Culture, creativity, innovation and craftsmanship fuse as Afro-Euro Runway debuts in Abuja
Oyindamola Alenshinloye was visibly elated when the judges declared her winner of the Afro-Euro Runway Fashion Competition, the first ever fashion design competition organised by the EU within the framework of its partnership with Nigeria. The young Nigerian fashion designer, who does business with the brand name, Kadiju, has been in the fashion design business for less than two years. So, she understood what the recognition meant. “It’s amazing that collaboration such as this one exists, not only opening up opportunities in Nigeria, but also partnerships outside of Nigeria as well,” she said.
Indeed, the evening of Friday, June 16 2023 was amazing, as the EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, together with The Fashion Academy, Abuja and some EU Member States, hosted the pace-setting competition. The show, aptly tagged “Afro-Euro Runway Fashion Competition” to reflect its focus on the fusion of African and European hues in fashion design, was staged at Abuja’s International Conference Centre.
The competition’s emphasis on young talents reflects the increasing attention on the youth, innovation and skills in the implementation of all programmes in the context of the EU-Nigeria partnership – a further reflection of the preponderance of young people in Nigeria’s population. And, considering that the EU has designated 2023 the European Year of Skills, Ms Samuela Isopi, EU Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, said the EU could not think of a better way to talk about skills without thinking about talents, which she described as Nigeria’s greatest asset. And these creative talents abound in Nigeria’s burgeoning fashion industry!
“The Afro-Euro Runway Competition embodies this spirit of dialogue and collaboration between European creative industries and fashion and Nigerian creative sectors,” she said.
According to Ambassador Isopi, the EU identified fashion design as basis for exploring the theme of skills because it combines so many things: Fashion combines cultural heritage and tradition with skills and innovation; it is one of the most vibrant creative sectors in Europe and in Nigeria, and together with high-end industries, is present in the everyday life of millions of people.
“Fashion is a great Ambassador of European values such as culture, creativity innovation and craftsmanship. This is true also for Nigeria. I am impressed by the creativity innovation and energy of Nigerian fashion. So, fashion tells who we are and more importantly, it connects people and cultures,” Ambassador Isopi stated. That is exactly what the EU sought to do through the event: to connect people and create opportunities for young designers.
Young designers were tasked to showcase a special mini-collection under the theme Afro-Euro, representing through their collections the African and European values, by creating designs fusing European and African styles, cultures and fabrics. “We have asked them to create collections that represent and highlight the values of diversity and inclusion because fashion is and must be for everyone,” Ambassador Ispoi said.
The competition provided an excellent platform for the designers to display their collections, promote their brands, network with industry professionals, add value to their brands, connect with fashion enthusiasts across the world, and access regional and international markets.
Seven contestants met the pre-selection criteria, out of a pool 124 designers who applied for participation in the competition. Ms Samira Mohammed, who goes by the brand name Sultana, was declared first runner up in the competition, and won for her effort a sponsorship by the EU to participate in the Dakar Fashion Week in Senegal. Ms Oluchi George, a UK-trained lawyer with the brand name, Malite, and Ms Happiness Miwori a.k.a Jasmine Afrik were second and third runners up respectively and were gifted with fashion-designing equipment. All contestants will received EU-sponsored business management training.