Quddus King, Benita Nnachortam, Jekein Lato-Unah, Mary Edoro: Here is the Y!/YNaija 2019 New Establishment List

New Establishment 2019

With each year, it becomes clearer to the editorial board at YNaija, the premium our annual New Establishment list places on the work of young emerging players in diverse field within Nigeria.

Providing that first wave of recognition for the work that the men and women of our annual lists do in the communities is important for their growth and for our commitment to support innovation, courage and personal excellence.

Many of the alumni of our lists have gone on to do fantastic things, proving yet again, that our lists sieve through the morass of activity and nepotism that clog our creative industries and highlights the hidden gems within.

This year’s list is no different; from multi-disciplinary artists securing prestigious placements, self-taught developers founding some of the web’s most celebrated platforms, entrepreneurs breaking barriers on social entrepreneurship and activists galvanising the globe into action, the New Establishment class 2019 has proven they have the mettle to take on the world.

Entertainment, Culture, Technology, Advocacy, Media, Politics, Enterprise, Fashion

FASHION

Denike Adegboye

According to a recent interview, Denike Adegboye says she started dabbling with design in her early teens and has spent 15 years working on the brand that she has become today. Those 15 years included a pivotal decision to return to University in Italy to study fashion and design just a year after she finished a first degree from the University of Babcock. They also include branding and rebranding as Adegboye’s understanding of her purpose as a creator changed, and her ambition for her brand grew.

Motivated by a desire to marry indigenous African fabrics with contemporary design, Denike Adegboye started Denike, an eponymous label that focuses primarily on women’s wear and has become a cult favorite among young millennial and post millennial Nigerian women. Denike’s eye for detail and superior design technique has elevated her above the rest of her class and was the reason why her brand was chosen for the exclusive Lagos Fashion Week Fashion Focus incubator programme that allowed her the opportunity to vie for a cash endowment for her brand and show a collection at the 2018 Lagos Fashion Week showcase.

Denike’s craftsmanship, understanding of her brand and personal story is altogether inspiring and indicative of why she will come to dominate Nigerian fashion in the coming years.

Njideka Akabogu (234 Star)

The Nigerian fashion industry is notorious for its unwillingness to embrace new talent and unconventional thinkers. To make any headway in the industry, creators have to often build their own independent platforms and become forces to reckon with outside of the pre-established pecking order. Njideka Akabogu has done just that with her work as the editor-in-chief of fashion publication, 234 Star. With diligence and an inclusive approach to fashion critique, Akabogu has used her platform to highlight the work of fashion designers, stylists, photographers and critics who are otherwise shunned by the fashion elite, giving them a platform to prove their work is just as boundary-pushing and capable of stirring important conversations.

Always on top of the trends and our current obsession with celebrity, swift reporting, and curation of social media use by celebrities have made 234 Star a regular with fashion lovers looking for diverse content in one place. Akabogu is also championing video as a way to engage a new audience in fashion and encouraging important conversations about the state of the industry now and its future if things do not change.

Mary Edoro (BellaNaija Style)

As the Junior Editor of BellaNaija Style, Mary Edoro is championing a new regime of reporting at the country’spremiere news and lifestyle website. Edoro’s touch is light but memorable, her ideas, fresh and fun and the brands she chooses to feature on the site as diverse as they are unconventional. Her tenure has thus far been marked by a move towards inclusion and diversity for smaller fashion brands, brands that tackle difficult topics like sexuality, ethnic bias and gender in their work and her insistence on spotlight the talents behind many of our beloved brands has endeared her personally and BellaNaija Style as a platform to a once sceptical audience.

Edoro has made the BellaNaija Style events and panels at Social Media Week and other media events important touch stones for the industry to evaluate its problems and parse its problems.

Mary Edoro is changing how we consume fashion in Nigeria and is doing guided by her unrelenting pursuit of excellence. Her ethos is defined by her willingness to always give the underdog a chance in a fight stacked against all fashion brands. She is definitely a gatekeeper for the Nigerian fashion and finally, one who actually comes into that influence with an understanding of its attendant responsibilities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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