Contemporary fashion designer Stephen Raymond has called on government at all levels and other stakeholders in Nigeria’s creative sector to invest more in the fashion industry to unlock its economic gains and job-creation potential. He made the call in an interview on Thursday in Abuja.

According to Mr Raymond, founder of SteveRay Couture, the Nigerian fashion industry can drive sustainable economic growth and job creation with adequate investment, proper policies, and manufacturing infrastructure.

Mr Raymond said the fashion industry could contribute to Nigeria’s economic development if appropriate platforms were made available for young Nigerians to get involved in its business opportunities.

“Every child, every human being, everything in this world has to do with clothing and that’s fashion. We need to pull up the young generation into it and expand it,” he said.

He said Nigeria needed stronger structures, an effective fashion calendar and greater opportunities for young creatives to participate in the industry.

“It’s just for one to put the right structure in place and put the right calendar out there and also make it an open door,” Mr Raymond said.

He said increased investment, stronger partnerships, and the right policies would unlock the fashion industry’s huge economic potential.

He also called for greater local production of materials and equipment used by fashion designers to reduce dependence on imported resources. According to him, Nigerian designers need to move beyond individual recognition and build production and sales systems that can reach international markets.

He said collaboration among Nigerian designers could strengthen the country’s fashion industry and attract international investment.

“If we can relate with ourselves and then set a system where we all operate together, the Nigeria Fashion Week will be the next rated world fashion event,” he  said.

Mr Raymond said such collaboration could attract global investors while creating opportunities for designers and other professionals within the creative sector.

“This is going to attract so many global investors to us,” he said.

According to him, fashion should also promote confidence and freedom of expression among Africans, particularly young people seeking to establish their identities.

“We have that freedom of expression, freedom of being yourself, freedom of owning yourself, freedom of living yourself,” he said.

Speaking about his craft, Mr Raymond said he promotes Afrocentric pop culture through designs that blend African and Western influences while expressing individual identity.

According to him, his fashion concept focused on refining cultural influences to create distinctive expressions of individuals’ personality, identity, and creativity through fashion.

(NAN)