How government can partner private fashion houses to train competent creators, by Okotie

Stella Onoriode Okotie, a microbiologist and a fashion designer has over the years trained many young women in fashion designing. Okotie is achieving this through her brain child known as EllaElles Fashion Academy (EFA). She believes that when young women acquire skill like fashion designing, they will contribute to the development of their families, as well as the nation. In this interview with NGOZI OKPALAKUNNE, Okotie who is also the Creative Director of Ella Elles Fashion House spoke on the need for government to partner with private fashion schools to train competent creators that can compete favourably with international designers. Excerpts:

In what ways do you think Nigerian youths can be motivated in to fashion designing?

Before now, fashion designing was thought to be a vocation for people who didn’t have the privilege to be educated. And so, it was a vocation that was poorly looked at. And the method of training people was rather crooked and uncivilised. Now we have a well organised system of training people in this vocation. There are private fashion schools that operate with standard curriculums and good learning environment. The government can look into these private fashion schools, and create a structure that can support these schools so that through the help of the government, more young people can be trained in good fashion schools. Also, more vocational training centers can be established by the government that are well equipped with qualified fashion tutors and a governing body should be set up to ensure the purpose of this training centres are archived maximally. Then more awareness should be created on the positive note to help the younger generation understand what the fashion industry holds for them.

Investigation has shown influx of foreign-made clothes. What are the implications of this for Nigerian designers and the economy?

This definitely has a negative impact on the fashion industry as it gives a wide range of alternatives to people who would have been solely interested in patronising our locally made clothes. These alternatives saturating the markets affect businesses for the local fashion designer, because it results in low demand for certain classes of outfits. But looking at the bright side, there are so many of our cultural outfits that are not being produced in foreign countries. Hence, our people depend solely on local designers to meet such needs. This aspect seems to make up for the others, because the demand for our cultural outfits is high. So, local designers can leverage on that.

What are some of the challenges facing fashion designers, and what is the way out?

Some of the challenges we face include, access to high quality materials at affordable rates; the high cost of high-end sewing equipment. This is basically because many fashion designers cannot afford such equipment that can help improve productivity. Visibility is also a challenge, here most designers are very talented, but they have no visibility, so the people who will need their services have no idea we where they are.

How is the current economic crunch affecting fashion industry, and how have you been able to navigate through the situation to remain in business?

This present economy crunch obviously cuts across all fields of business ventures in the country. In order to cope, we have to work more hours daily and go the extra mile to meet up the basic needs of our businesses. It takes a toll on the mind and the body. These are tough times for us. But we take it one day at a time.

As a microbiologist, what informed your choice of career in fashion designing?

I have always loved fashion and beautiful outfits right from childhood. I remember going to my aunty’s fashion house after school at about the age of eight to see how she makes clothes. I also took an interest in making tiny baby clothes for my baby dolls using hand needles and thread. Then, I would design it with buttons and any accessories I could source from old and worn-out garments at home. So, after my National Youth Service Year (NYSC), I tried getting job to no avail, that was when I decided to give more attention to tailoring because I was still so passionate about it and it was easy for me to make a career out of it in the long run.

What inspires your idea in designing?

So many things inspire me, from natural elements like the clouds, fire, a flowing river, flowers, and also, trends, youth culture, body types, the way people personalise or interpret fashion. The list is endless.

How do you source for the materials you work with?

I source for materials locally. From neighboring states and from our local textile markets. Some of these materials are locally made.

In your opinion, what are some important skills or traits for fashion designers?

I run a fashion design school and this is part of what I teach my students. I would highlight some important traits or qualities of a good fashion designer which include; good eye for quality fabrics; creativity and innovation; strong visualisation and sketching skills; proficiency in sewing, pattern-making and draping. Others are, understand branding, pricing and customer demands; networking and building industry relationships; keeping up with fast-changing trends and industry shifts; handling criticism and learning from failure. There is also time management and organisation, which means, meeting tight deadlines for collections and client orders and also managing multiple projects efficiently.

What does fashion mean to you?

Fashion to me is a form of self-expression and cultural identity, which evolves with time, and it’s mostly influenced by social, historical and economic factors.

How long do you intend to stay in this business?

I see myself doing this for a long time. Even when I am no longer actively sewing or creating designs, I see myself doing some other very interesting things in the fashion industry for a long as I can. And even if something else comes along, fashion designing will always be a part of me. EllaElles Couture is a brand that designs female outfits. It’s a brand I started causally in my home. I started with sewing matching outfits for I and my daughter. In 2020, we started training young ladies in collaboration with the Delta State Government and that lasted for three years. As our way of giving back to society, we have given scholarships to young women who earnestly had a passion for fashion but could not afford to pay the tuition. So many of them are owners of their own fashion homes today, 95 percent of the students we have graduated now own renowned fashion homes in different parts of the country.