The Importance of Nigerian Fashion
From traditional crafts to Lagos Fashion Week, step inside Africa's most exciting industry.
The importance of the Nigerian fashion industry
Nigeria remains Africa’s most populous nation with the 2017 United Nations Population Fund Annual Report stating it has a population of 195.9 million with 32% being aged 24 or under and only 3% of the population over 65 and thus of retirement age. Underemployment remains a challenge and job security a recurring concern for those of working age. The NEPC has a mandate to diversify the country’s dependency beyond the oil and gas sector and a 2014 McKinsey and Company Country Report asserted that with the right reforms and investments Nigeria had the potential to be one of the world’s largest economies by 2030.
Look 4, Ejiro Amos Tafiri, Spring / Summer 2020 (2019) by Ejiro Amos TafiriOriginal Source: Lagos Fashion Week
Within a decade, Lagos Fashion Week has mirrored the growth of Nigeria’s fashion industry in size and sophistication, attracting global attention. Going by GDP data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the “textile, apparel, and footwear” sector has averaged growth of 17% since 2010.
Backstage at Lagos Fashion Week 2018 (2018) by Cynthia AbilaOriginal Source: Lagos Fashion Week
“Nigerian craftsmanship is a unique selling point and presents a lot of potential for value added products and job creation to the growing community of people we work with, vital for Nigeria, a country with an unemployment rate of over 33.10%.”
Omoyemi Akerele, Founder of Lagos Fashion Week
Backstage at Lagos Fashion Week 2018 (2018) by Ejiro Amos TafiriOriginal Source: Lagos Fashion Week
“If we go down memory lane Nigeria had 167 Textile Mills and had 300,000 workers in its employ hence it was the second largest employer of labour after government…[But] Due to the economic liberalization of the 1980s and influx of foreign goods, and the taste Nigerians had for foreign goods the Industry began to decline and companies began to close in droves to the extent that today the Textile Mills had shrivelled to 24 employing no more than 20,000 workers.”
Hamma Kwajaffa, Director General of the Nigeria Textile Manufacturers Association
Woven Threads: The Future of fashion and retail in Nigeria. What Next? (2020)Original Source: Lagos Fashion Week YouTube Channel
“Woven Threads is an exploration of the link between the future of Nigerian fashion and textile craftsmanship in Nigeria. At SHF, we constantly reinforce the role fashion’s value chain plays in the growth of the sector and its potential for contributing to Nigeria’s creative economy – from textiles to final consumption.”
Omoyemi Akerele, Founder of Lagos Fashion Week
Meet 4 contemporary designers using traditional crafts
Tastes in the domestic market seem to be shifting, with strong indications within the Nigerian fashion industry showing a renaissance of sorts with many designers actively choosing to produce collections either entirely made from indigenous woven fabrics or heavily featuring them. All geo-political zones of Nigeria have a myriad of weaving and fabric making techniques for contemporary designers to draw upon is illustrative that craft is far from dormant and teaming up in a more deliberate way with the fashion industry is a promising course of action.
Kenneth Ize, Spring / Summer 2018 (2017) by Kenneth IzeOriginal Source: Lagos Fashion Week
#1: Kenneth Ize
Kenneth Ize has contemporized the use of Aso’oke, a fabric made by the Yoruba from the South Western part of Nigeria, creating highly sought after men’s suiting and scarves.
Day 1: Ejiro Amos Tafiri (2017) by Ejiro Amos TafiriOriginal Source: Lagos Fashion Week
#2: Ejiro Amos Tafiri
Ejiro Amos Tafiri has also used aso’oke in their womenswear to winning effect.
Emmy Kasbit, Spring / Summer 2018 (2017) by Emmanuel OkoroOriginal Source: Lagos Fashion Week
#3: Emmy Kasbit
Lagos Fashion Week Fashion Focus Fund Winner Emmy Kasbit has championed the use of the Akwete, a woven fabric made by the Igbo of South Eastern Nigeria in his men’s and women’s collections.
Emmy Kasbit, Spring / Summer 2018 (2017) by Emmanuel OkoroOriginal Source: Lagos Fashion Week
“Akwete is a unique handwoven textile produced in Igboland. Traditionally the weaving is done by women because they believe it’s an abomination for men to weave it. There are over a hundred motifs but only two or three can be in one piece of cloth…We decided to venture into sustainable fashion because we realized not a lot of people were doing it and we wanted to tell an African story with the use of indigenous fabrics and references to our culture.”
Emmanuel Okoro, Creative Director of Emmy Kasbit
IAMISIGO, Spring / Summer 2017 (2017) by Bubu OgisiLagos Fashion Week
#4: IAMISIGO
IAMISIGO is a brand that in their most recent collections embraced the use of Damboyo and Madakare that are native to the Hausa-Fulani of Northern Nigeria.
IAMISIGO, Spring / Summer 2015 (2014) by Bubu OgisiOriginal Source: Lagos Fashion Week
“We've experimented with hand-woven textile design and patterns called Danboyo and Madakare…These are all done in the ancient dying pits in Maitsudau, Kano in the north of Nigeria… The weaving is done by the men exclusively and the women are not included in this process…Personally, I believe bridging the gap between the craft and the design is very important… It is evident that the world of traditional textiles in Nigeria has been left behind, Celebrating the craft in our traditional textiles will ensure that these practices do not die out and remain relevant on a national and global scale.”
Bubu Ogisi, Creative Director of IAMISIGO
