Awka
The maiden edition of the Anambra Fashion Expo, AFE2022, with the theme, ‘in-between times for all times,’ will hold in Awka, Anambra State capital on Friday, 16th September, 2022.
The fashion expo, organized by put together by a clothing brand, making huge waves in the United Kingdom, the AORAH Fashion brand, will be held at the International Conference Centre, Awka.
The AFE2022 was designed to activate the fashion ecosystem of Anambra state and to expose and give visibility to budding creative talents in Anambra state’s fashion sphere.
Speaking at a pre-event press conference at the governor’s lodge, Amawbia, Ms Adaora Soludo, the CEO of the AORAH fashion brand and convener of the Anambra Fashion Expo, said fashion has been one of mankind’s modes of expression from time immemorial.
According to her, beyond serving as an item of clothing to protect against the elements, it has over time transformed to embody and exert the core essence of man’s identity.
She said creating an ecosystem where indigenous fashion can thrive and made available for export is not only fantastic economics but also a major strategy for bridging the widening unemployment gap of the country.
“Through fashion, our people have been able to communicate without saying a word, expressing their rich heritage, their diversity, their ingenuity with every strand in the fabric serving as a genetic code passing down the expressions of the great and proud people that came before us,” she said.
Ms Soludo revealed that Aorah has, over the years, sought to provide cultural contexts to fashion whether they are Western, African, Nigerian or Igbo.
She spoke of the Akwete fabric, as the only surviving piece of indigenous textile cultivated, woven, sewn and worn by Igbos of Southeast, Nigeria. Produced largely by women from the rural Akwete community in Abia State, This resilient piece of colourful clothing, she regretted, faces the threat of extinction by a number of social and economic factors.
She quipped; “Akwete, like every other fabric, is colourful and confers a unique feeling of royalty on its wearers. It can be dimensioned in line with the designer’s choice, fit for quick urban wears, and for all classes of social events. It comes with an aura of pride only found in those who consume what they produce.
“In recent times, the fabric has gained ascendancy following its adoption by the Anambra State Governor as his official attire.”
Ms Soludo explained that Anambra Fashion Expo 2022, targets to celebrate the resilience of the Akwete women who have over the years ensured that the akwete fabric found a space on our fashion map.
According to her, “For this premier edition of AFE, we celebrate the ingenuity of the past, its influences on the present and the courage of daring the future.
“From the young innovative designer breaking all known norms and daring to innovate, to the women occupying the same stool as their forebearers had sat on hundred years ago, perfecting the act of weaving the beautiful Akwaete fabric, in the preservation of a century-old skill, we seek to connect our future to our past.”
On his part, the Head of Operations for the Fashion Expo, Mazi Opara Ejimofor said the trend is to encourage young people to go into entrepreneurship and one of the ways to do so is to channel them to fashion.
He also said the event also looks to promote indigenous fabrics and fashion products and do away with the mentality that indigenous products are inferior to the foreign counterparts.
He said the event is a big platform being offered to Anambra people who has interest in fashion the target irrespective of the age bracket.
“The show is set to activate the Anambra Fashion ecosystem.
“There are talents that needs to be celebrated beyond the shores of Nigeria and the event is targeted to give vent to such talents.
“So, there is no way to quantify the gains of the event,” he revealed.
On the value the fashion expo will be adding to the Anambra economy, Ejimofor said remarked that event aligns itself with the plans of the state governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, to make Anambra a smart one-stop city which will be a hub for leisure and entertainment.
“The event will add to the GDP of the state because it is very possible that the activation of the Anambra Fashion ecosystem can serve the Lagos market and other fashion markets beyond the shores of the country.
“The fashion show can also serve as a tourist event which people from everywhere can leverage on and come to Anambra State.
“The Anambra fashion expo, which is a day event, has three segments namely -exhibition which will last all day, the masterclass and the fashion runway (3pm to 6pm).
“In the exhibition, the show will be involving everyone along the fashion value chain,” Ejimofor noted.
