One Fair, Multiple Perspectives
The just-concluded Lagos Leather Fair 2019, supposedly the best one yet, gave us at TW a lot to talk about. Read as three (3) of our writers give account and express their views on the events that unfolded through the weekend.
LESSONS ON PASSION FROM LEATHER
by Okim-Orake Akpet
How valuable is passion today? Is it really enough to establish a life on? As a writer/storyteller, I ponder on these things. And I found my answer in the strangest place. A fair. Lagos Leather Fair 2019, to be exact. And being who I am, I wasn’t there for the leatherwear. I was there as a reporter for TW Magazine, to learn the stories of people who left their houses on a Sunday to go for a leather fair. And I was impressed by what I heard and saw.
I got a better understanding of passion through the exhibitions and the vendors at the fair. Each stall displayed a certain level of individuality. From how the wears were organized to the accessories on the shoes, you could witness the amount of thought and effort that went into it. In some, you could even feel the makers’ soul and see their vision. For example, one of the brands, Lamide Samuel, speaks of its intention to unite Africa through its bags, and you could see it in the shape of the bags and the blend of native African materials and patterns. All in all, I was surprised to see that people put such depth of thought into something that only meant shoes and bags to me!
It must be the passion.
And boy, did the vendors have something to say about passion? Obiora Obinma popularly known as Obi Leather is an old hand in the leather industry, and he had masses to say about passion. The leather aficionado says you should be passionate about any endeavor you plan on embarking on because it is easy to get discouraged. To him, leather is the best thing ever, all-encompassing and fulfilling. “I got married, raised a family and made millions from leather.” This is obviously because he persisted hence his advice for following your passion is to keep going at it. “No one fails. What we call failure is often just you getting a different result from what you expected.”
On the other hand, a major distributor of zips and other bag accessories, Temos214 who said her business is vital to the end products believes that money helps but it is not everything. Rather doing what you love is, and that is part of her story, as a chance broken zip at a wedding set her on the path to becoming a distributor of zips since she saw the value of using good quality zips. Another inspiring account of passion is in the naming of businesses as exhibited by the owner of Sole Inspiration who says her ‘soul’ is in her business and so she can’t think about making her wears out of anything but leather.
I’ll end this with a little story from Obi Leather. During the interview, I noticed a carpet made of leather and pointed it out to him. He explained to me that when he does his work, he doesn’t have a design in mind. He just does what makes him happy. He doesn’t know if anyone would like it when he’s done. He just does it and puts it out there. And that was what he did with his leather carpet. And at first no one liked the idea but eventually, people saw it as art. Now he makes millions selling them as decorative pieces.
The lesson here is the answer to my question. Yes, sometimes passion is enough. Sometimes it is just what you need to get to where you want to be in life. And with the way things are today, it might be the compass that will keep you on track and focused.
A Quirky Twist from a Quirky Eye at the Lagos Leather Fair
by Trevor Ugonna
Reviewing an event of such artistic magnitude requires a certain depth in the understanding of the fashion scene and a deeper appreciation of the arts (deeper than any average Joe). Unfortunately, I lack both of those. As a young intern thrust into the world of journalism, I go wherever the wind blows, and this time it was the fashion scene (leather to be precise).
On the seventh day of the month of August, I woke up at the usual time and set out my outfit for the Lagos Leather Fair. The rebel in me made a conscious effort to avoid any leather piece, maybe I deemed it a bit pompous of me to wear leather to a leather event, I don’t know why. The event was scheduled to begin at 10.00am at the Harbour Point in Victoria Island, so I ordered my Uber and made it just in time.
Upon my arrival, right outside I was already engulfed in a cacophony of deafening chatter. The place was buzzing, although I couldn’t relate, I could feel the energy. So, there I was, scanning the area, judging people who felt their baggy pajamas and undersized skirts meant they had a superior sense of fashion. To be fair, a more fashion inclined person would probably have appreciated it more, but the truth is, all that fashion stuff is typically lost on me.
As I made my way past fashion’s most adventurous, I got inside the venue hall and it was packed. Different stands were displaying their merchandise, from shoes to bags to accessories, all made in leather. And even if you walked in like me, with tunnel vision, you couldn’t have missed the area for catwalk presentations, because it was right in the middle of the fair.
The rest of the hall was divided roughly into three parts, with prefab demarcation separating the food court, the fair, and the conference ‘conversation’ area. However, as a peripheral figure in such an environment, I quickly surveyed the stands and products and chose the best corner (beside the food court of course) to stand and observe.
The event, the third in its series, aimed to “shed light on an industry which has been described as the ‘next gold mine’ under the theme “Advancing the conversation. However, as you must have gathered, I wasn’t particularly chomping at the bit about seeing leather materials, and it’s just weird to find that people actually cared that much about leather!
You’re probably wondering at this point why on earth did I go in the first place, well my mind wasn’t entirely closed about the event. The turnout honestly surprised me, so the least I could do was to just observe. In doing my best to soak in the camaraderie around the event, I did discover a lot of ‘underground’ brands in the footwear business and also met a couple of friends. But in general, it was a chill vibe from the beginning, although no matter how much soaking up, I tried to do, I just couldn’t stay till the end. I leave still not too sure of the point of all this thinking, besides brand promotion and sales, what’s going to pull me to the next Lagos Leather Fair? Loaded question… but then, that’s just the way my mind works.
Talk about a great Saturday
by Kenenna Anyaegbunam
The Lagos Leather Fair was not what I expected in the best sense of the phrase. The scene was set at Harbour Point, V.I. Fashionably late as usual, I arrived to the colors of the day already in full bloom, and boy was I impressed.
Believe me, when I say this, there was leather…everywhere!
I honestly couldn’t wipe the smile off my face as I captured the aesthetics of what had been done to the inside of this seemingly simple grand marquee tent.
I watched as people perused through the make-shift tents that played host to stylists and vendors all within the arena. It felt like literally walking through Instagram.
They had everything in Leather, most of which wore African culture on its sleeve. There were leather – backpacks, belts, boxes, earrings, handbags, sandals, shoes, slippers – you name it.
The seminar was no child’s play either. Speaking on various topics were a host of stylists, designers, media professionals. My time seated was definitely well spent because I understood things I never thought I’d know or need.
At intervals, runway models kept the crowd engaged carrying styled and patterned leather wear. It was truly a sight. The rich leather culture was celebrated.
I definitely enjoyed my time at the Lagos Leather Fair 2019 and if you didn’t, then you definitely weren’t there.
