NEW HUSBAND SONNIE AYERE SHINES & DAZZLES IN MAI ATAFO ORIGINAL

There's the need for us to continually support our very own. Reason being that it makes a whole of sense and the ripple effect of it would go a long way too. We are eagerly awaiting that day, when a top Nigerian home grown brand can stand side by side, shoulder to shoulder with any of the international fashion brands without flinching.

One brand amongst our several home grown brands that's really showing the right sparks for us at least in the last 3 years has been Mai Atafo. Not only has he being honing his craft well steadily and sure-footed in the last few years, he also knows very well how to add the required drama to his showcases every time. There's never ever a dull moment when you watch Mai's catwalk shows and for that alone we say a massive kudos and we know for sure, that the top for him is already is a foregone conclusion. You can dispute it all you like, but for us, Mai's showcase at the last Arise Fashion Week 2019 in Lagos, was one of the highlights of that Fashion Week. He delivered on all counts and in all ramifications for us.

When 2 cool, quite stylish people collaborates, the end result is always totally on point and standout. So when Mai Atafo and the handsome, suave, quite stylish finance guru by name Sonnie Ayere got together to collaborate on the outfit for his beautiful wedding to his superlatively stunning wife Uche, what the groom wore for his nuptial ceremony, which was an hybrid, blue with gold embroidery kaftan ensemble, that quite simply impressed us.

Sonnie the man carried the ensemble that was made to measure very well and added the required oomph!!! Not only that, even the groomsmen outfit were also totally on point too and we salute the whole package.  Uche the then bride, now the wife looked exceptional in her own outfit and her make up, hair everything were on point, it would have been perfect for her to totally upstage her husband. And thank God she didn't, even as she showed like a super gorgeous emerald. 

ANDREA IYAMAH'S SWIMSUIT SHOWCASE AT THE ARISE FASHION WEEK 2018

It's no new news that the revived, the newly ressurected Arise Fashion Week series is back and it was with a massive bang! The 2018 edition truly lived up to expectations and we were so glad to have experienced the 3 daY's of indescribable fUn, incredible fashion and style and unbridled excitement.

The designers came in great numbers and the best way to describe it all is that they all came, saw and conquered. For many of them just showing on this platform for the first time, this was the launch they had wanted and things can never be the same again, for those perennial favourite it was an opportunity to showcase their latest creations and cement their reputations as some of the best and most creative in the country.

One of the highlights of the 1st day was the sexy swimwear showcase by the incredibly talented Nigerian-Canadian designer Andrea Iyamah. The models showed off the collection with much oomph and the crowd apparently enjoyed it.

More after the break.

OUT AND ABOUT ON THE RED CARPET & AT THE FROW AT THE ARISE FASHION WEEK 2018 IN LAGOS- DAY 1

Abisola Kolapo Daisi

Eku Edewor

Tania 

Dr Idia Aisien

Tarmar Awobotu

We are all so glad that Arise Fashion Week is back and with some bang too. After a couple of years in coma, the super well connected Prince Nduka Obaigbena applied the resurrection power and brought what used to be Africa's premier fashion week back to life and we were all so happy and hope that it would stay. And curiously it took place over the Easter period! Which is known to celebrate or commemorate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Supreme Lord, what a coincidence!

So we were there all through the days and we have a few pictures of the red carpet style and the front row, also referred to as the "FROW" for your viewing pleasure. It was 3 classic days of fun, fashion, entertainment and excitement and as was expected, the fashionistas poured in at the venue, in torrents. It was obvious that they had been waiting for so long for Arise to come back to knock off the pretenders from their shadow thrones.

As expected Arise was loud with a purpose, with the headliner being none other than one of the world's most iconic super model, in the person of the Inimitable and incomparable, Naomi Campbell. The British tigress who has ruled the world of modeling for so many years now is still an absolute delight to watch strutting her stuff majestically on the runway with plenty of Oomph and she showed all what it is like to be the queen of the runway. She was well supported by our dear own tigress Oluchi and the gorgeous Ojy Okpe.

This year's event was at a much smaller venue than we have been used to, that is the Continental Hotel, Victoria Island Lagos, unlike the former venue the Federal Palace Hotel ground, which used to allow for so much space to manouevre. Apart from time management which scored very very low (imagine that on the 1st day the show didn't start till 4 to 5 hours later and therefore dragged till midnight), every other thing as expected was top notch all the way. That's what good money can make happen.

There were some usual suspects that we normally expected and would have love to see who were absent, likes of Deola Sagoe, Lisa Folawiyo, but all in all, those that showcased gave wonderful accounts of themselves. We must commend the likes of Tiffany Amber, LDA, Kimono Kollection, Mai Atafo, House of Irawo, Funke Adepoju, Odion Mimonet, Dzyn Abuja, What to Wear (Tinie Tempah), Ozwald Boateng, Kola Kudus, MOofa, Taryor Gabriels and a few others for a good job well done and for having their A-game on.

Lanre Da Silva Ajayi was the belle of the first day. She showed that she has matured tremendously and is absolutely one of our best designers in Nigeria. Oluchi, Ojy and Naomi all wore LDA outfits with outstanding confidence.

Tiffany Amber, the brand owned by Folake Coker undoubtedly put together one of the best showcase of the event. Her attention to detail on all levels made her near 10 minutes the best time at the fashion week. From the collection even to the music choice, it was near perfection, with Naomi killing the final showcase in her outfit.

Kimono Kollection for men, absolutely did it for us, he brought about a refreshing new take on many of our usual suspects. Adding new vibes here and there that made great sense. We absolutely love his full collection.

New brand in town, House of Irawo owned by top fashionista Abby Ikomi and her first daughter Dola, showed with their very first official showcase that this is a brand to watch for the future. Their 15 piece gorgeous collection made up of some ingenious hooded laces in cuts that were just fresh and outstanding, gladdened the heart in no small measures and put all on notice about future that's already here now.  

Also we must commend Mai Atafo, for the drama he has learnt to always bring on board during his showcases. It's obvious that the creative director of the brand understands the ethos of branding and media communications, so he always applies that understanding to his showcase. What he did with this particular collection was to evoke the good sense of tribal fervour as he brought out a refreshingly new take on the Ibo's Isi Agwu, identifying something people (especially the Ibo) should be proud of, which got everyone applauding.

All in all the 3 days was mad fun. But organisation wise? There's still much room for improvement, especially time factor wise.

We truly understand what it would normally take to organise a show of this caliber and we appreciate them amd commend them for trying to do a good job.


More after the break.

WOLE ABODERIN & OYIN ADENUGA AT ARISE FASHION WEEK 2018

Mr and Mrs Olufeko

Oyin Olufeko nee Adenuga

Wole Aboderin 

The eldest daughter of billionaire businessman, Otunba Dr. Mike Agbolade ADENUGA, in the person of Oyin ADENUGA, now Mrs Oyin Adeolu Abayomi Olufeko was in the house at the Arise Fashion Week 2018 in Lagos yesterday, Monday, April 2, 2018 at the Continental Hotel, VI venue. She came in with her fine gentleman of a husband, Adeolu when a couple of the shows was ongoing. Meaning, all (everyone) had to wait, till that particular show would end before going on to grab their sits. She eventually sat at the front seat to the left latter.

Just at the same standing area, just about an arms length away to the right, waiting also to go grab his own seat  which was to the left, was none other than Oyin's "former friend" or "acquaintance", who many had then thought (though wrongly) was somewhat romantically linked to her which was found to be a lot of bumkum afterwards, and by virtue of that literally caused loads of unbelievable furore then, in the person of guy about town, property merchant Wole Aboderin.

The unpleasant attention that Wole had gotten then, made him go away quietly then for a while.

We were right behind the three people, while Adeolu who was dressed very simply in his native was to the left of his wife, who was carrying a beautiful tan coloured Chanel Chain bag and wore same colour of shoes. We saw how in close proximity the trio all were and how everyone tactically avoided each other. We saw Wole at a point look to his left, where Oyin was and could only see her back. To put it simply, it was some form of awkward moment there. 

NDUKA OBAIGBENA RESURRECTS AFRICA'S BIGGEST FASHION PLATFORM- ARISE FASHION WEEK!

Prince Nduka OBAIGBENA

The countdown has begun and the excitement is palpable and just too awesome to describe. The man behind it all Prince NDUKA OBAIGBENA, is not called the Duke for jokes or comedy!

The gap he had left for pretenders, they had found too massive to fill up. His fashion franchise known to the world as "Arise Fashion Week" was so massive then, bringing together some of the biggest brands and fashion people from Africa and around the world, it immediately went on the fashion map as one of the top fashion weeks to go to in Africa.

The Arise Fashion Week, while it lasted placed Nigeria on the map and it was a brilliant PR for the country and it pushed all the brands and individuals involved to the stratosphere, everyone had to improve their game then, just because to feature, you needed to be up to it.

One of the things it also did was to promote the best of Nigeria and African brands on the international platforms also, as Arise did go around some major parts of the world like Joburg, South Africa, New York, USA & London, UK spreading the gospel.

Now the brand had thought had gone moribund, has been revived again or better still resurrected and we are believing, it would be bigger and better by all standards.

Come March 2018, the exact dates we do not know yet, from the little information at our disposal "Arise Fashion Week 2018 should hold and we are all eagerly awaiting it, holding our breath, knowing that the This Day boss/Publisher always always delivers a slamdunk when it comes to any event he packages.

Another unconfirmed information has it that discussions are already on going in New York, where the "Arise team" have converged and the other part of the gist has it that discussions might also have gone on or might be going on with one of the most iconic models ever in the fashion world, the one and only "Naomi Campbell". What Naomi's role would be, we do not know yet as information for now is still very sketchy.

So if all goes according to plan, Lagos in 2018 will play host to at least 4 top fashion shows, 1st would be the "Arise Fashion Week 2018", next should be "Africa Fashion Week Nigeria 2018" between May & June 2018, next would be the "Heineken Lagos Fashion Week 2018" around October and then to crown it all, would be the "GTBank Fashion Weekend 2018" around November/December 2018.

With the resurgence of the "Arise Fashion Week franchise", maybe the other top fashion platform which we hope that would come back with a massive bang too, would be "Music Meets Runway" brand, which was a very unique concept combining fashion and music/entertainment.

Kudos to the Prince for this great wake up!

ARISE ORGANISERS & MODELS NON-PAYMENT. WHAT'S GOING ON?

PRINCE NDUKA OBAIGBENA

HELEN JENNINGS

We have been inundated by calls and sent anonymous comments bordering on the fact that a year after many so called home based(local) models did the last Arise Fashion Week 2012, they are yet to receive the payment for their jobs.  The models are especially angry that the annual show might not be happening in Nigeria this year, so they might not have the opportunity to make their grievances known. Also they are saying is it possible for the shows organisers to owe models abroad?

It got a bit bothersome, when those calling or sending comments began to think we were in league with the organisers to hide the fact that they have not being paid. The fact that we didn't or haven't talked about it, is because we never knew about it or could not have imagined that the organisers would have refused to pay the models(male & female) for jobs they had contracted them to do. Now from the little snippets we have gotten, the models seem to be ready for a showdown anytime soon. Many of the models have made up their minds that unless they are paid from henceforth, they wouldn't do any subsequent shows ever again. They are now saying that if they had known it would turn out like this, they would have walked away like some of their colleagues did last year just before the show began.

So over to you organisers, what seems to have affected the delay in payment to these models for a whole year? And if someone was mandated to do the payment, what has happened to the money and even the person? Is it in your plans/budget to ever pay these models? 

These questions need urgent responses and we are waiting to hear from you. Also can the models come out openly to make their demands?

ARISE MAGAZINE FASHION WEEK SET FOR SA?

OZWALD BOATENG AT THE 2012 EDITION

CURRENT COVER OF ARISE MAGAZINE

If all goes well as planned, barring any last minute change of mind, there is the possibility that this year's edition of the famous Arise Magazine Fashion Week, which seem to have made its home in Lagos, Nigeria might be held in Johannesburg or Cape Town, South Africa next. 

Knowing the boss of Arise Magazine, Prince Nduka Obaigbena very well, he would want to make sure that the brand becomes the preferred brand in Africa, when it comes to fashion weeks, so we are sure this particular move is part of the steps he has decided to take to show the world, that ARISE has no rival in the continent and it's not just a Nigeria thing, but for the whole continent. 

The last 2 editions of the Fashion week, were unprecedented successes, with hundreds of top fashion label participating. It was one event that helped to shift attention on Nigeria in a very positive way, now with the unconfirmed report that it might be moving to the fashion capital of Africa, somewhere in SA either Joburg or Cape town, it might be the much needed statement to say to the world again ''Africa Arise, let's take over the world''. 

The next few days should confirm for certain, if SA is it or not. Also, unconfirmed snippets also says that London, UK would also feel the invasion of the Arise brand this year also. When and where, we do not know yet, but we would make sure to give you the heads up as things unfold. 

Stay tuned.