GTCO Fashion Weekend 2024 Day 1 kicked off with a lot of activities as anticipated.
Attendees were welcomed into a custom-curated site for the season’s fashion event at the vast GTCenter on Victoria Island in Lagos, where fashion, beauty, and lifestyle stores greeted them with an array of in-season goods on display.
The presentation stage inside the expansive hall had new collections from Nigerian designers Ninie, Lohije and Jewel Jamila presented in a curated showcase. This was a major fashion highlight for day one.
Day one saw Lulu Kennedy and Patricia Bright at a packed masterclass where the facilitators dished on gems for participants especially in the creative industry.
The masterclass kicked off with Lulu Kennedy, founder of Fashion East, Lulu and Co and once upon a time Editor at Large at Conde Nast. Dubbed the “fairy godmother of British Fashion”. Her journey into fashion she noted was accidental with no fashion background or training after she moved from Italy to London.
The Fashion East founder who is credited to have launched the careers of Simon Rocha, Kim Jones and JW Anderson talked about supporting talented creatives and how to grow as a fashion designer. On building a lasting fashion brand, she mentions putting in place things as simple as “curating your social media, the look and feel of your brand is important, real-life interactions, networking.”
On what to what to look forward in the future in fashion globally; She mentions “it’s about the youth. The newness excites me also the new way of doing things. I love to see more people working together, support others and more manufacturers coming together with designers”.
She mentions how talent and passion plays a huge role in succeeding; “if you have a talent and the drive you will succeed, make friends along the way, treat people well, not horribly competing or copying”. The renowned fashion expert noted that from the get go “I didn’t want to be a designer, I am the person behind the talent. I like connecting people maybe because of my background in nightlife”.
It was a deeply insightful and engaging conversation.
Next up was Patricia Bright, a top fashion and lifestyle influencer, content creator and entrepreneur as well as author who started off as YouTuber before that became popular over thirteen years ago.
“Social media today is not the same thing it was fifteen years ago”. Starting off, there was no business plan as social media back then was largely just about video sharing. “There was no game plan to be famous”. With a background in accounting, Bright started off working in Investment Banking and Consulting and worked for seven years before taking a deep dive into producing content. In the first three months, she didn’t make any notable headway and she went back to work before she went back again to start again.
On reinventing, Bright notes that people get bored so you have to reinvent yourself, “switch up and be more strategic” for longevity she says. On influence she hopes she is a positive person and ” I show up as I chose to live”. “Find a community outside of friends and family”.
Talking about doors social media can open, she offers “you can end up in spaces you didn’t think you will be”. “Be loud-not verbally- but about your message and your story”. “You need to build depth and really know what you are creating, why you are creating and intentional about creating it”.
The session was deeply insightful and engaging.
Day one closed with runway shows from Gert Johan Coetzee, Orire, Onalaja, Hue by Idera, Romeo Hunte and Sukeina presenting their latest collections.
It was the perfect way to open the fashion event!