By Christie Olusayo
The very first Arise Magazine Fashion Week has finally come and gone! Although the show started behind schedule, it turned out to be a very glamorous event worth waiting for as each of the fifty designers thrilled fashion lovers, enthusiasts and the audience to fantastic display of remarkable innovations and creativity.
It was so beautiful seeing the designers mixing indigenous fabrics such as Ankara, aso oke and lace with silk, cotton, chiffon, satin and lycra materials to bring out amazing styles. The models were so daring and fierce on the runway; they really made us want for more!
Meet some of the designers at the first ever Arise Magazine fashion week in Nigeria.
Ituen bassey brand is a celebration of individuality and feminism, a stylish combination of timeless elegance with a contemporary twist. She was very generous in her use of Ankara to create fabulous designs that fetched her creative designer of the year award at the event.
Deola Sagoe is a household name in the fashion world. With different awards to her kitty, she has not relented in her creativity and has continued to wow us with her masterpiece designs on different runways around the world. The Arise Fashion Week was no exception as she added another feather to her cap – The lifetime achievement award and an opportunity to be at New York Fashion Week in September. All her creative designs at the show were stunning.
Hazzel Aggrey Orleans, the brain behind Eki Orleans, is one designer who loves fusing vibrant patterns with delicate texture of silk. She is inspired by traditional and different West African patterns. This was clearly seen in her collection at the show, as she worked with fabrics such as silk, kente, Ankara and satin to create lovely designs from bikinis to ready to wear dresses.
Odio Oseni (Odio Mimonet) who launched her label VOYAGE in 2006, has deep passion for designing. She used the Ankara and print theme to reflect the total beauty of a woman as seen in all her fabulous designs.
Kluk CGDT is a collaboration between Malcolm Kluk and Christian Gabriel du Toit. These two South Africans designers are passionate about designing and have a style of mixing sharp tailoring with feminine romanticism. Based on their exceptional creativity, the duo won the Designer of the Year and the Lifetime Achievement Award at Arise Magazine Fashion Week Awards. The prize? A chance to show at New York Fashion Week, September 2011.
Jewel by Lisa: Lisa Folawiyo, who stormed the Nigerian fashion industry in 2005 with a creative use of Ankara laces with embellishments, gave a good account of herself at the event. She embellishes the traditional cloth with sequins, hand beading and stones, resulting in designs that can look feminine, modern and chic at the same time.
Although, many of these designers have displayed their brilliant works at international fashion week, the event also serves as a platform to give exposure to the abundance of local talent.
Apart from those who won awards, it will be heartwarming to see these five designers – Jewel by Lisa, Bunmi Koko, KLUK CGDT, Tsemaye Binite and Pierre Antonine Vettorello represent Africa at the New York Fashion Week in September with the Spring/Summer 2012 collection.
In all, the fashion week was a beautiful show with memories that would linger on in the heart of fashion loving Nigerians for a long time. We can’t wait for another fabulous edition in Nigeria again!
Check out some of the fabulous designs on the runway.
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