Princess
Abah Folawiyo and Fashion are inseparable. Her creative concepts flow in a
vision like manner that she finds easy to interpret perfectly. The quality of
her breathtaking and innovative designs are enough to fetch her the crown of Queen of Fashion Designs. Her knowledge
of fabrics combinations, colours, cutting and sewing were not acquired in any
classroom, they were naturally inborn. Princess Abah had already set up
Labanella Creations as a fashion house before she attended the London Fashion
School just to acquire a certificate.
Her passion
and commitment to fashion is such that she designs from her heart, rather than
from her head, and so she puts in a lot of loving effort into every design at
Labanella, making sure that what she makes for people are what she would wear
herself.
She founded
Labanella creations in 1978, and in 1981, it was formally incorporated as a
limited liability company. The outfit, one of the foremost and most successful
in the country, became a pace setter and has participated in fashion shows, in
some of the world’s major fashion centres such as London, Paris and New York.
In 1986, the company staged shows in many West African countries in a project
known as “Labanella Goes Ecowest”. Back in 1963, Princess Abah had emerged as
the best designer at VC-10, award in Ghana. Presently she is the matron of
Fashion Designers Association of West Africa (FADEWA) and the Matron of Honour
of Fashion Designers Association of Nigeria (FADAN).
Over the
years, Labanella fashion house had pioneered several trends. According to her “I used to make corporate clothes, but when I
realized that Nigerian women are on the plump side, I reviewed my position. I
do not subscribe to the trend women squeeze into fitted clothes.” Her
desire to make clothes that suit the figures of her clients largely influenced
Labanella’s inclination to Kaftans, Culottes and Jilabias.
The
contributions of Princess Zainab Abah Folawiyo cannot be easily chronicled.
Describing her as a quintessential pace setter in fashion designing who
deserves wide acclaim on the African Continent would not be enough for a woman
who lives, breathes and talks fashion. She has left indelible footprints for
thousands of current and potential players in the industry to follow.
Perhaps
someday, and in her lifetime, she would be given due recognition, especially by
the government of Nigeria. Perhaps one day, her art and contributions would
become a course of study in Nigerian and African institutions of higher
learning. When that day comes, Princess Abah Folawiyo would have received some
of what is due her, for her immense input into the making of a new order in
fashion designing.
On May 18th
during the Africa Fashion Week Nigeria at the Eko Hotels, Princess Abah
Folawiyo’s creations will be on the runway as a source of inspiration to
millions of Nigerian fashion followers, including designers, connoisseurs,
students and dealers. In this interview, the doyen of Nigerian Fashion reveals
why she supports Africa Fashion Week Nigeria.
Q: For the first time after several
years, you will be going on the runway again for Africa Fashion Week Nigeria,
what is the reason?
Folawiyo: It is a worthy cause, I mean Africa
Fashion Week Nigeria. Many Nigerian fashion designers of excellent quality end
up being mere roadside tailors and dressmakers because they lacked the platform
that will give them maximum exposure. This is the first time that an
organization will take up the task of providing this pedestal to help launch
the careers of young people whom would have been lost in obscurity for lack of
showcasing opportunities. I am pleased to have such a thing happening in my
lifetime, to boost my own contributions to the fashion industry. When they called
on me to help, I accepted to do the runway show for them to inspire the younger
generations.
Q: How many dresses will you be
showcasing?
Folawiyo: Oh quite a lot, I hope there will be
enough time for me.
Q: Will you make the dresses freshly
for the runway or are they old ones?
Folawiyo: oh, there are no old ones! Even
though I have retired, my clients still won’t leave me alone. They keep on
coming and persuading me to help them out with what to wear to this occasion
and that. So I find myself making new dresses and still setting the pace! You
see, it is one thing for you to see what others are making; it is another thing
to take it and personalize it into your own custom pattern. That is what I tell
all my students over the years; don’t be a copycat, put something of yourself
in all your designs. So I have a lot of designs that are top of the echelon and
were made for my clients who are up there in the scheme of things in the
society. That is what I am going to exhibit at the runway.
Q: Your creations are usually
practical wearable dresses, often plus size. How will they fit the models that
will be on the runway?
Folawiyo: You know I asked them the same
question but Ronke, the founder, she said that they have plus size models that
will model dresses created for the real African woman so I have absolutely
nothing to worry about.
Q: your show will be coming up at the
gala event?
Folawiyo: Yes on the 18th of May at
Eko Hotels. It will be among the final shows to crown the event. I particularly
love the honour of being able to motivate young Nigerian fashion designers, to
tell them that they could still make it. The world is facing an economic
meltdown; there are no more jobs for our youth anywhere on the globe. The world
has to embrace a paradigm shift whereby young people now create jobs for
themselves and others rather than looking for ready-made jobs. The fashion
industry is one of the easiest platforms that enable self employment and micro
job creation. This Festival is one of the best ways to promote the fashion
industry. I feel honoured to be the highpoint of this project.
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