Follow Us on Google
The fashion weekend is on – New York Fashion Week, London Fashion Week, Africa Fashion Week, London. And currently, the Paris Fashion Week is on-going in the fashion calendar.
While there are so many important things to do and prepare for, what is mostly ignored, but very crucial, is the models’ welfare, according to nternational super model, Bunmi Ademokoya.
Bunmi, who has been regular on different fashion weekends, spoke with Sunday Sun in London. She reeled out what needs to be done during fashion weekends in Nigeria and other African countries to further boost models’ charisma and welfare.
What would you suggest for brands and organisations to put in place for models at fashion weekends in the developing countries?
While it is amazing to have such a wonderful weekend just dedicated for all things fashion, beauty and the rest, we tend to forget the people behind the cogs to the well-oiled machine that is the fashion week.
One of the things that just makes sense in other fashion weeks around the world is having brands on board that cater to the welfare of the models.
One of the ways this is done is by having a model lounge. The international skincare brand, Weleda, has been organising for the past 18 years an example of this type of model lounge at the London Fashion Week.
The reason? They know how important it is for models to have a safe place for them to be in, during the fashion week. Not only that, they also know how important it is to get skincare advice from experienced aestheticians.
As models, where the physical attribute is the currency, ensuring that the models are physically and emotionally ready for the long exhausting fashion week is crucial.
The idea? The lounge creates a space for models to relax and recharge in between shows, get complimentary refreshments and massage, or facials, a place to hang out with other models, and a carefully curated goody bag filled with skincare and essential products to take home.
You just participated in London Fashion Week and Paris Fashion Week, and in November, Nigeria is having its annual GTCO Fashion Week. What do you wish the organisation should put in place for models?
Personally, I love this culture and I always look forward to the next fashion week. As a professional model myself, I always love being valued as an important component of the fashion week as a whole, knowing that there is a brand which is invested in my emotional and physical state of mind during this long exhausting week. I also get to have essential beauty products that would last me till the next fashion week.
Can you imagine if such a practice is put in place during the GTCO fashion week by smart, forward thinking brands?
For brands, advertising is key. The combined followership most models have on their social media pages is nothing short of staggering numbers, and as we all know, social media is the new money making machine.
Brands could build a whole new narrative out of this. The amount of people who would look forward to the next model lounge, or what is in the next goody bag every season, has the potential to become a movement or viral moments of its own.
It could even include make up artists who would also get products that could be used backstage, or even promoted to their potential clients.
Showing care to the people that brings the beauty in all that the weekend represents show that GTCO and the brands they choose to work alongside with cares, and is willing to provide a more nurturing space for the models during the fashion weekend.
Therefore, I implore brands whose values and mission, resonates with this, to create this beautiful culture, which already exists in other fashion capitals of the world. Not as a gimmick, but as a genuine way of upholding your brand values for many years to come.
As someone who has worked internationally, what changes would you like to see in Nigeria’s modelling industry over the next five years to make it more professional and globally competitive?
The pay in the modelling industry has to reflect the current international economic value of services rendered.
I’d also like to see Nigeria brands use actual models as their brand ambassadors just as they use the movie and music professionals, and pay them just as they pay the above-mentioned professionals.
For brands, advertising is key. Therefore, brands should actively look to book models and pay them their money’s worth.
Take a look at the viral Rachel Ojuromi for example. She has been able to build a growing international presence for herself around the world and Nigeria brands should be knocking on her door to tap into her potential branding.
If we don’t build our people up, we cannot expect loyalty from them when someone else does. Countries even smaller than Nigeria have helped build models career, therefore, it’s time for Nigerian brands to do the same.
I am hoping that in the next five years, the modelling industry in Nigeria has exponentially improved and even has the potential to be globally competitive just as the rest of its international markets.
Therefore, I implore brands whose values and mission, resonates with this, to create this beautiful culture, which already exists in other fashion capitals of the world. Not as a gimmick, but as a genuine way of upholding your brand values for many years to come.
Like the popular saying goes “Naija no dey carry last”. It is time to join the fashion forwards, and show the world that our fashion week cares as well.
