Inspiration for us happens as we go about our
daily lives, from the environment to fashion
forecast magazine, with that said, the needs
of our customers are always at the forefront of
each source of inspiration.
Have you relocated to the UK finally or are
you strictly here for school?
We are all living and currentlystudying in the
UK. However, most holidays, including sum-
mer time,are spent in Lagos.We are also work-
ing to expand the Iconic Invanity brand to Eu-
rope starting with an outlet in London.
What does the future hold in terms of your
plans?
With the launch of Neka Youth for our younger
audience in addition to the new DNA ecom-
merce site, we are excited about the future of
the Iconic Invanity brands. Technology is and
will continue to play an important part in how
we operate in the future. We aim to continue-
growth while creating work which aligns with
our core values. We will continue to engage in
creating a positive impact through our work by
contributing to youth empowerment through
training and employment, like our current
model of operation in Lagos and the youth em-
powerment project through fashion and tour-
ism on the Nile, in Northern Uganda.
What are the growing pains of starting a fash-
ion design line in Africa?
The challenges of starting any business in Ni-
geria are vast andnot unique to one brand. Fac-
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tors such as power shortage, high running costs,
lack of skilled workers etc are some of the daily
growing pains.
What will you like to see change in the fashion
industry in Nigeria?
Change is an important part of growth. In the
past few years, we’ve witnessed some changes
and growth in the Nigerian fashion industry
due to several contributing factors, one of those
contributing factors whichstands out for us is
the Heineken Lagos Fashion and Design Week
founded by Omoyemi Akerele. This platformhas
been able to change the narrativeand provide
opportunities not only for designers but for all-
fashion industry stakeholders.
The emergence of technology, social media plat-
forms, magazines such as Blanck, haveequally
played major roles in the way the fashion indus-
try has been able to evolve in Nigeria and Africa
as a whole.
Initiatives supporting fashion growth in conti-
nent, such as the African Collectives by Diana
Opoti offers an avenue to stock selected pieces
under one roof in Nairobi Kenya.
Having said all this however, we still have a long
way to go in order to steadily compete with es-
tablished international brands. We need an ef-
fective open boarder trading policy which allows
countries within Africa to trade easily and safely
with each other.
“
The typical DNA girl is about
18-35 years of age. She is young
at heart and ready to take on
anything that comes her way
and still loooks stylish while
doing so.
“
pad and pen to the iPad. This makes it so much
easier to manage our busy schedule of work
and study on the go, as it allows us to share
ideas with each other and the production team
back in Lagos instantly.
Destiny Nwadire:
Creative Director.
This will go a long way in expanding our cus-
tomer base. Starting and running a fashion busi-
ness anywhere in the world requires substantial
amount of investment, access to more facilities
that support businesses would also be an added
advantage towards further change.
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