A major pillar of Re-defining the Narrative is the address and redress of established perceptions and misconceptions around the Nigerian leather industry, and the wider African fashion landscape. Day three of LLF Digital kicks off with a stellar conversation on the perceptions of Made in Africa products – in Breaking the Made in Africa Stereotype, three panelists, diversely positioned across the fashion and creative industries in France, Tanzania and South Africa, take a deep dive into the resultant issues surrounding established stereotypes, and the impact on creative direction and effective participation in the global marketplace.
Date: Saturday, 24th October, 2020
Time: 12PM
Where: Zoom
Sinmi Olayebi is the Director of Social Programs at FemiHandbags — a leading Nigerian luxury handbag design and manufacturing company. At FemiHandbags (a subsidiary of My World of Bags) she leads and manages the company’s social programs and projects in partnership with donor organizations like Mastercard Foundation, Nigerian Export Promotion Council, Bank of Industry, etc; these projects tackle social issues like unemployment to industry capacity building and health safety, amongst others.
Prior to this role at FemiHandbags, Sinmi worked at Africa Practice — a strategic advisory and communications consultancy where she worked on advocacy projects for leading international and pan-African organizations such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, MTN Nigeria, the Association of Licensed Telecommunications companies of Nigeria, and numerous others. Sinmi is also the founder of The Small Chops – a media company focused on the dissemination of bite-sized news content on Africa to its millennials across the continent and in the diaspora. Additionally, Sinmi brings her expertise as a content developer, editor and communications strategist to bear in supporting organizations across industries, from the arts to entertainment to lifestyle and publishing.
On Saturday 24th October at 12 NOON, Sinmi will be moderating the conversation: BREAKING THE MADE-IN-AFRICA STEREOTYPE.
Nisha Kanabar is a curator and storyteller, and the founder of Industrie Africa. A Tanzanian of Indian origin, Kanabar graduated from Parsons School of Design in New York and went on to forge a career in luxury fashion and publishing. With over a decade of experience at renowned industry names, she held formative positions at the editorial and commercial departments of American Vogue, Vogue India, and Style.com in the Middle East (now Vogue Arabia). Her experience across international markets fuelled a desire to channel her work into her home continent’s contemporary and luxury designer market, with a special focus on diversity. Nisha’s unique perspective allows her to frame the conversation around African fashion through a unique global lens and places her at the forefront of a cultural movement experiencing seismic change. She currently resides in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania—whilst her work regularly takes her across the continent and around the world.
Nelly Wandji is the owner and consultant for Nelly Wandji, an art gallery dedicated to showcasing the luxury of African craftsmanship. Located at 93 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, the art gallery is housed in the prestigious neighbourhood of Paris, home to major luxury brands and high-end art galleries. As an African passionate about art, craft and design, Nelly Wandji found an avenue to express her heritage by creating a gallery to showcase the beauty and luxuriousness of African creativity and talent.
Laduma Ngxokolo is one of the finest South African knitwear designers (Xhosa inspired knitwear) and innovator. He established his knitwear brand ‘MaXhosa by Laduma’ in 2011 through the Design Indaba promotion platforms. His works have been recognized far and wide across the fashion landscape which has included the receipt of awards such as the International Society of Dyers and Colorists Design Award in London.
His achievements include winning the 2011 Marie Claire Prix D’Excellence De La Mode Best Emerging Designer award; Awarded Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University 2012 Alumni Rising Star Award. Showcasing his 2nd collection at the 2013 Labo Ethnik Fashion Week in Paris. His designs were also exhibited by Lidewij Edelkoort at the Milan Design Week in April 2011. His knitwear story has also been featured in various publications across the world.
Join another set of brilliant minds in a conversation on Storytelling on Saturday, 24th October, 2020 at 4PM. These speakers – from Google to Haute Luxury to Creative Agencies – will discuss storytelling as a major branding and marketing tool, and the ways in which creatives can successfully leverage the unique illustration of brand stories to set themselves apart in increasingly saturated industries and markets.
Damilola Odufuwa is the Head of PR for Africa at Binance. She began her career working on MTV Shuga, a 360-degree campaign fusing TV, digital media and mobile elements to educate young people on HIV, sexual violence and other pertinent social issues. Since then, Damilola has worked as an editor-in-chief and producer for local and global media publications such as CNN, Konbini and Zikoko. She is also the co-founder of Wine & Whine, an women-entered online community and social enterprise where she tackles issues ranging from sexual violence to financial literacy.
In recognition of her work, Damilola was listed as one of the ‘100 Most Inspiring Women in Nigeria in 2018’ by Leading Ladies Africa, and is a 2019 honoree of OkayAfrica’s ‘Okay 100 Women’.
On Saturday 24th October at 4pm, Damilola will be moderating the conversation: STORYTELLING: HOW TO STAND OUT IN A CROWDED SPACE.
Papa Omotayo is the founder of A Whitespace Creative Agency (AWCA) and the Creative Director at MOE. Prior to this, he was a partner at O+O Architecture and Designs from September 2004 to September 2012. He studied at the Welish school of Architecture, Cardiff University from 1993 to 2001.
Alheri Egor-Egbe is a young and passionate Nigerian based in Dublin, Ireland, where she works with the Google Customer Solutions team. A consummate sales professional, she specifically supports Google partner agencies in sub-Saharan Africa, and their top companies therein. In her core role, she helps companies within the region achieve their goals by advising, strategizing, and growing their customer base, using the best aligned Google products to their needs.
She has worked across financial, retail, manufacturing and construction, service, and other industries. In each of these spaces, storytelling has played a strong role in ensuring the success of campaigns, especially in our fast-paced digital world today. She also works as the co-communications lead for the Black Googlers Network in Dublin. Alheri is a prolific writer, having written a collection of short stories and running a blog for 5+years now. She enjoys singing, reading, and writing.
Daniel Obasi is the Art Director at Daniel Obasi. He was initially introduced to the arts as a graphics designer intern at a security company in 2012. While at the university, Obasi found himself developing an interest in the world of fashion and paying special attention to how the society around him perceived gender roles and masculinity. Obasi made his first major film and editorial work, Illegal Project on gender non-conforming expressions in an African setting in 2017. The project went on to launch his budding career as a Nigerian artist who questions societal ideals on sexuality, masculinity and gender roles. His 2018 Afrofuturism film, An Alien in town pays homage to old African cinema and advocates for Africans to own their narratives especially with regards to foreign influences.
Obasi has also worked with notable musical acts and fashion brand as a stylist and director. Obasi’s film, An Alien in Town was recently shortlisted for Fashion Film Festival Milano, Bucharest Fashion Film Festival and shown by Smithsonian Center at the National Museum of African American History and Culture (Washington, D.C.).
Romy Kelly Njeundji is the e-Merchandiser for a Haute Luxury Brand based in France. She started making her path within the fashion industry in 2014 — from smaller start-ups to prestigious French Couture houses, she has been building her expertise in e-merchandising and e-commerce within the luxury sector. She is a mentor at Dior women, and was previously a Digital Content Coordinator at DIOR; she also worked as an assistant e-business merchandiser for Saint Laurent 2015. She is also the co-founder of NanaJoBooks.com – a series of write-ups focusing on the well-being of black women within society.
