Paris, Milan, London and New York are the "Big Four" of global fashion.
Everything that happens in the world of fashion, from the disruption of old
fashion styles to the setting of new trends, often begins or at least take
shape in these cities. Of course, there are other major players, of which Berlin, Barcelona, Tokyo, São Paulo and Los Angeles quickly come to mind. However, one thing that is glaring
within the global fashion space, is the total absence of any African city in
the top echelon of fashion destinations. Lagos can change this narrative.
Lagos has just as
much characteristics to be a global fashion city as any in Europe or the
Americas. There is hardly any nationality or culture across the world that does
not have some form of representation in the city of over 20 million residents.
Richly diverse in culture and taste, Lagos also has the economic wherewithal to
drive the emergence of a global fashion power. The city accounts
for over 60% of the industrial and commercial activity in Africa’s largest
economy. With a GDP of over $90 billion, its economy is actually the 7th
largest in Africa, bigger than that of Ghana and Kenya combined.
In spite of the
enthralling prospects highlighted above, Lagos has thus far been unable to
fulfill its potential to become a global fashion city. To understand the reason
for this, one only needs to look at what the established fashion cities have
done that the former is yet to do.
Globally,
the estimated net worth of the fashion industry is $1.2 trillion, more than a
quarter of that sum is contributed by New York, Paris, Milan and
London. Apart from having very strong economies and a large cosmopolitan
populations, these cities also share the common trait of having strong
corporate involvement which has powered their fashion industries.
Mercedes, Audi and Cadillac are some of the global brands that have
deeply invested in making the big four of fashion what they are today. For
eight years, New York Fashion Week was known officially as Mercedes-Benz
Fashion Week; the luxury car maker remains the title sponsor of fashion weeks
in Moscow, Berlin, Sydney and Istanbul, as well as one of the leading sponsors
of London, Milan and Paris fashion weeks. Mercedes-Benz and Lexus are not the
only brands involved: Cadillac threw its weight behind the menswear scene in
New York while Singapore’s biannual fashion week was known officially as Audi
Fashion Festival.
Although Lagos has come a long way in improving its fashion standing,
it is obviously in great need of the kind of corporate touch that made the big
four flourish. This is why the recent announcement of GTBank to host a fashion
and design fair is such a welcome development for Lagos. According to the
Bank, the event will bring together the most promising,
talented and recognised fashion designers, brands and retail enterprises from
across Nigeria and abroad to showcase latest fashion trends and products to a
large and diverse audience of consumers, fashion aficionados and industry
professionals.
The GTBank
Fashion Weekend will be headlined by some of the
world’s top fashion personalities, globally recognised brand owners and trend
setters as well as locally renowned designers and style authorities. Attendees
will be treated to a series of fashion events such as Entrepreneurial and
Fashion MasterClasses, glamorous Runway Shows and Retail Exhibitions of cool
and cutting-edge designs, all of which are geared towards driving the growth
and productivity of Nigeria’s fashion industry.
The event
is part of the Bank’s initiative to strengthen small businesses in key economic
sectors through non-profit consumer focused fairs and capacity building
initiatives that serve to boost their expertise, exposure and business growth.
Perhaps, while the government searches for an
elixir to the current economic woes being faced by the country, the fashion
industry might just be one of the palliatives we need to revive an ailing
economy as seen in Paris, London, New York and Milan. In UK, the industry
provides over 797,000 jobs and host some of the biggest fashion brands in the
world such as Alexander McQueen, Paul Smith, Next, Marks & Spenser to
mention a few, making it the largest employer of all the UK's creative
industries. New York City on the other hand is home to over 900 world
renowned fashion companies in the US and provides approximately 180,000
employees with $11 billion in annual wages, generating nearly $2 billion in tax
revenue each year. Given these impressive economic figures from the big fashion
cities, it can be easily imagined what the impact of turning Lagos into a
global fashion city will be on the Nigerian economy.
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