By Christine Onwuachumba
NENI, a name coined from the first and last two letters of Nneka and Ini, is a collaborative Nigerian emerging fashion brand, co-founded by two fashion entrepreneurs, Nneka Nwaligbe Etayokhai and Iniobong Obinna-Onunkwo in 2022. Its purpose is to offer a La luxury retail fashion line designed exclusively for career-driven young women who love the “Bougie Billionaire Look” on a low budget, inspired Nneka and Iniobong to share their dreams and create masterpieces. His brand was first launched at the 2022 runway edition of African Fashion Week Nigeria (AFWN), which recently took place in Lagos. It was a fabulous opportunity to take advantage of their extensive platform and network.
Iniobong Obinna-Onunkwo
Tell us about the “NENI” collection
The “NENI” Bougie Woman collection is inspired by the beautiful butterfly that flutters playfully in the lush garden. The metamorphic transformation of a butterfly’s cycle is phenomenal. From infancy to adulthood, the butterfly experiences life. The best part is the chrysalis stage where it emerges into an adult. At this stage, growth becomes a place of curiosity, questions, struggles, and the compelling need to succeed. This emergence in every aspiring woman is called “Change.”
The butterfly represents the modern woman. She is scarred but grateful, she dares to explore the world, fearless, driven to grow, she sees and enjoys every moment as a luxury of her journey to aspire more and the challenges, which makes her confident, brave, bold, beautiful and smart.
The garden is the environment and the vegetation is life. The combination of all plant species means different people, different cultures, different places, and various opportunities awaiting women to explore and learn.
What were your expectations? And who were your models?
The models were beautiful ladies. When we went to try them on, they were very proud of what they were wearing. They were also quite excited. So I knew that when they got on stage, they were really going to showcase the brand, because we had to tell them that our brand is a masterpiece, and this is our first appearance at Nigerian African Fashion Week. We also told them that the piece they were putting on should signify that they are a Bougie Woman. So it just changed the perspective and gave them that feeling of confidence and courage and bravery.
Now, in my expectations, I tried to send a message to everyone who came to see us, but look, it’s not just about the colors, nor about the pieces of damask fabric that we have put together. But how do those pieces tell a story for each of those models that would wear each of our masterpieces, and how does it connect with everyone sitting there in the audience?
Is there any coloration between damask fabric and Africa?
Damask is a traditional fabric, just like we have Adire and Aso Oke. One of my core values is heritage. So when it comes to something heritage that will promote culture or luxury or sustainability, I think whatever you’re dealing with has to have that heritage feeling.
How long have you been in the industry?
For me, next year will be 10 years in the fashion industry. And it’s been an incredible journey with ups and downs. Like I said, the NENI Collection, as my partner and my colleague, we’ve been through a lot. I mean the configuration, the growth stage, but we are grateful.
Have you been in other careers before joining the fashion industry?
Initially, I was an investment banker and a portfolio manager, and it was very interesting, because when I started, I was a trained engineer before I went into investment banking and portfolio management. What really inspired me to go into fashion was when I made some pieces for my children, and they attended a society wedding where all the mothers were looking at my children, wondering if the designers could weave ankara pieces and do something very nice. about children No one had thought of it at the time. That inspired me. So we started the brand, ‘Little Weaver’s’, and now we’ve been in the industry for a while, and we’ve also found another niche that I partnered with my friend, Nneka, where we collaborated to create “NENI”.
Does that mean you went into fashion even as a portfolio manager?
No, not really, as a portfolio manager, I loved fashion and heritage. So every time I wear some of my outfits. I reflect that African heritage. Sometimes I would come to work in my suit, with beads on them. I keep a bit of heritage in contemporary urbanism and in a mix of everything. Imagine someone wearing these costumes with pearls and everything. I love that heritage feeling. So it’s always been about fashion, creativity.
At what point did you completely switch from your career to fashion?
It was a personal journey, and I felt at that moment that there was more than I deserved for myself. Once again, I felt it was time to go. And then the inspiration that came with the social wedding, and I felt like this was an opportunity. Let’s take advantage of it and get started.
You basically design for women. Is there any plan to start designing for men?
That will be in preparation and we will see it too, because I make some pieces for my husband and he shows them almost every Wednesday, Thursday, Friday or when he decides to wear them. So we’ll think about that.
Is this the first time that your brand “LittleWeavers” has appeared at African Fashion Week?
Yes, this is our first appearance at the Nigerian African Fashion Week.
So is this the first African Fashion Week appearance for the two brands?
Yes, it’s our first time at Nigerian African Fashion Week, because “LittleWeavers” has been attending other fashion shows and we have had our own fashion shows.
How does it feel to have two of your brands at African Fashion Week Nigeria? and what should we expect
I’m excited. So a quick one for people who are really going through different endeavors or challenges in life (you know whatever you’re doing, investments or plans you have), just stay focused on the goal. I say this because the journey towards creating the collection for NENI and for LittleWeaver was tedious, very challenging and very competitive for me, because I have two brands that are making their first outings. So I prepared myself to take it on because whatever happens, we know we will succeed. So we just had to stay on target. And here we have.
What is your perception of the Nigerian fashion industry?
I feel like Nigeria is a consuming economy and I think we could do much better. I also feel that the government could do a lot to support indigenous businesses. I don’t just want to say fashion because in the fashion industry we have the value chain. So I feel like there’s a lot to be done in terms of investment for young people. There are so many young people out there who have the talent. I feel like we could do better, turn around and be a productive economy. So I don’t want to compare ourselves to other countries because I feel like Nigeria has the skills, we have the talent and I feel like we might be underutilized.
As a designer of clothing for adults and children, what is your biggest challenge in putting your pieces together?
I firmly believe in an ibibio proverb that says Ewo ado iyene, which means that people are your wealth. You could have a room full of money, an entire property, or even have a bank, but you need people. You need the right network of people. You need to empower the right minds. You need to change the mindset of the people around you. You need to train people. It is the people who will bring the wealth, they will create the infrastructure. The fabrics will not be woven or exported alone in the Port of Apapa; you need human beings to do that. So I believe that the first step in everything we have to do is invest in people. It’s the people that make or break your business
Many have the idea that women do not unite. So, what is the force that unites the association in NENI Collection?
Usually what I feel is that for everyone, the first thing to look for in yourself is your personality. Find out your personality, what your strengths and weaknesses are, and if you find someone who can back you up. For example, if I’m not a good time manager, then I should have someone who is a good time manager. Or I’m probably very good with calculations (crunching numbers), so I should have someone who is creative. Or, if I’m the creative one, then I should have someone who knows how to calculate numbers, or has the ability.
So, there should be something that merged these two personalities. So, based on your question, I think it’s a matter of personality. It’s not just within women’s culture; it is also in all genres. People generally have to know what their personalities are and who they can do business with. So you need to understand if Personality A can merge with Personality B. Again, what is our vision? ? What do we hope to achieve? What is the goal of why we joined?
Nneka Nwaligbe Etayokhai
What was the essence of this collaboration?
We came together to create the collection called “Bougie Collection”, for women. Our goal is to satisfy women of substance, women who want to stand out in society.
How long have you been in the fashion industry?
I have been in the fashion business since 2014. I have worked with most of the top designers in Nigeria. I was former Secretary of Funmi Ajila-Ladipo, President of Fashion Designers Association of Nigeria (FADAN) and also coordinated designers in all kinds of fashion shows.
Before this partnership, tell us a little about your fashion brand.
My fashion brand “Nene-Hotie” has been dedicated to making clothes for women who set the trend in the society. We come out with different shapes of outfits that stand out. So along the way, my friend, Ini came up with the idea for the partnership. We have really done very well and Nigeria African Fashion Week is our first outing, showing what we can do as designers.
Did you start your fashion business from scratch?
Yes, I got the business skill after working and with a designer. I once also coordinated designers. So I’m a designer. I went to a design school. I have always been passionate about the fashion industry and have been in the business for over seven years.
Source: news.google.com