Aba Fashion Week, the most iconic fashion event in the South-East region of Nigeria, is set to kick off in Aba, Abia State, touted as the fashion capital and small and medium enterprises capital of Nigeria.
No less than two hundred fashion designers and models have converged on Aba, to participate in this year’s event, which is second in the series.
The event, which will run from December 6 to December 10, 2021, would feature an exhibition, a street fashion show, a master class and a runway show.
Read also: Abia concludes plans to host “Aba Fashion Week” 2021
Sam Hart, director-general, Abia State Marketing and Quality Management Agency, told BusinessDay that all is set to ensure the success of the show, which was conceived to showcase the creative ingenuity of Aba fashion entrepreneurs to the world.
He explained that “Aba Fashion Week” is a franchise, owned by the Aba Creative Collectives, an assemblage of young enterprising entrepreneurs, who elected themselves to showcase the ingenuity of Aba fashion designers to the world.
He however noted that Abia State Government bought into their creative ingenuity, which gave birth to Aba Fashion Week.
Aba, the commercial hub of Abia State, has one of the largest concentrations of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria and a bulk of this number are engaged in leather works and garment making, which could be attributed to the popularity of the city.
It is estimated that Aba hosts 110,000 shoemakers and 50,000 garment makers.
The ingenuity of Aba artisans, especially, the garment and leather clusters-comprising of the shoe, belt and bag makers, attracted the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) in partnership with the Federal Government, to set up a Common Facility Centre (CFC) in the city, to support the clusters to further develop their skills.
Luxury City Entertainment Villa, is the venue for the event, which also hosted the maiden edition, according to Hart.
In his words, “This is where our models will be camped. Last year, we had almost 50 models, who were camped here for about a week, preparing and rehearsing for the event. And of course, our secretariat was also domiciled here.
“So many people came in from Lagos and other parts of the country to ensure the success of the event. It was a five-day event. We had an exhibition of goods and services in Aba. We had fashion designers, shoemakers, artists and all kinds of entrepreneurs; all took boots at the exhibition stands.
“They sold out everything they came with and made new contacts. It was a logistically tasking endeavour and we will improve on what we did last year and give you an even better show this year.
“The Governor was there, we had guests from outside of the State, we had Mai Atafo, one of the biggest names in the African fashion industry, and we had Noble Igwe, who is our brand ambassador, among others. They want to also be part of his year’s event, as they have been calling to get information.
“We also had sponsors last year and they are also requesting to be part of what we are doing this year. We are the beautiful bride, they are courting us”, he stated.
He thanked everyone that played a role, last year that ensured the success of the event, particularly Cosmos Ndukwe, the chief executive officer of Luxury City Entertainment, for his support and assistance, throughout the event.
Ugomdi Ogbonna, creative director, Toskyme House of Fashion and a director in Creative Collectives, who reeled out the programmes, noted that all the exhibitors would assemble at the Sugarland pavilion today, December 6, which is the kick-off date, while the exhibition starts on December 7.
This is as he announced 50 percent discount on all goods at the exhibition ground.
Wednesday will feature the Street Fashion show, while the Master class holds on Thursday.
The essence of the master class is to bring those ideas that Aba designers need to improve themselves and take their acts to the next level, Ogbonna stated.
He revealed plans to invite experienced fashion entrepreneurs from Lagos and other places to discuss trends in the industry and encourage young fashion entrepreneurs to grow.
“On Friday, which is the final day of the event, we will have blue and red carpets and a runway show. We will also have a reigning music star perform at the grand final. Last year, we brought Chike and we would bring another reigning music artist to entertain guests”, he said.
