By Vivian Onyebukwa
With a background in engineering in the Electrical/Electronics Engineering department of Auchi Polytechnic, Chukwumah Emmanuel went further to study Mass communication in the University of Lagos. This is as a result of his interest in creativity, which has led him into the fashion and beauty industry. He is noted for his annual beauty show known as “Nigeria Hair Show”, where he promotes hair and beauty industry. Now, he has gone a step further to organise a fashion show called “Runway Nigeria”, where he will showcase both local and international fashion designers.
Chukwumah Emmanuel is the Managing Director, Multi Devices Communications Ltd, an Events Management, Content Development, and Publishing company.
In this interview, he spoke about his interest in the fashion and beauty world, which, he said made him to abandon a career in Engineering.
How did you delve into fashion and beauty business?
My interest in fashion and beauty grew because of my interest in colours and creativity as I practised prints production after my studies in the University of Lagos (UNILAG). In 1997 when the awareness for wearing Ankara fashion in Nigeria started, I was one of the people who worked for it. Then, it was odd wearing Ankara to the office. Also, based on my experience and passion in the art of hairstyles, I started the “Nigeria Hair Show” in 2005 organised by my company, Multi Devices Communication.
When was the last time you organised the event?
I tried as much to remain afloat in the competition, but stopped after the 12th edition.
Why?
Like we know, for every business, finance is always a major issue.
How did you handle the challenge?
Ability to change strategies as the day and event goes. Every day, you decide what comes next and be very creative. That was my saving grace. Nobody knows your real content, so whichever way it comes, great.
How long have you been doing this?
I have been in the fashion and beauty industry for over two decades.
Tell us about your new baby, the “Runway Nigeria” show
“Runway Nigeria”, is a franchise from an America company, JMKPublicist. Multi Devices Communications Ltd, our company, got this franchise and we are out to prove the Nigerian hospitality and tourism through our collaboration. Runway International Showcase has different editions all over West Africa, with the last event that holds in Maryland, USA. The concept is great because it is meant to bring other designers from all over the world.
What sort of clothing are we expecting from the designers?
The designs to showcase include easy to wear clothing, corporate clothing, and accessories.
Why bringing designers from abroad?
Lots of designers want to come to Nigeria because we have the market already, so they want to come for growth in their business. Again, more awareness about their brand and sales will be sure because of good networking with some of our best hands. At present, we have three foreign designers ready to showcase and they will be networking with our designers here in Nigeria.
Is the fashion show worth the cost?
It’s worth the cost because it’s a medium to promote our dear country. With this we will be marketing some tourism spots in our country.
Fashion shows are no longer in vogue as a result of economic crises. How do you intend to make your money?
I have taken note of the trends in fashion and derived a way to make it work and easy, and that’s by developing personal brands that can help you.
How often do you intend to do this show?
It will be an annual event so it will help most of them to grow.
How are you going to sustain this new idea?
After taking a break from “Nigeria Hair Show,” I acquired more certificates to help me position for the future. I acquired a Executive Masters Certificate in Project Management as skill that positioned my thought process. I also went ahead to study Spa and Medical Aesthetics in Federal College of Education, Akoka, Lagos. Then, I also went further to Harvard Medical School in America where I got an Achievement Certificate on Health Improvement, focusing on quality and safety and came out with very high grades. This gave me the opportunity to start up Professional Association of Spa and Cosmetologists in Nigeria to focus on the safety of our skin with the advent of organics everywhere. So with all these, my plan is to revolutionize the sector gradually.
Tell us about the models that will showcase the clothes
We have done the model casting for the event in April this year and the turnout was massive. Since this is an international event, the designers need their statistics on time to work with. So we had to do the casting to get the details fast.
What criteria did you use to select them?
The models were selected based on their heights and experiences.
What do you think the government can do to promote fashion and beauty industry?
The government has a lot to do to support the fashion and beauty industry. There are lots of trainings within and abroad that we need to take advantage of to empower our people.
Another major issue to address is the inability to maintain our textile companies. Presently we cannot boost of five textile companies in a country of over 200 million people. We always import from West Africa and other countries.
Also, when it comes to the beauty industry, the Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) are finding it difficult working with the government agencies that regulate products, making it more difficult for them. We need to change the system.
Again, when it comes to importation, it’s another issue with freight charges that are over 100 percent fee after purchase.
Describe the Nigerian fashion industry
The fashion designers in Nigeria are really creative and poised for the best, but needs exposure. Again, there is no money to push. The fashion industry has to improve and be stable because most old designers always go under due to non-promotion.