Are Nigerian Designers Actually Being Sidelined ?

—-If  So , Why ?

The red carpet of the recently held 8th edition of the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards  (AMVCA )has been rolled up , leaving tales of the high octane fashion events trailing . Good to see that this year that more than 80% of the invited guests turned up in African designs especially Nigerian brands . So a question such as this should not be up for discussion just after our Nigerian designers have shown what stuff they are made of , or should it ?

This year, a Nigerian brand- Veekee James ,who styled actress – Osas Ighodalo ,  had the good fortune of  picking  the title of best dressed unlike the 2020 edition where we lost it to a Russian brand – Dona Matoshi – a Kosovo-Albanian fashion brand, worn by Big Brother Ex – Housemate – Mercy Eke .

While we are still celebrating this win alongside other fashion designers that gave us good , proper and creatively intelligent fashion vibes at this global event , let us take a look at other global platforms that our Nigerian designers have lost out in their 5 mins of fame courtesy our very own celebrities .

Nollywood & our Nigerian Music have one thing in common and that is – Celebrities . Now these celebrities are also bound by their creative talent and most importantly – FASHION , and there is a loud yet muffled appeal for our celebrities to do better by our local brand , especially when they have the opportunity to showcase our local talent to the world .

Some of what we witness on a daily via Nigerian celebrities are as follows

– Foreign brand mentions in musical lyrics –  eg Versace , Gucci , Fendi …..to rhyme with their lyrics

– Constant tagging of foreign brands in their social media content  – While some say its because the Nigerian outfits were purchased, hence they do not deserve a tag . We ask – What about the foreign accessory ? was it not purchased as well ?

– Video coverage of them shopping on the floor of  theses High brow foreign brands- Hardly you see such content posted on social media with a local brand .

– Identity crisis. Some believe that because many of these celebrities did not growing up with money, their embrace of Luxury foreign brands show that the have arrived .

– People are more concerned with name over content and aesthetics. No place for authenticity .

It is clear to see that some of these foreign brands understand the mileage their brand will get when they style one of ours. So much so that some of them even pay our celebs to wear their outfits . Then , if this is the case , why are our designers not taking that opportunity as well , or are they actually being sidelined ?

Now if some of these or all of these are true , there is much need for the following questions to arise

-Nollywood did it , our music industry is killing it internationally presently so when will that time come for the fashion industry to take their place ?

-When will our celebrities begin to appreciate those Nigerian  brands that stood by them in their days of little beginnings , styled them for page content etc ? Instead of passing them off when they now “make it ” .

All these unanswered questions with seemingly justified answers is the reason why our fashion still struggles . However things can be corrected one celeb at a time . the moment we start having a sense of patriotism , things might just take flight and like  other social platforms , the Nigerian Fashion brand will have its day .