Are there High Fashion Brands in Nigeria?, If no- should there be?
A couple of weeks ago, Paris Fashion Week officially launched Haute Couture Week for yet another season, and we saw high fashion brands including Schiaparelli, Robert Wun, Thom Browne and many others showcase their latest collections on respective runways.
While watching these shows, a random thought popped up in my head, and I began to wonder – “are there Nigerian brands that embody the concept of Haute Couture?”.
But what is Haute Couture?
Haute Couture, which is technically French for “High Fashion” according to Fashion Law Journal refers to an exquisite line of style that originated in Paris in the late 1800’s, and is often synonymous with craftsmanship, luxury, innovation and taste!.
Another definition of High Fashion are clothes/designs that are usually very expensive and worn by only rich or famous people.
Having fully studied the definitions above, can we now point out any fashion brands who operate in the “high fashion realm”. The answer for me, is both a yes and no, and I have my reasons.
Let’s take Ugo Monye as the first case of study- Ugo Monye is a menswear brand that specializes in craftsmanship of afrocentric wears that exude cultural class in a very edgy form.
For me, Ugo Monye is one of those designers that comes close to being a high fashion brand, due to so many undeniable details in his craftsmanship. A regular runway show of Monye’s collection is an array of luxury, class and craftsmanship. His designs for instance are very unconventional, and plenty edgy.
A juxtaposition of these features is literally the surface definition of High Fashion.
Or should we take a look at Veekee James or Xtrabrides, these are womenswear brands who break the boundaries as to how fashion should be in Nigeria, in terms of conception and innovation, as well as execution!.
You would see Veekee James working with beadings, artifacts, and so many constructs, all to bring the vision to life. This, once again are features of a high fashion brand.
However, on an international scale, or should I say “professional scale”, these brands will not count as Couture brands, and here’s why.
On a deeper study of Couture brands, Schiaparelli take for instance, you’d notice that the entirety of the collections being put out by it’s creative director, is a reflection of High Fashion. Take note of the term “entirety”.
What I’m saying basically is that the tag “Haute Couture” most of the time isn’t self proclaimed, it really is something that the fashion industry recognizes your brand for, after seeing your collections over time that reflects High Fashion. So this means that creating a mix of regular wears and high fashion pieces, doesn’t make you a couture brand. Every collection released by a Couture brand reflects the essence of High Fashion, and so they are recognized by the fashion industry who in turn names them a Couture brand.
So yes, there are Fashion designers in Nigeria who interpret the key features of High Fashion in their designs, but fail to go all in, and produce exclusively due to quite a number of factors.
