Tessy Oliseh-Amaize, the creative director of Tesslo and a Nigerian fashion designer with training from the UK, has urged Nigeria’s Ministry of Art, Culture and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, to step in immediately and create regulations that will increase the industry’s profitability for designers.
In the June 6 episode of “Fashion Professor,” a well-liked Instagram video series, she stated that although the Nigerian fashion sector is frequently hailed as the next great thing in the creative industries, it might not match the success of Afrobeats on the worldwide market.
The lack of regulatory control in the industry is one of the main challenges emphasised in the Pidgin-delivered episode with an English translation.
While designers devote time and energy to producing original designs, Oliseh-Amaize noted that they frequently deal with the issue of unauthorised copying by regional tailors.
She bemoaned the fact that this occurrence robs designers of their due compensation and compromises the integrity of the profession.
Oliseh-Amaize also emphasised that Nigerian tailors do not operate under any regulatory framework, in contrast to other industries, including transportation, where licence plates are mandatory for even motorbikes. She contended that regulatory requirements gaps expose designers to abuse and theft of intellectual property.
The programme also discusses the spread of fashion academies across the nation in the absence of clear oversight or regulations. Oliseh-Amaize, the 2006 winner of Nigeria’s Best Designer Award, compared these institutions to a “pandemic” in the industry, raising questions about their poor educational standards and unethical behaviour that further damaged the reputation of the sector.
Oliseh-Amaize acknowledged the government’s support for the fashion industry in her request to the Ministry of Art, Culture, and Creative Economy, but she demanded more organised intervention to address these issues.
She drew comparisons between the fashion industry and the music industry, highlighting how organised streaming platforms allow musicians to continue making money long after their prime. She also stressed the significance of creating a comparable framework in the fashion sector to sustainably support designers.
According to her, just because we have population statistics doesn’t mean we have the framework in place to support and sustain these statistics for the benefit of fashion designers.