[dropcap]S[/dropcap]traight from our style desk and henceforth, we will have our team of experts share a fashion quote and then dissect it in relation to the Nigerian fashion scene with the aim of helping our burgeoning and budding designers find their focus as to why they’re pursuing a career in fashion.
“Everybody says you’re only as good as your best collection, but in reality you are only as good as your last sell through. The show can be amazing and then it goes into store and it’s like tumble weed”
– Henry Holland of House of Holland
We live in a society where “who creativity epp” is fast becoming a career mantra especially in this ever evolving, cutthroat business of fashion where fashion designers are constantly caught in the web of either sticking to their creative guns or making money. While working in the capacity of a creative can be a truckload of fun, it is okay to admit that the entire process could be very exhausting. So bad that sometimes you are only driven enough to make good money from the craft as compared to actually being creative as designers in the west. As a creative designer you should be able to marry both focus together without letting one suffer at the expense of the other.
Forget the theatrical shows, the brilliant collection and its articulate presentation, the question will always come down to how sustainably commercial are the collections our designers put out for purchase? Will the man or woman who doesn’t give a hoot about fashion be willing to spend their hard end resources on owning your offering? You are a fashion designer for a reason and you are in business for an even greater purpose. Therefore, it is important that you strike a coordinated balance between creating collections that are both editorial and commercial at the same time. So, how do you judge the success of your collection? Simple; a collection is only successful if it sells through the season and even after.
To drive the point home and as an inspiration, we’ve curated a list of 9 Nigerian labels who never falter at infusing bestseller pieces into their collections:
Wannifuga
Wana Sambo
Ejiro Amos Tafiri
Papa Omisore
NURANIYA
WangerAyu
Lady Biba
Tzar
Fablane by Derin
