Abiola Okoya The daughter of a billionaire, Abiola Okoya has tremendous passion for helping people. This stylish second child of Chief Razak Okoya, the proprietor of Eleganza Group of Companies, who is famous for his wealth and philanthropy, is now the face of Africa Fashion Week in Nigeria as its Goodwill Ambassador. She spoke with Oluwabusayo Adekoya on the first AFWN that is starting in Lagos tomorrowThis is the first time in history, Nigeria will host the biggest platform dedicated to African inspired fashion, African Fashion Week Nigeria (AFWN) how do you feel about it? Very excited at being invited to partner and be branded a fashion ambassador of such an international event and also a pleasure collaborating with the founder Princess Ronke Ademiluyi. Despite the seeming lull in the economy, the response has been great and encouraging.The AFW have been hosted in other cities like London and New York. Why has the team decided to bring it down to Africa, especially to Nigeria? It is simply that Nigeria is the biggest economy in Africa and this is where everything is happening on the continent. There is creativity, energy and of course the money is here too. And to think that we call it Africa Fashion Week and it's in London and nothing ever happened in Nigeria means we needed to revisit that and that is why we are now having it in Lagos in addition to other cities. AFWL in a few years of existence has become a landmark event on the world fashion calendar. It has had over 40,000 visitors attend the events and has showcased over 200 emerging designers to a global audience (50% of which are Nigerians). It has recorded over 1 million hits on its website since 2011 and has appeared on over 100 printed magazines and journals and 300 blogs and websites. The publicity and benefit to the designers on their platform, especially the young budding ones, are immeasurable. From the influx of young emerging Nigerian designers who apply to showcase their collection at the London fashion event, it was inevitable to create Africa Fashion Week Nigeria to give them a platform to showcase their creativity in Nigeria. The maiden edition of AFW Nigeria takes place on the 17th &18th of May with the Charity Gala Award night on 18th May at the Eko Hotel and Suites.Any expectation for this year's AFW? AFW will dedicate what will be known as 'the AFW Fashion Fund', to provide young talented designers with start up funds to aid the growth of their business and assist them into becoming a global brand. That is a youth empowerment scheme. Besides the fashion, fun and entertainment there is the charity aspect of the evening with the theme: Fashion for Awareness. Our charity of choice is Sickle Cell from which select Sickle Cell Clubs/Foundations will benefit directly from charitable donations as a way of raising awareness about the disease towards finding a cure for it.What's your take on young upcoming designers in Nigeria? At present, I won't say they are doing very well and this is what has given birth to this platform. There are lots of undiscovered designers in the nooks and crannies of Nigeria. It's a continuous event whereby upcoming designers have the opportunity to showcase their talents. Really, the government is not aware of the challenges these budding designers are facing. If you want to make an outfit, you just think a tailor is at the corner and most of them don't want to be identified as tailors because they probably had acquired more education to improve their skills. This event, we believe will give them the opportunity to be exposed and discovered. Creativity certainly, is not lacking but what is needed is a platform for them to showcase their talents and finance to actualize the talent. Can you say that Nigerian Designers can compete with other known international brands in the fashion industry? Of course, with the right kind of exposure and financial backing.Looking back to when AFW was first introduced to the world, has there been any improvement on the show and the designers? It has provided professional showcasing platforms and fully supports designers by creating amazing opportunities for established or up-coming African inspired designers. It is all about fashion and creating sustainability within the fashion Industry. The platforms have provided fresh faces in the modeling industry the opportunity to walk on the runway and work with designers. It has become an internationally recognized event dedicated to promoting African fashion in Europe and has been showcased on main stream media like Financial Times, The Metro, CNN, BBC China, BBC Africa, The Voice, The Telegraph, Evening Standard, Nigerian Tribune, This Day etc. MNET Africa Magic has also signed on as our major media partners for electronic media with an assurance of generous pre/during/after event publicity for the maiden edition of AFWN. Since AFW was created for Africans, why has it not been showcased on African soil until now? Ronke Ademiluyi, the founder as you probably know is based in London and it was easy for her to use her base to nurture the idea and this she has done consistently in the last 3 years.What are your challenges been the Goodwill Ambassador of AFWN? Obviously, raising funds for the cause and getting people to keep their commitments but however, I am very grateful to Senator Daisy Danjuma, my father, and Sir, Chief Molade Okoya Thomas for their unflinching support. Without these two individuals singularly championing the cause I can tell you that AFWN 2014 would have remained just that a dream. But that is not to also take away from other individuals who supported us by buying tickets, giving us publicity and others who lended their moral and financial support but request to be anonymous.
What does fashion and style mean to you? Fashion for me is personal. It must reflect beauty and elegance while not being too seductive. The primary purpose is to be attractive.
Where do you see AFWN in the next five years? It is an idea whose time has come and I believe it will continue to flourish and gain momentum based on the response it has garnered as Fashion has become a tool (or rather a language) of interactions between races. We recognize the need to create an atmosphere that would stimulate cross-cultural interactions amongst various nationalities through fashion.
The 21st century is generally regarded by many as an era that promotes extraordinary ideas to create new opportunities. This approach includes empowerment through the acquisition of new skills, access to new technology and training. Consequently, the event aims to create a unique opportunity for fashion designers from Africa to share creative ideas and to acquire new knowledge in confronting new challenges associated with the ever competitive fashion industry.
African fashion brands now influence a lot of fashion around the world however the designers face the enormous challenges of promoting their products in the new markets. The planned event would promote and facilitate new partnership between fashion designers and wholesalers, thereby creating new strategic business alliances and job opportunities for many.What are the things you can never be caught wearing? Poor Quality, while I am a designer freak, I also recognise and appreciate talent. Baba Toyin does most of my local tailoring and you can hardly distinguish between his tailoring and that of say Maufechi. Except that while he is an artisan (copyist), Maufechi is a world class designer. And I am sure every fashionista has someone like that within their structure especially with Aso ebi.What has been your inspiration over the years? My training in growing up is to be result-oriented. While in Eleganza, i was well exposed by my father as i was never assigned a task based on my gender.Who is your biggest role model? Hmmm, it depends in what field. There are people who especially in the last decade that have been of significant support to me materially, mentally and spiritually. These individuals know themselves and i need not mention their names.
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