For decades, Nigerians have imported Clothing for everyday use indirectly outsourcing work to countries with higher Per Capita Income. Although rich in culture and a producer of varied fabrics such as the tie & dye, Ankara and Aso Oke fabrics which are mostly used for traditional wears, the potential of the fashion Industry offers has not been fully explored.
Times have changed and with designers trained all over the world coupled with a large population of tailors and seamstresses, the Nigerian Fashion Industry is ripe for homemade clothing that can be sold within as well as outside Nigeria.
The most populous nation in Africa, Nigeria has over 170million people and a large percentage of unemployed youth. Industrialising the fashion Industry will not only provide a very basic need, it will have a positive impact on the economy and provide employment for youth.
Fashion Forward Nigeria launched in early March 2016, starting a journey to find talented fashion designers who can design marketable designs suitable for varied purposes and a wide range of audience. The first product of the project was a showcase of designs by some of these designers which held on 6th March 2016. The video below is a rehearsal, showing some of the designs on the runway.
Fashion Forward has a team of fashion Designers, Merchandisers, Business Developers, Advertising Expert headed by a Team lead with vast experience in Business Management in the Fashion Industry. Together, the team wants to build a system of merchandising, marketing and retailing of Made in Nigeria apparel.
They have started an Indiegogo Campaign to raise money for their project and the campaign focuses mainly on the E-commerce site which will be set up to get finished products to the public. They are raising money to fund the website and production of the designs which will be sold on the site on launching.
Backers will benefit from the knowledge that they are motivating the talented designers involved in the project, providing the youth involved a method that keeps them gainfully employed as well as a variety of perks included in the campaign.
Kindly support the Indiegogo campaign here
You can reach out to the team working on this project via Twitter / Facebook / E-Mail
