Dele Aberuagba, is a man with many parts. He is a journalist cum publisher and also a fashion designer. His sojourn in active journalism spanned over 35 years. He actually cut his professional teeth at Nigeria’s foremost newspaper, the then Daily Times after going through professional training at the then Times Newspapers Training Institute (Times Journalism Institute) in 1984 after which he later graduated in Public Relations at the Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ) in 1987. He went through all the editorial sections of the Daily Times where he worked as a reporter, sub editor and production editor. His sojourn also took him to Nigeria’s first soft-sell magazine, Prime People in 1991 where he worked and later became the editor. He also worked at Today’s Choice Magazine and later returned to the Daily Times as the Editor of Lagos Weekend in 2000.
Subsequently, the journey took him to the organisation of King Sunny Ade where he worked as the Public Relations Manager for three years before relocating to the United Kingdom. After some time in the UK, he floated his own magazine, Empire International.
Today, he has diversified into fashion designing, under the auspices of his outfit, Empire Fashion House (EFH). He still practises journalism though, doing special publications and public relations management.
Why did you decide to go into, not just fashion, but men’s fashion?
In the course of my journalism sojourn, it got to a point I was placed on the entertainment desk. This was while I was at Prime People Magazine. As the entertainment page columnist, we found ourselves relating and meeting with musicians of all sorts. Not only did we have constant relations with them, we were always present at their functions. This was the days of Niteshift Coliseum, Roots Exclusive Club, Laparias, Skindles, Watch Tawah Inn and others. During these periods, I remember I would always like to don my crisp Italian linen and sometimes, some designers would always patronize us by sewing freely for us. No doubt, I was really enjoying that aspect of being an entertainment journalist, seeing ourselves with virtually all the Nigerian music stars. There is something I will not forget to say here. At some point, we found ourselves being promoted in various live shows of Wasiu Ayinde Marshal, Adewale Ayuba, Sir Shina Peters, Dele Taiwo and the rest, singing our praises at parties. The tapes would go viral in town and people misconstrued it that we spent all of our money on artistes all over the place. Little did they realize we were only being patronised by the music stars. While we were enjoying every bit of the practice then, it got to a point that I was always saying to myself that one day, I would see myself making outstanding clothing for celebrities and people that desire to look real good and enviable. This I had always had at the back of my mind but was just waiting for the right time to achieve the goal. Today, the reality is here.
How lucrative is the business?
Lucrative to me comes in so many ways. You can come across fortune out of the quality people you meet in the course of offering service. For fashion business, for instance, you find yourself making clothes for people of all sorts, be it politicians, music stars, actors and actresses, professionals in diverse backgrounds. And in the process, transactions can actually snowball into mega business in any way. So, I can tell you wholeheartedly that fashion business can be very lucrative. Particularly, I wish I had branched off from journalism into fashion decades ago, because I enjoy every bit of it. It gives me so much fulfilment when I see customers look great and very exciting in clothes that are made from my clothing studios. The money aspect is secondary though. You cannot evaluate the feelings I get seeing people clad in my creative works.
What’s trending for men when it comes to traditional outfit?
A kind of revolution is best to describe my response to this question, something that has lately created avenues for our hard working designers that come up with various styles and revolutionize the fashion industry, the same way hip hop stars turned around the fortune of Nigerian music industry as against the 70s, 80s clutch and craze for American hip hop music.
Not only do the latest senator designs and fabrics make a fashion statement at multiple occasions, the wears are so comfortable that men enjoy and feel great in them. It has even gone past what could be referred to as traditional because it cuts across every function.
The place of senator wears styles is versatile, so much that it looks good for all occasions, be it birthdays, weddings, anniversaries and even offices.
Many thanks to our local fashion designers, our men now have an assortment of fashion options that are indigenous to our lands- aside from the classic agbada and kaftan styles. All these are evident in the spate of locally-made senator style fabric wears that are ordered from Nigerian designers and shipped to United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, South Africa, etc.
Today, most Nigerian men wear the senators fabrics design to all forms of occasions. It’s a simple design, yet looks rich, especially if it’s well tailored with perfect finishing.
If you have been invited to a wedding or any occasion and want to look for great ideas to make a fashion statement but also want an outfit you can equally wear to other places without looking too dressed up and not looking bogus, just go for the senators style native wear. That’s the traditional thing for men today.
Are there colours forbidden for the men?
I definitely would not say no, because this is where fashion intuition of practitioners comes in. The ability to be able to combine what is regarded as female colours can actually prove you wrong. Who says you cannot use pink colours for men clothing? Yes you can. It depends on the choice of colour combination the designer comes up with.
Do you think men are not as stylish as women?
That is in the past. Today, men are somewhat very fashionable and stylish and I mean it. The school of thought has it that looking good is good business. Quite a lot of men have come to terms with the fact that the way you look says a lot about you. For me, you don’t have to wait for a special day for you to be clad in that your crisp suit or smashing senators-style wear. You define your personality by what you put on and that says a lot. Some men these days no longer wait for their wives to outshine them when they appear at social functions. Both now appear gorgeous, no thanks to the emerging talents in the fashion world that dictates the tune lately.
What is the state of fashion business in Nigeria as regards the state of economy?
As we speak, the fashion industry has become one of the attractions of foreign business interests. The other day, I had a stopover in Turkey on my way to the United Kingdom. I found out that 95 per cent of passengers on the aircraft were actually going to Turkey to purchase wears. A number of them I spoke to made me realise they were only going to take delivery of goods ordered before they left Nigeria and to explore the country for newer products. Today, the country Nigeria makes a fortune from the daily transactions from Turkey, Dubai, USA, and China because the huge demand for wears that come into the country cannot be over-emphasized. Figures have equally shown that the nation cannot take her eyes away from that industry because of the enormous revenue that keep trooping in lately. This is the reason practitioners have continued to be relevant in the scheme of things too.
What is style?
Style, to me, is all about who you are. It is what defines you even without talking. This is one thing I cannot compromise. I love to look good any day, anywhere and anytime. It feels real good to emerge at a place and be seen as an outstanding person. Nothing like it.
What can you say about Nigeria’s fashion industry?
The Nigeria fashion industry is really coming alive with the upsurge of highly creative individuals that are doing so much to promote the heritage of the country. Aside from the embrace of traditional Ankara fabrics, which are today used to make blazers, complete agbada, ladies now feel great in Ankara made with skirts and blouse. Not only do they feel comfortable and presentable in the traditional fabrics, many have adopted the fabrics to call for uniforms at parties, a great innovation that has brought so much patronage and revenue to textile companies. Not only that, the advent of senators-style wears for men is one that has transformed the fortune of the industry, a development that generates huge fortune for commercial traders who import and export the fabrics in large volumes. All these and more, no doubt have added to the general revenues being generated through the industry into the coffers of the government, so much that the relevance of the industry cannot be messed with. Basically, I feel proud that I play a part in the industry and people from across the world appreciate and value the varieties of wears we churn out from Empire Fashion House. It’s such a lovely feeling and I am proud I belong to that industry.