UNUSUAL PRAISE 2019 BECKONS. IT PROMISES TO BE THE BIGGEST & BEST SO FAR.

Lanre Da Silva Ajayi, Chairman Organizing Committee

Fatimata Coker, organizing committee member 

This is one massive event in the Catholic church of Lagos calendar that they always look forward to with relish annually. And another in the series beckons already and it shall be big, in fact massive on all counts. Just imagine the awesome atmosphere of praise, worship, thanksgiving, opportunity for soul winning and mentoring that is unleashed on an annual basis!

It's always that time of the year towards the tail end at that, as the year is grounding gradually to a finish, to get blessed and to bless unusually too. The upcoming event, known to all as 'UNUSUAL PRAISE 2019' of Friday, November 29, 2019 would be the biggest in the series by far, so far.

Though officially this is the 9th edition, but it is in fact, the 4th major one at that. It would start at 5pm on the Friday of the 29th November and would end with a mass the next day on the 30th at 5am. The last gathering in 2018, had more than 50000 people at the venue, praising, worshipping, praying etc. For this edition it is expected that at least 100000 (one hundred thousand), grateful praise worshippers of all denominations would gather at the venue, which is not far from the Catholic Church of Divine Mercy, Lekki Phase 1 which is the events host this year. There are 3 of the Catholic Churches majorly involved as organizers of the annual event and they are Catholic Church of Divine Mercy, Lekki Phase 1, St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church, Victoria Island and Catholic Church of Assumption, Falomo, Ikoyi, others of shown willingness to come in board fully too. And many from other branches have sent in various supports too.

Like it is tagged-Unusual Praise 2019, Unusual Praises and worship would be unleashed from 5pm of the start day till 5am of the next day and crowned off with a mass, which is the most important part of a Catholic life. Expected at the event are all denominations and faiths. There's no discrimination whatsoever at all. And a few of those that would grace the occasion to add fire to it and dazzle all with their gifts are Nathaniel Bassey, Mary Chinwo, Chioma Jesus, Big Bolaji, Penam Percy Paul, Beejay Sax, David G, Grace Eze, Tope Alabi, Joe Praiz, Osinachi Nwachukwu, Akanchawa and very many others.

There would be free buses across the 20 archdioceses of Lagos to take willing participants to the venue. There would be free wifi at the event venue too to be provided by Udux. The venue of the event is Periwinkle Ground along Freedom Way, Lekki Phase 1.

The year's theme is "Declaring the glory of the Lord among the nations, a verse gotten from 1 Chronicles 16:24. The organizers would love for people to have a proper understanding of that the Unusual Praise is about. And that is that, it is not in anyway a normal music concert, but a 'praise event'. It's like evangelizing through pure music. A soul winning event or platform for that matter. It is seen as that opportunity, to reach those that normally might not be reachable through other means. According to them, Praise is a part of a ministry. So this is praising God for a long time as compared to the normal 2 hours.

A day prior to the biggest opportunity for praise, the mentoring program by the organizers that is part of the annual event would award or support at least 250 businesses handpicked from 3000 applicants that successfully went through the rigorous processes they had to scale through. They would be awarded not just with mentoring, but with various amounts of money too from between N100,000 to N1,000,000 (one hundred thousand to one million Naira), so as to help towards the growth and progress of such businesses. The monetary support is not limited to just Catholics though. But in fact, to all. So that's like putting their money where their mouth is. For us, we think that this is actually a  powerful way of preaching the Gospel to the world we can happily say.

Last year 2018 alone at least 100 viable businesses got this mentoring and aids, but that number increased significantly by 150 this year 2019. So as more donations are made to the coffers of the organizers then their tentacles would spread further and wider too, aiding more and more.

Award winning designer of note, Lanre Da Silva Ajayi is the orgainising committee Chairperson for this year's event.
This year's event is a must be at. And Invitation of very FREE also for all.

Let's go there. 

FOR LANRE DA SILVA AJAYI LIFE BEGINS AT 40!

Lanre Da Silva-Ajayi is undoubtedly one of Nigeria's best designers. In fact she's one of the most internationally recognized Nigerian designer right now and one that's home based at that. Her atelier, is in Lagos, precisely Dolphin Estate in Ikoyi, Lagos, Nigeria.

She is one of the very few in the cutthroat industry, where you are up there today and gone tomorrow that has helped to place Nigeria, on the world map, while also placing her name high up there when it comes to the fashion industry.

At the age of 27 years old in 2005 after she had returned to Nigeria from her studies in the UK, where she had bagged a 1st degree in Business Administration at the Coventry University and a 2nd degree (Masters) in Finance from the University of Leicester, she founded her award winning ams quite successful eponymous brand better known now simply as LDA.

It has been a roller-coaster of a magic carpet kinda ride ever since. A decade and 3 years in the fashion industry since that humble beginning in 2005. And like an acorn that was well planted in a good soil and one that has been very well nurtured ever since, she has grown in leaps and bounds ever since then, dazzling all comers year after year with her awesome and incomparable creativity and great charm, from Lagos to London to New York to Paris and more, winning converts in droves as they experience her offerings. In fact Lanre's celebrity following, which cuts across the young and not so old, is one of the most impressive of any, with those loyal to her mesmeric amd nearly magical creations not willing to shift base, whatsoever.

So today, Monday, August 6, 2018 is the very married, mother of 2's 40th year on earth. Her beautiful birthday at that and the friends and associates of the successful lioness of a creative maven have been besides themselves with joy, blowing her trumpets unstoppably and banging and thumping their drums in unmitigated celebration of her.

We too, having been swept off our feet by the excitement, are happy to flow in the euphoric air while wishing her the very best of a new lease of life.

Happy birthday Lanre!

KUDOS TO THE GOBSMARKINGLY GORGEOUS MOSUNMOLA DOMINIQUE ABUDU....

Now the world knows, they have been alerted to understand that Mo Abudu's words are are bond. When she says it or makes a promise she always would make it happen or come true.

The pre-hype for "The Wedding Party 2", the sequel to the first installment which on its own was a resounding success was totally and thoroughly justified. Those who were lucky to have attended, were swept off their feet totally. The magic started from the security area to the walkway/red carpet area to inside the venue itself.

Mo and cast and crew delivered first on a great movie, and then also, she and her organisers delivered a magic of a party/premiere. It was stylish, it was opulent, it was rich, it was fun, all in all a resounding success by all standards and not boring at all. And the Celebrities, stars, dignitaries, et al came like a pouring rain.

And the head honcho who made sure all the elements met together in a good way was none other than Mo Abudu the incredible.

From this delivery alone, people would always fall over themselves to be a part of anything Mo Is involved in from now on.

For the beautiful night, the gorgeous lady of style was clad in an award winning piece by none other than "Lanre Da Silva Ajayi", make up as usual was by Banke Meshida Lawal, the only one MB swears by and most likely can never change. Hair was by Esther Tom of Game of Fros. 

YEMI ALUKO & LANRE DA SILVA AJAYI DELIVERS A FIRST CLASS SLAMDUNK WITH CHURCH OF ASSUMPTION CLASSY HARVEST LUNCHEON/FUNDRAISER 2017!

KING SUNNY ADE & FLAVOUR DAZZLES AT THE ANNUAL FUNDRAISER OF THE CHURCH OF ASSUMPTION FALOMO, Ikoyi.

Lanre Da Silva Ajayi

KSA

Flavour

This year's edition of the annual harvest luncheon/annual fundraiser of the "Catholic Church of Assumption, Falomo, Ikoyi Lagos" would not be forgotten in a hurry. The event happened over the weekend, same day as "Ifeoma Williams birthday party at the Civic Center", but earlier in the day and the place of choice was none other than "Yewande Zaccheaus's Harbour Point", near Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island, Lagos.

It's one memory that would linger for a long while in the mind of all that attended, as entertainment of the highest order linked or connected simlessly with philanthropy/charity at the height, at this year's event. Not only were they able to achieve the reason for the gathering, they were also entertained by 2 of the best in the business as guest artistes.

The highly successful harvest luncheon/fundraiser had as it Harvest Luncheon/Fundraising Committee chairperson Yemi Aluko, and the Planning committee for this year's event was headed by top fashion entrepreneur and very gifted and award winning designer, the one and only "Lanre Da Silva Ajayi", with all the committees reporting to Yemi Aluko. 

And with the way things went, Lanre proved her mettle to be a meticulous organiser with fantastic attention to detail as a premium. Kudos to her and her members and by extension to the other committees, but the major kudos to Yemi Aluko for a very very very successful event.

Everyone that was an heavyweight from all walks of life, likes of many certified billionaires, others multimillionaires attended the harvest luncheon/ fundraiser. From the wealthy young Turks to the "super rich Old Skool peeps". Some of those that were seen at the very successful event were the likes of Charles & Didi Ndiomu, Pascal Dozie- Diamond Bank and MTN fame, disputable king of "Rolls Royce" and lawyer Dr. Boluwasanmi "Bolu" Akin-Olugbade PhD, the incomparable Erelu of Lagos herself, the ever white cladded Erelu Abiola Dosunmu, Hajia Fatima Edu, Biodun Aluko, the boss of Zinox and one of the biggest property owners in Nigeria, Leo Stan Ekeh, indefatigable and very prosperous businessman Oscar Udoji, one of Nigeria's most solid investment bankers and GMD AfriInvest West Africa Ltd, Ike Chioke, who was the day's chairman, Hakeem Muri-Okunola aka HMO, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Youths and Sports, Lagos State, Mr. & Mrs. Walter Akpani, the MD/CEO of Providus Bank, whose wife is the CEO of Northwest Petroleum and Gas Company, Chuka Eseka, Yinka and Derin Shonekan, Pat Faniran, Chuks Iroche and very many others.

Yemi Aluko who was this year's Harvest committee chairman with very strong ties to King Sunny Ade himself, brought the King of African beats to the luncheon to add major bite to the whole proceedings and as expected when KSA sees the high and mighty, he gets inspired to no end, so he gave another excellent performance worthy of commendation. It wasn't only KSA that razzled-dazzled all at the event, even afro-higlife pop crooner, with the crazily sexy body- "Flavour" also added major flavour to the event too. 

The fundraiser is an annual event of the church, and this year's focus was to raise funds towards a project that the church had already embarked on before, which was building some structures for "Mater Ecclesiae College, old Isiwom Road, Igbodu, Epe, Lagos", this particular fundraiser was towards the 2nd phase of that same project. We heard that at the end of the day's event, the expected amount was raised effortlessly. 

The Church of the Assumption, Falomo, Ikoyi had acquired a while ago and fenced the 40 acres school land and went on to build a secondary school with 7 structures there, which included classroom block, dormitories, staff quarters etc. The school started with 25 pioneer students (male and female) in 2015 and is growing rapidly. 

VOGUE ITALIA PRESENTS VOGUE TALENT, WHO'S NEXT? ROOTING FOR LANRE DA SILVA AJAYI

LANRE DA SILVA AJAYI & ANNA WINTOUR

On Wednesday September 17^th, Nigerian Designer, Lanre Dasilva Ajayi showcased its S/S 2015 Rock Delight collection at Palazzo Morando, Milan Italy.  This was made possible by Vogue Talent, the yearly Vogue Italia event that presents designers from Europe and beyond to an international retail audience and fashion industry heavyweights who get to know the next design talent.

In furtherance of the LDA vision to be a cutting edge brand, the designer creates timeless pieces that stand the test of time.  The LDA brand is proud to have been selected to present at the Vogue Talent event which further entrenches the position of African Fashion on the global fashion scene.

The Fashion Label was sponsored to the international event by the Guaranty Trust Bank SME MarketHub, as part of the Bank’s efforts to put local talents on the global map.

 

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MUSIC MEETS RUNWAY 2013 UNVEILS THE 5 ICONIC DESIGNERS

Music Meets Runway unveils 5 iconic designers who will be showcasing at this year’s edition. Also showing his wedding collection on the date is Mai Atafo.  Music Meets Runway (MMR) has successfully showcased Nigeria’s talent in the fashion and music industry in the past years and has also encouraged up and coming designers by giving them a platform for recognition. 

This is the 3^rd edition and its tagged ‘iconic’, which features our established home designers who are trailblazers and internationally recognized with several awards, reputable brand partnerships and participation in fashions shows (local & international) to their credit.

MEET THE DESIGNERS

 OKUNOREN TWINS

eKehinde and Taiwo Okunoren have been in the business of designing sophisticated African and European styled suits for over a decade. The duo launched their first line of suits at the very young age of 19 and have continued to rise steadily to prominence ever since. Their most recent accomplishments include the showcasing of their latest designs at the 2012 Arise Fashion Week, an event that was flooded with the who’s who of the African fashion and entertainment industry.

TAIWO & KEHINDE (OKUNOREN TWINS)

 G.O.O.D. Music’s latest addition, D Banj, was also seen sporting a custom made suit by the twins during his sold-out 2013 DKM Concert. Over the years, DJ Caise, Naeto C and Don Jazzy are a few of other celebrity clients the twins have dressed up for red carpet events (and in Naeto C’s case, his very own wedding). 

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LDA RAZZLES & DAZZLES AT THE GTB LFDW 2013 WITH 'COLOUR STORM'

THE EVER VIVACIOUS LANRE DA SILVA AJAYI

In our opinion, the LDA brand is the most improved fashion brand in Nigeria. Year after year, we expect them to disappoint, but instead season after season the brand continues to evolve, opening for us new chapter after another in their quest to become one of the world most respected fashion brand. So far they are one of the few Nigerian international brand that can hold their own anytime with the best of international brands from anywhere. 

We are never bored by LDA, something new and interesting would always unfold, either in the fabric used or the cuts or the colour mix or combo, something striking always. Their collection at the just concluded GTB LFDW 2013 was tagged 'COLOUR STORM'. 

Truly & truly, we fell in love with the collection, which brought to fore a bit of nostalgia of the best of decades past. See the full head of hair on the heads of the models on the catwalk, the funky, retro style of the designs which spoke so much of the very good of the 70's style now redone in today's glam. 

We love it when we can see that a brand has given good thought towards a collection, from start to finish, from a beginning that ends well.

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