Contemporary fashion designer, Stephen Raymond, has called on government at all levels and other stakeholders in Nigeria’s creative sector to invest more in the fashion industry to unlock its economic gains and job creation potential.
He made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja.
According to Raymond, founder of SteveRay Couture, the Nigerian fashion industry can drive sustainable economic growth and job creation if supported by adequate investment, proper policies and manufacturing infrastructure.
Raymond said the fashion industry could contribute to Nigeria’s economic development if appropriate platforms were made available for young Nigerians to get involved in its business opportunities.
“Every child, every human being, everything in this world has to do with clothing and that’s fashion.
“We need to pull up the young generation into it and expand it,” he said.
He said Nigeria needed stronger structures, an effective fashion calendar and greater opportunities for young creatives to participate in the industry.
“It’s just for one to put the right structure in place and put the right calendar out there and also make it an open door,” Raymond said.
He said increased investment, stronger partnerships and right policies would unlock the huge economic potential of the fashion industry.
He also called for greater local production of materials and equipment used by fashion designers to reduce dependence on imported resources.
According to him, Nigerian designers need to move beyond individual recognition and develop production and sales systems capable of reaching international markets.
He said collaboration among Nigerian designers could strengthen the country’s fashion industry and attract international investment.
“If we can relate with ourselves and then set a system where we all operate together, the Nigeria Fashion Week will be the next rated world fashion event,” he said.
Raymond said such collaboration could attract global investors while creating opportunities for designers and other professionals within the creative sector.
“This is going to attract so many global investors to us,” he said.
According to him, fashion should also promote confidence and freedom of expression among Africans, particularly young people seeking to establish their identities.
“We have that freedom of expression, freedom of being yourself, freedom of owning yourself, freedom of living yourself,” he said.
Speaking on his craft, Raymond said he was promoting Afrocentric pop culture through designs that blend African and Western influences, while expressing individual identity.
According to him, his fashion concept focused on refining cultural influences to create distinctive expressions of the personality, identity and creativity of individuals through fashion.
“My kind of designs is high fashion and I call it Afrocentric pop culture. It’s a mix of African and English,” he said.
He said the concept was not limited to a particular culture, adding that he combined different influences to achieve a balanced fashion expression.
“I wouldn’t say western culture, but am trying to refine and also give the face of a real personality or identity of a person,” Raymond said.
He said he could work with different fabrics, including Aso-oke, Kente and Adire.
“I can play with any fabric to give it that look of Afrocentric pop culture. I can work with Aso-oke, Kente, Agbada and Adire,” he said.
Raymond said he could also create fabrics himself, stressing that he was not restricted when designing.
“I can work with anything; I can even create them myself. I’m not limited when it comes to fashion designing,” he said.
According to Raymond, his vision for Afrocentric fashion was influenced by his belief that African fashion needed to be revived through stronger cultural identity and creativity.
“I’ve come to the level where I have noticed definitely that fashion in Africa needs to be revived,” he said.
He, however, said the revival must begin with individuals understanding and expressing their identity before contributing to the development of the wider industry.
“Without reviving yourself first, you can’t revive the industry,” he said.
Raymond said he remained committed to contributing to the revival of African fashion and influencing the next generation through his work.
“My vision and mission is to be the next voice for revival of the fashion industry in Africa and to the next generation,” he said.
He said African fashion could become globally competitive by strengthening local production, collaboration, creativity and systems capable of supporting sustainable growth.(NAN)
