By Vivian Onyebukwa
Ejiro Amos Tafiri, is one of the notable fashion designers in Nigeria. As a brilliant child, good in both sciences and the arts, her parents, Mr and Mrs Amos Tafiri, who were then civil servants, wanted her to become a medical doctor. Rather, she chose to go into fashion, which did not go down well with her parents. They felt disappointed, especially at a time when sewing trade was perceived as a territory for school dropouts. They could not imagine how she would not want to study medicine at the University of Lagos, but chose to do fashion at Yaba College of Technology, where she eventually obtained her degree. However, she decided to pursue her dream diligently and make her chosen career a success knowing fully well that she had no support.
Today, she is a proud child of her parents with her excellent achievement in the fashion industry. One movie that gave her inspiration growing up was, Woman of Substance, a story about a young help who got into sewing and started her own business to become an established designer worldwide. The movie, according to her, was a confirmation of her dream of becoming a notable fashion designer. She also began reading stories of about top fashion designers like “Rose of Sharon”, owned by oil magnet, Folorunsho Alakija, and others, whose works inspired her greatly.
After her National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Tafiri interned for two years with Tiffany Amber, a Nigerian female-owned international fashion brand. She left the job and started her label in 2010.
In this interview, she spoke about her life and career.
How small did you start, and how big are you now?
I started sewing from home. Later I moved into two small shops at the back of my mother’s house in Ikotun Egbe, Lagos. From there, I moved into a three bedroom flat in Egbe, Lagos where I still retain as my factory. I also have a showroom in the heart of Ikoyi, and a fashion school in Ikeja.
What were your early challenges in the business?
I am a person that does not catalogue challenges. I don’t even want to see them, because already, my whole career in fashion was met with resistance and with a lot of Nos’. Also, I wasn’t coming from a rich background. People we were together in fashion had a lot of friends who were rich and socialites. It was that network of people that defined what was fashion. They would be your customers, champions, and people that would celebrate you. They would get the media to talk about you if you were already a child of affluence. Coming from where I was coming from, both my parents were civil servants. Then my father was already retired and my mum was still working. It was difficult breaking in. I had to rely on sheer talent, grace, and ingenuity, going out of the box, because I don’t have what it takes to do it. I m going to do it with what I have in my own way, and it worked out for me. So interning in different fashion houses, working before starting my brand, helped me to have a good look into what the current fashion world was, figure out my niche, know how I wanted to attract my customers even though I didn’t have a shop and money. There was no dream of owning any shop. I lived in Ikotun, Lagos at the time. But then, I quickly thought about exhibition and how to stand out and put together all those things.
So there would always be challenges. Whatever that would make you successful is seeing those things as work. Other challenges included electricity and bad roads. The banks at the time would not loan you money. Then, the stigma for designers and tailors that they never deliver on time was also a challenge. So if you sit back and start worrying about your challenges, you won’t take a step. They are many. I don’t live in them, I live in what I’m able to achieve.
Why is everybody rushing into fashion designing business these days?
It is a boom. I think it is the social media. Also, in Nigeria, the fact that a lot of people would get out of school, and couldn’t get jobs, is another reason. More so, the entry requirement into fashion is very minimum, and there is also this Instagram boom; because of social media, there is ease of marketing. The entry requirement in fashion designing is easier, cheaper and accessible. I think that is why there is huge influx into fashion. You don’t need a camera person, model to model you clothes. You can do it yourself. You can use your phone and snap and post on Instagram. Africans are typically very creative people, and the fact that there is no job, everybody digs deep to implore their creativity. It is also accepted by parents now. When I was starting out, my parents did not like it at all. It was almost like an abomination, taboo for you to be an intelligent child and say you want to do fashion. It was perceived as something for people that could not do well in academics. A child that had all A’s and was supposed to go and do medicine, choosing fashion was unheard of. But now, it is not like that. It is like people doing well in music, and fashion. Parents can now be proud of them. Again, all the campaign of buy Nigeria, wear Nigeria is another thing. There is a lot being done to affect psych and people now know that when they produce, people will patronise them. They don’t have that foreign mentality as much where before you have to wear foreign brand. Then, on the red carpet you find only foreign brand. Now on the red carpet you have only Nigerian or African brand. It is almost impossible and unheard of in Africa right now for you to go on the red carpet without wearing an African brand.
How lucrative is the business?
For the most part, you would say it is lucrative, but it is about sustainability. What do you call lucrative? How much are you investing? How big do you want to grow? Typically, it is lucrative depending on how you position your business. Do you want to be a ready-to-wear designer? Who are your target audience? Who are you trying to sell to? How well is your marketing strategy? If you have it all, of course, yes, it is lucrative, but sometimes it is challenging, especially if you want to do it in a certain way, and ascribe to certain level. It depends on what you call success. Some people could be making tops and simple skirts in Yaba market, selling them at N1,500 or N3,000 and making millions daily. Some are there as top designers and they can’t pay their bills and still working on investors and guarantors. For me, it depends on what you call success. So, working in fashion value chain, yes, it is lucrative.
Who are your clients?
They are upwardly mobile women. Women who are sure of who they are and know where they are going. My clothes help women express their powers, identity, and their status. Basically they are CEOs of companies, top executives in different organisations, young women who have a sense of who they are, and who are in their 30s and 40s and have sense of self. I have a few 20s, but those ones are usually those who are self-assured and have developed their sense of style. I don’t do crowd mentality clothes. Every cloth is classy and timeless, but intricate.
Can you mention a few of them?
It is not really right to mention who your clients are. That is boastful, but for the ease of it. Actually almost all the top female musicians such as Tiwa Savage, Waje, and Nollywood actress, Rita Dominic are among them. Typically any female A-list star in music and Nollywood, could have worn Ejiro Amos Tafiri brand at one time or the other. Then across other industries, you have captains of industries, top government and businesswomen, and people that own their businesses.
What fabric do you feel comfortable working with?
Fabrics that drape. I work a lot with chiffon, silk; any fabric that has movement. Even if the fabric does not have movement, I make sure it moves. I’m mostly known for draping, so they call me Nigerian drape queen.
Where do you usually get your fabrics from?
From the local market. Sometimes I may do a design and print it. Sometimes I get from Turkey or China, but typically, I shop here. I work a lot with local artisans. I do a lot of tie and die. I work with aso oke weavers as well.
What about ankara fabric?
I am not into ankara fabric. People call it Nigerian fabric but I know that it is not Nigerian. It has its deep root, foundation from Dutch, which is Hollandaise, made by accompanying Holland. I know that it is not Nigerian, although they borrow a lot of our motifs. We started wearing a lot of it, so they take a lot of our heritage and use it to be designing with the motif, but it is not that it must be made here. So even if you patronise ankara, it is not like it is something that is from one village, no. But aso oke is a traditional fabric that we make by ourselves. Tie and die, and akwete too. These are our own traditional fabrics. Yes, ankara could be called African fabric because it is specifically used by Africans. I use it sometimes. I have been a Vilisco Ambassador, so I use it.
What is style to you?
For my client, when I’m thinking about my brand, I think about different women, what it means to different people, and what it means to be an independent woman, strong, and has a great sense of self.
For me, style is being able to put on something, dress in certain way that portrays my emotion, and be free or conscripted, but to do it with a decent level of elegance and ease. I believe that fashion should be for people, and not people for fashion, like when you and your outfit mood become one. That is style to me.
What can you say is your turning point in your career?
The major turning point in my career started at Oleku, an outfit birthed from the re-imagination of Iro and Buba. “Oleku” is a traditional attire I loved wearing as a child and a young girl. Although it was not well received at first, the design went on to sell thousands giving me the financial power to open the Ikoyi store. Others designs I birthed include the Celine Dress and Nadine Set.