Following the consecutive two-year success of the Native & Vogue International Fashion Week in Port-Harcourt, organizers of the event, Neo-Mantra and Bunor Creazioni, have announced the hosting of the Eko Akete Fashion Week in May 2015.
This revelation was made at the recently-held Style a la Carte evening, hosted by the two companies for prospective corporate sponsors at the upscale Jade Palace Chinese Restaurant in Victoria Island, Lagos.
At the evening of style rendition Nkiru Oguadinma, Managing Director of Neo-Mantra and Frank Osodi, the renowned designer and Creative Director of Bunor Creazioni, took the corporate community through an evening of testimonies, to witness the astounding success of the Port-Harcourt event and the gains and prospects of sponsoring the Lagos version.
Mr Kayode Oluwo, Commercial Planning and Activation Manager, Diageo Brands; Tunji Olugbodi, MD, Verdant Zeal; Olufemi Ashipa, Brand Manager, Coca-Cola Nigeria; Nkiruka Oguadinma, CEO, NeoMantra Ltdand Frank Osodi, Partner, Bunor Creazioni at a dinner to unveil 2015 Eko Akete International Fashion and Design Show logo in Lagos.
Explaining that Eko Akete Fashion & Design Week, is coming to Lagos due to popular demand by those who witnessed the successful hosting of the Port-Harcourt events, Nkiru said: “Neo-Mantra and Bunor Creazioni are the creative brain force behind Nigeria’s biggest fashion show in Port-Harcourt- Native & Vogue International Week, which has, in just two years, featured over 50 designers, stylists, music acts and well over 200 models, thus bringing Port-Harcourt under the global fashion spotlight.”
“And, riding on that success, we are pleased to present to you the Eko Akete Fashion & Design Week, which will arguably be the most definitive rendezvous in Lagos, designed to transform local fashion potential into a major economic export, she added.
Taking guests through the Native & Vogue runway in a video clip, Frank Osodi also revealed: “We have in the past featured international front line designers such as Paul Van Zyl from South Africa, Shaldon Kopman of Naked Ape Fashion SA, Kosibah (UK), KLUCK CGDT (SA ), Frank Osodi of House of Bunor, Ade Bakare UK, and international models like Agbani Darego, Millan Magese, Rob Evans and the list goes on.”
Abiola sobowale-Sanni;, MD/CEO, Queens Bridge Group; Eyitemi Taire, Customer Marketing Director, Guinness; Mr Tunji Olugbodi, MD, Verdant Zeal and Nkiruka Oguadinma, COO, NeoMantra at a dinner to unveil 2015 Eko Akete International Fashion and Design Show logo in Lagos.
According to him the international mix has “grown our local fashion week tremendously by giving us global visibility thereby creating an avenue that brands can leverage on.”
With the coming of Eko Akete Fashion Week 2015, Nkiru told guests that “a great
opportunity as regards partnership abounds and what we are offering is an uncluttered medium to position your brand as a major player in Nigeria’s emerging fashion industry, and an avenue to contribute to human and capital development.”
Apart from the runway video clips, Osodi also explained that the previous shows have not only showcased established designers, but had been an avenue to discover new talents through the Young Designers Competition. A living witness was Ibiteim Thompson, winner of the second edition who came all the way from Port-Harcourt to attend the event.
Others at the evening of style included the young models discovered in the garden city, some designers and makeup artists, who have also been part of the successful outings of Native & Vogue in Port-Harcourt.
Frank Osodi, Partner, Bunor Creazioni; Nkiruka Oguadinma, CEO, NeoMantra and Uti Nwachukwu at a dinner to unveil 2015 Eko Akete International Fashion and Design Show logo in Lagos.