A host of designers recently converged on Ago-Iwoye for the Ijebu Fashion Festival. The meeting gathered a large number of people.
The organizer brought together young minds in the creative industry in Ago-Iwoye with the aim of promoting and empowering local designers in Ijebu and its environs.
The two-day event aimed to encourage sustainability, social change and also celebrate the Ijebu heritage as an ethnic group with unique fashion style.
The event kicked off with a masterclass which brought industry leading players to enlighten, motivate and inspire young creatives in Ijebu with real life experiences and facts.
Speaking at the event, the Chairman, Board of Trustees, Ijebu Fashion Festival, Aare Safriyu Kazeem, disclosed that for Nigeria to become an industrialized nation with good economic indices, all hands must be on deck to support the creative industry to be able to create employment. for the team population.
“The industrialization we desire and the economic progress we desire can only be our reality when we have the platforms that support them. While we all look to the government, it is evident that the intervention we need cannot be handled by the government alone,” he said.
Also speaking, the convener, Ayokunle Maraiyesa, disclosed that government should create an enabling environment for business to flourish.
She stated that obtaining credit from industry actors, especially from Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) has been a Herculean task, stressing that the government should make the process of obtaining loans without problems for the industry.
Maraiyesa noted that the festival is a local platform created for young and emerging designers and artists who want exposure but don’t have the finances for international shows.
She further said the main focus is to use fashion as an instrument of sustainability and social change as well as to celebrate the awareness, recognition and empowerment of promising local designers in Ijebu land and its environs.
