’t easy for these cities, yet they proved
themselves to be unparalleled incubators for fashion and design, connections
for the creative visual arts and most importantly inclination towards
sustainable growth, financial and commercial hubs. A recent Forbes Magazine
study of most influential cities in the world listed Johannesburg, Cape Town
and Lagos. In this context, the work of Style House Files (SHF) and its flagship
event, Lagos Fashion and Design Week (LFDW), holds utmost importance.
As per Omoyemi Akerele, CEO of SHF & Founder of LFDW, creating both a
platform and setting an agenda that posits African fashion as every bit as
desirable has not been an easy task. Africa is diverse and dynamic in
terms of culture, historical references and commercial viability but the
fashion and apparel sector within Africa is still often met with a degree of
uncertainty and fascination. The event can play a major part in offering buyers
an opportunity to see and purchase clothing, providing a platform for the
wealth of talent in the industry, and capacity building in terms of education
and regional government policy.
Meanwhile Akerele and her team have tied up with the right channels to showcase
African designers. One such successful relationship is with SHF’s showcases at
Pitti Immagine, one of the most prestigious international fashion platforms and
the British Fashion Council’s Fashion Scout shows held during London Fashion Week.
These events allowed instantly recognisable names on the Nigerian fashion
landscape such as Lisa Folawiyo, Grey Projects and Gozel Green to gain further
visibility and international sale. Akerele firmly believes beyond global
markets, there’s lot to be served in the home turf. They want to make both the
international fashion market and pan African fashion market co-exist.
Bright projections
According to UNDP projections, Africa will be home to the largest population of
working adults in the world with middle class and high net worth individuals of
equal relevance to brands by 2040. Realising this potential, luxury fashion
major Michael Kors has been an ‘early adaptor’ with his standalone store in
Cairo and an outlet in Cape Town’s fashion concept-store, Callaghan. Then there
are mid-priced retail stores and brands such as Grey Velvet, ADA and Zebra
providing affordable styles.
Domestic companies are finding it worthwhile to invest in the fashion industry
now with Nigerian Export Promotion Council supporting the ‘Made In Nigeria’
campaign, and the Ugandan government’s African Growth Opportunity Act, which
targeted the garment sector. As Europe continues to contract both in terms of
economy and ageing population and insatiable appetites for all things fashion
in alternative locations both for established brands and newcomers are
unavoidable.
Source: Allafrica.com Tuesday, 14 November 2017