By Vivian Onyebukwa
Agbatu Jevic Chukwuchebem is the Creative Director of JEVIC Couture. A graduate of History and International Relations from the Lagos State University, Agbatu has officially been in fashion business for about seven years. In this interview, he speaks about life and fashion, among others.
Why did you go into fashion designing?
I can say from childhood, I have loved looking good, and not just good but being neat. In my primary and secondary school days, I was used as an example of how a student should look.
Another thing is my dad. He loves to dress good and use quality material. Then some other celebrities like Ebuka Obi Uchendu, Richard Mofe Damijo (RMD) and Jim Iyke inspired me to be a fashion designer because of the way they dress.
What are some of the early challenges you encountered in the business?
My early challenge was sourcing for customers. It was a difficult thing then. Another is, going online so as to get customers from there. That became a huge problem because the fraud going on, on the internet, made it hard to convince people to do business with me. Seeing that one is a Nigerian was a big problem.
Then you know that even Nigerians abroad don’t trust the ones at home. But with time, I have been able to convince them to trust me, assuring them of the safety of their money. That’s how I picked up. Also, with the help of some clients that have done work with me who now say good things about me, the fear of the unknown ended. Business began. Right now, those issues don’t come.
What are the implications of the influx of foreign-made clothes to the industry?
To this I would not say that there is no implication to the Nigerian designers because as it is now, it shows that Africa is where designers are going to be, not what the foreigners are bringing in.
This is because, if you look at what they are bringing into the country, you would see that it’s a mass productive wears, and not everybody is comfortable with such designs. Another thing is the quality of the materials they use in bringing all those designs into the country. They are not what some are expected to be. But with African designs, with the material itself, you have to buy and make. You know you are buying to the taste and design of your choice. So no limit or magnitude of what the influx of the foreign made designs comes to the Nigerian market will check the Nigerian designers.
Many youths seem not to be interested in learning fashion designing these days. How can they be encouraged to develop interest in it?
I would say they are not putting interest in learning not just fashion design but every other work sector. It is as a result of the get-rich-quick syndrome. They are not interested because they want to be like rich people such as Obi Cubana, E-money, Cubana Chief priest, all these guys. But being like them, they didn’t just come out and meet money. They worked for their money and their money is speaking for them right now. Another problem is internet stuff- The yahoo
syndrome. When they see that their classmate just bought a car and he’s not into any business.
What did he do? It is just Yahoo that the person did. They want to go into Yahoo.
Instead of going into learning a trade, they think they would be wasting such a long time in learning one particular stuff like in six or four years. But their friends just got into Yahoo, maybe within a space of one year, have made money and buy things. But that to me is not the ultimate goal because they can make money in Yahoo. What is the next step for them? The next step for them is using the money to buy clothes, lodge in hotels, buy cars. They don’t think of investments, they only think of luxurious lives. The problem there is, what of tomorrow? How will the person cope if the money is not there? But if you have a work you learned or business you are doing, you know that this is a long run project. No matter what comes, you would still see what you can fall on. But with the Yahoo aspect, no. And par adventure if the security outfit like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), comes to play, then the person would lose everything. You are in prison. You are not doing anything. Maybe you didn’t do anything for your family. They will not even see money to bring you out from there. So the life of the person is going off the line.
My advice is for every parent to start now, try to fix their kids in one thing or the other. Now that they are in school, you can fix them in one thing they would be learning when they come back from school. I don’t support after school lesson where you keep a child in lesson for about two extra hours. Instead of using that money to pay for extra lesson in school, you use it to go and pay for a job for your child to start now. Before the child would finish primary school, he or she
must have learned one or two things. Going into secondary, the child would have something he or she is going in with.
I would use myself as an example. Being in school, I did fashion design for fun. I might come to school and someone would admire what I was putting on, and would want me to do it for him.
When I graduated I told myself that I didn’t want to carry a file, work about and start looking for a job. I started on my own, although starting off was not easy, but I had to do it. Today, it is paying off. That is what I want parents to reason right now, because the way the country is going, it is not helping matters. Every parent needs to find one thing or the other to fix their child. Even if not to learn a work, maybe they can go to a computer programme, because the world is going from manual to digital era. Time will come when some works we do will be taken away from humans. It will become a machine that will be doing all those things. People who know how to control the Artificial Intelligence (AI) will take place of everything. So it’s better for parents to start now and try to let their kids have that belief that in every work you learn today, no matter how far it takes, it will surely pay off.
In what way do you think fashion design will contribute to national development?
It depends on how the country wants to look into it, because there are so many countries out there, which through fashion, they do bring in revenue to the government of the day. It depends on how our government put interest in fashion. I can use Nollywood as an example. During former President Goodluck Jonathan era, the government invested into the Nollywood industry.
It was a booming business. It made a lot of revenue for Nigeria and put Nigeria on the map out there. Everywhere, not just Africa, Europe, Asia, America, all, Nollywood is speaking, competing with other movie industries. Just like if the nation would put more interest and project this fashion industry to the next level, I think it will help a lot. More tourists would be coming in to see what the country has.
What are some of the challenges facing fashion designers? And what is the way out?
Designers face a lot of challenges because it is not a one-man business. One can’t do it alone, else one can’t cover or meet up to survive. Another problem is manpower. The way you treat people at times shows how they would work for you or be in your work place. There is also the problem of what kind of worker one is trying to employ. Also, temperament of the worker is an issue. Working relationship is also discovered to be a problem. This is about the kind of relationship the worker and the employer have. If they have a cordial relationship like brothers, it would help in the business. Electricity too is a big issue. Without a manual machine when electricity is not steady, the work cannot go. Industrial machine all through can’t do it alone. The high price of fuel is not helping matters either. The light is not steady. Even the monthly bill they charge is high too.
How long do you intend to be in the business?
I can’t say how long I intend to stay. It is as long as God can carry me.
Are you fulfilled?
For the moment, I would say, yes.
Do you do only male clothes or unisex?
I do both sexes.