Fashion Industry To Boost Nigeria’s Economy, Say Stakeholders

Experts have identified fashion industry as one of the sectors the federal government can use to support and boost the nation’s economic growth.

This was stated at a press conference heralding the forthcoming Lagos Fashion Fair.

The Lagos Fashion Fair, which will commence on September 7 to September 8, 2022, is a fashion Exhibition now in its eighth edition. The event has brought together over 1,200 exhibitors and over 18,000 visitors in total.

Lagos Fashion Fair’s objective has remained to create an enabling platform where creative Nigerian designers and fashion entrepreneurs connect with international designers to showcase the beauty and creativity of both world through their designs and innovations.

The chief executive of Atlantic Exhibition Limited, Mr Ayodeji Olugbade Olugbade said: “Lagos fashion seek to celebrate Nigerian entrepreneurs who have mastered the art of fashion by using it to make bold statements and create more versatility in their designs and brands.”

He noted that, “this year Fair will be different because this is post COVID, as the industry has faced a whole lot of challenges. With the exhibition, we want to create an opportunity for industry to recover and see how we can take the industry to export beyond Nigeria and to other Africa countries.”

He added that the Lagos Fashion Fair 2022 was in partnership with Africa Fashion Week Nigeria and will feature Masterclass with Toyin Lawani, renowned Tiannah’s Empire couture.

He called on government’s support for the sector in term of funding and export process, explaining that, most international participants coming to Nigeria for the fair have the support of their governments.

Also, founder of Africa Fashion Week Nigeria, Princess Ronke Ademiluyi, stated that, fashion is one of sectors that can be used to sustain economic growth. According to her, with a focus of using fashion as a non-oil export to grow our GDP, Nigeria’s creative talents can translate into wealth creation.

She pointed out this year Fair is going to be an awareness programme, introducing the designers and channeling them for the export industry, adding that, some of the designers will be chosen to showcase at the Africa Week London in October 2022.

Olugbade noted that “this year’s bumper exhibition packages will feature fashionistas, importers from Europe, Asia exporters and their Nigeria counterparts with loads of activities: shopping, runways, shows, musical performances, celebrities’ appearances, and celebration of fashion icons.

“Lagos Fashion Fair has attained over 3,000 exhibitors, 35,000 visitors, 35 speakers, 84 large procurement buyers, 69.9 per cent business networking opportunities and 84 per cent follow up meetings.”