The 2015 edition of the St. Eve West
African Show held in Lagos, and fashion enthusiasts had a thrilling
experience. In this interview with Peter Uzoho, originator of the show,
Evelyn Okere, speaks about what to expect from her team this year
Your 2015 edition of the St. Eve
West African Show was successful. How would you assess last year’s show
side by side the objectives you and your team had hoped to achieve?
First, I want to thank God for standing
by us and assisting us in seeing our vision come to reality. Last year,
we focused on the strengths of the participating fashion designers and
we wanted to really project their creativity so that the world would
know them and see their designs. Even though we learn each day and every
fashion show we organise makes us better than the previous year; we
still thank God that last year’s event was a huge success and we would
learn from our mistakes and do something greater and better than what we
achieved last year.
What were some of the things you could have done better, and what should the public be expecting at the next edition?
Like I said before, we can work towards
getting better with time. For this year, we want an event promoted
beyond Lagos or even Nigeria. We want to embrace fashion designers from
far and wide. We want to also bring in creative rookie designers who
have never graced the fashion runway before. We want to use our platform
as an avenue to bring out and share their creativity. We also want to
go bigger than a Lagos crowd, we want to set targets that are beyond
anyone’s imagination. We want to take Nigerian fashion to a different
level.
Can you tell us those that participated in the two-day fashion show last year?
It was a full house last year. The event,
which trended on Twitter with the hash tag #FashionIsArt, commenced on
Saturday 28th November with an open exhibition with different indigenous
fashion crafts persons displaying their products for sale and various
guests going away with bags, jewelleries, crafts, clothes, and other
fashion accessories.
The fashion show proper took place on
Sunday 29th November. The first show of the night witnessed the
collections of YAGEE, My Beautiful Africa, Gravido Fashions, Prolific
Couture, Kola Kuddus, and Mistics.
Dozzy Couture kicked off the second show,
which also saw the designs from Victor Bassi, Araewa Fashion, Grace’s
Hat, Kadol and JPKouture grace the runway. Ikwo Ndiomu’s Latreia Design
and Matiluko Modupe’s Rare Gems Fashion completed the runway schedule
for the second show.
The third show commenced soon with
Funmilola Omokunga’s Lola Buttons, Obiekwe Anderlyn’s Glam Expression,
Emeotu Egwolo’s Ewy’s Place, Simiat Ogunshina’s House of Marthys, and
Rudavson Fashion owned by Pat Ofuya drawing out rounds of applause from
the audience with the colourful and creative collections.
Anyone in the audience who thought he/she
had seen the best of African Fashion had a change of mind by the time
the final show got underway. Laxmi Hathiramani of Miss Lax thrilled with
her fashionable bags. Rose Di Omimi Fashion, the fashion label of my
humble self, the Organiser of the St. Eve West African Show, took away
the breathe of the enthralled guests with beautiful African prints.
Joan Ibuzo’s House of Marie and Toye
Odufuye’s John Caulcrick then followed with their charming collections.
The show was fittingly brought to a rousing close by the captivating
pieces of Modela Couture and also London-based designer, Ade Bakare.
There were also musical performances by
some artistes like Aramide and T-Banks who thrilled the audience
intermittently during the show.
What should Nigeria, nay the world, expect this year from the St. Eve West African Fashion Show?
Basically a projection of the Nigerian
fashion creativity in the angle of designs, combination of style,
fabrics, and a touch of perfection with each piece. We want to do so
much for the average fashion designer and help them sell themselves to
the whole world. We want to show the world that we believe in the
fashion industry which is growing in Nigeria.
A project of this magnitude needs government and private sector participation. What are you doing in this regard?
We are trying so hard to make our dreams
come true and hopefully the government as well as the private sector
will key into our dream and throw their weight behind us. I must confess
that last year we were gladly supported by Heritage Bank and Grand Oak
International, the makers of Calypso and St. Lauren Red Grape. Brand
Partners for this fashion also included; Mercedes Benz, Bliss Hair,
Glam’s Make-Up, FingerKings, Le Paris Hotel, Tudor House, Eko Hotel and
Suites, Carliza Hotel Ltd, The BlowFish Hotel, Luxury Spa Supplies,
Daviva, Beauty Secret, and Aquadana Water.
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