By Vera Opia
Obi-Egbedi Oghenekioja is a Delta State born high fashion. On this interview,
the style designer speaks on the challenges confronted within the trade, what distinguishes vogue designers from tailors, amongst different fascinating points.
What’s vogue design and what’s the distinction between vogue design and tailoring?
Speaking concerning the vogue trade, the style designers are individuals who create designs and are impressed by issues they see. They go round, create designs and draft patterns. Tailors are extra like a spine to the style designer. With out tailors, a clothier can create designs, however vogue designers want somebody on the market to do the job, and that’s when tailors are available in. Tailors do the job, which incorporates stitching.
Allow us to take a look at the style trade in Nigeria within the final decade or two, do you’re feeling we have now actually grown over time, particularly because it issues vogue?
We’re making a really large affect within the vogue trade, particularly with the assistance of the entertainers from the music trade and comedies. They’re attempting to push the style designers as a lot as attainable to be within the limelight.
Are there obligatory steps somebody who needs to amass coaching in vogue design wants to undergo?
For positive, they should as a result of it isn’t a day job that one would simply get up to say one is a clothier. There needs to be a profession, there needs to be a push, there needs to be a platform, there needs to be publicity or data which can’t be acquired from anyplace. They should attend some type of vogue faculty per se.
Do we have now this in Delta State?
Sure, we do. We run a vogue faculty. Within the state college and polytechnic, in addition they have vogue programs.
What are a few of the challenges vogue designers face within the nation?
There are at all times challenges. Within the vogue trade, we undergo from insufficient energy provide. Electrical energy is a really large problem to us as a result of we have now to begin operating on gasoline, and the fee impacts us. There’s additionally the difficulty of insufficient textile mills. We don’t have skillful males, there are some machines that you’ve, however there’s no one to function them.
Has the rise within the greenback affected your small business?
Sure. The worth improve is a really large blow as a result of you possibly can go to a market at this time and tomorrow morning, the value of an merchandise purchased the day earlier than has modified. There was a job I did lately. I charged round N4 million for it, however after the entire value of manufacturing, it turned out to be over N5 million. I made a loss.
How profitable is the style enterprise, what’s your buyer base like and may any individual actually maintain a dwelling on this trade?
Speaking about clients, the actual fact is that each enterprise has its personal buyer base. For me, I usually work with prime influencers similar to comedians and musicians. In that method, I’m able to assess some degree of shoppers that go well with my merchandise and the providers.
For anybody who’s coming into the style trade, there’s some huge cash within the vogue trade, nevertheless it is determined by your market worth: what you give and what you are taking. Changing into a clothier isn’t a day job, it isn’t a day job. It requires quite a lot of power, time and persistence.
How appreciative are Nigerians in the direction of our designs?
Relating to importations, I might say the style trade goes by means of so much proper now. They nonetheless really feel the extra the importation the extra worldwide the model is, the extra helpful. Most individuals favor to get imported supplies somewhat than these produced in Nigeria. In case you are importing from outdoors, they don’t get an acceptable design for them. And that is why we’re coming in now to see that once they import, the factor doesn’t see them, they usually fall again to us.
Are you saying that these firms abroad mass produce these stuffs as a result of it’s fairly cheaper than what we have now right here?
Sure, that’s why I advised you that we have now no textile mills to provide massively. They produce at a lesser value and sooner manufacturing.
The submit Purpose vogue designers should not tailors — Oghenekioja appeared first on Vanguard Information.
