Music Meets Runway 2013 Unveils Iconic Designers

Music Meets Runway unveils 6 iconic designers who will be showcasing at this year’s edition.  Music Meets Runway (MMR) has successfully showcased Nigeria’s talent in the fashion and music industry in the past years and has also encouraged up and coming designers by giving them a platform for recognition.  

This is the 3^rd edition and its tagged ‘iconic’, which features our established home designers who are trailblazers and internationally recognized with several awards, reputable brand partnerships and participation in fashions shows (local & international) to their credit. Continue....

 

 

MEET THE DESIGNERS

§  MAI ATAFO

The fashion world was formally introduced to the ever so-classy Mr, Atafo in 2007, with the launch of his clothing line, Mai Atafo Inspired (MAI). Fast-forward six years later and this “fashion artist” has undeniably succeeded in making a name for himself and his brand in the African fashion industry.

In 2010, Mai Atafo Introduced “Weddings by Mai” a line tailored specifically to create every element of clothing for the perfect dream wedding.His made-to measure high end clothing line for women and specially crafted suit for men; MAI creates lavishly designed dresses and clean cut suits.

Favoured immensely by a growing list of celebrity clientele, Mai Atafo has gone forward to cut across fashion borders and reached out to a more accessible client base.

With many accolades under his belt, Mai Atafo has truly evolved into a recognized fashion Icon with his signature tailoring and glamour meets outlandish designs. Mai Atafo continues to create and most importantly inspire through his lifestyle brand.

 §  OKUNOREN TWINS

Kehinde and TaiwoOkunoren have been in the business of designing sophisticated African and European styled suits for over a decade. The duo launched their first line of suits at the very young age of 19 and have continued to rise steadily to prominence ever since. Their most recent accomplishments include the showcasing of their latest designs at the 2012 Arise Fashion Week, an event that was flooded with the who’s who of the African fashion and entertainment industry.

 G.O.O.D. Music’s latest addition, D Banj, was also seen sporting a custom made suit by the twins during his sold-out 2013 DKM Concert. Over the years, DJ Caise, Naeto C and Don Jazzy are a few of other celebrity clients the twins have dressed up for red carpet events (and in Naeto C’s case, his very own wedding).

 §  ITUEN BASI

In 2009, this remarkable woman was named Africa’s most innovative designer after showcasing one of her collections at that year’s ARISE Fashion Week.  In recent years, her designs have also graced the cover of Elle South Africa in 2012 and the runways of Dubai during the 2013 Dubai Fashion Experience. High levels of creativity, passion for all things African and formal training from the prestigious London College of Fashion have made feats like these inevitable for Ituen as she continues to stand out as one of Nigeria’s best. Collections like Independence and Ankara & Beads have certainly displayed this designer’s love for colorful African print, a look that has captivated the many followers of African fashion.

§  JEWEL BY LISA

Jewel by Lisa is a multi-faceted global womenswear and accessories collection. Designer Lisa Folawiyo perfected the art of wearing Ankara (local West African fabric) through the use of ornate embellishment.

Jewel by Lisa has been featured in several publications such as The New York Times, Drapers, Vogue.co.uk, Style.com, BBC.co.uk, MTV.co.uk, Vogue.it, Dazeddigital.com, ModaOperandi.com, Lucky, Women’s Wear Daily, Harpersbazaar.co.uk, The Financial Times Online (How To Spend It), Glamour Magazine (South Africa), Essence, Arise, Ebony, Marie Claire (Italia, Russia, & South Africa). The brand has also been well received and worn by the likes of Actresses, Lucy Liu, Thandie Newton; and Singer, Solange Knowles.

Lisa Folawiyo is the creative genius behind power fashion house, Jewel by Lisa. As an innovator, she was able to take the simple process of ankara design to a whole new level with her expertly handcrafted embellishments. This has led to the total transformation of African fashion as we know it as well as its promotion of global recognition. Her pieces have been seen on different catwalks around the world: New York (during NYFW SS10 and SS11), Johannesburg, Paris, South Africa and Lagos.

Jewel by Lisa has collaborated with global brands such as Blackberry and L’Oreal, to create limited edition Blackberry Phone cases and Lipstick & Nailpolish covers, respectively.

 

§  LANRE DASILVA AJAYI

The woman behind LDA, the label with a reputation for delivering fabulous couture and prét-a-porter productions. These have been made from a combination of different prints, patterns and traditional fabrics, creating outstanding collections that have wowed the fashion world consistently. Lanre has attended several fashion week events in her decade-long career: South Africa Fashion Week, Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Spring 2012, Arise Fashion Week, London Fashion Week 2012 and many more. Her fashion house is said to produce an average of eight collectiions every year, giving fashionistas at home and abroad something to appreciate every single moment.

§  DEOLA SAGOE

This fashion visionary/ haute couture designer first showed up on the fashion scene in 1998, introducing the world to her beautiful and colorful designs. Using African fabrics, hand-woven materials, and contemporizing almost-lost traditional African techniques, Deola's designs present a unique vision and attitude for the modern woman.

Several high- fashion events have been attended ever since, with outstanding collections like Ori Oke flooding the glamorous runways of South Africa Fashion Week, Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, New York Fashion Week, Arise Fashion Week in Lagos and many more. This has helped in building her worldwide fan-base consisting of many famous faces like Anika Noni Rose and media moguls Oprah Winfrey and Will Smith.

Sagoe, who will be making her film debut as the legendary female activist, FunmilayoRansome-Kuti in the movie "October 1”, is a fashion visionary with a unique approach to her craft that has endeared her to fans and followers all over the world.

Cossy Orjiakor sexy in red as she plays video vixen in music video

Cossy plays a video vixen in a new music video shot recently. She shared the photos on her Twitter page. See more red hot photos

Rapper Ruggedman puts Abuja-based promoter on blast

Rapper Ruggedman shares a bitter experience he had recently with an Abuja-based promoter named Ejiro Okhipwo. Read below... 

I do not know why i always want to help out. I guess its my nature but it gives room for a ot of people to take advantage and repay my good with evil. It has happened once too many and i am tired of it and this Ejiro Okhipwo will not go unexposed for the fraudster/trickster that he is.

He is the promoter of the so called most beautiful girl pageant in Abuja,so i was told when i met him a few months ago while in the middle of a messed up promoters event,i guess they know each other smh. We became friends and i agreed to make an appearance at his October 26th event in Abuja for an honourarium of 100k penre, all for promoting my artist o. Na there i enter one chance.

1. He delayed till the Friday before his event to get in touch with me and pleaded to pay 50k into my account to balance off as soon as we landed Abuja. As a good person i agreed,since i had already given my word.

2. By 3.30pm no bank alert and i thought he was trying to wait till 4pm when banks would have closed to say "we have paid the money,but i guess they didd not post it in time thats why you havent gotten the alert". So i called and asked that the person with the cash should be waiting for us at the airport.

Thinking i was dealing with a rational human being,i decided to head to Abuja so that it wont be said that i refused to come because of the lean change he did not send.

LANDED ABUJA 8:30PM and no cash at the airport,no Ejiro Okhipwo either. We proceeded to the hotel where we stayed until the next day. No welfare,i had to take care of everything from my pocket o (make hungry no kill us where we dey wait for useless people in Jesus name...).

SATURDAY 5:00PM still no word or the presence of Ejiro Okhipwo but someone called fuja who works for him brought two packs into my room. On opening it i found some cold,milkless,sugarless oatmeal. The second pack contained boiled yam,under friend plantain under baked beans LWKMD. I wondered if it was breakfast,lunch or both....at 5PM O.

The event was slated to start by 7pm and by 6pm i sent Ejiro Okhipwo a BB message that i will not leave the hotel room if he doesnt pay what was agreed because i was already suspecting foul play. No response and we lounged till the next day.

SUNDAY: hotel management informs us that Ejiro Okhipwo said everyone should check out of the hotel by12noon. We called him only for him to send me txt messages that "i am heartless for not coming to his show and will fuck me up" LMAO!!!

A show that he did not pay the lean honourarium "we" agreed to? The deal was to pay before i leave Lagos,i even managed to get to Abuja and he did not have the courtesy to come see us? Even if he did not have the money to pay,i have done loads of free shows for small time promoters like him. His would not have killed me.Now here he was threatening to fuck me up. I laughed so hard.
A few people i know called him and he kept bragging and threatening (over the phone) that he will deal with me and fuck me up.

Finally: Mr Ejiro Okhipwo i have been in Abuja since then and i have not seen you let alone getting fucked up by you (if i hear).

I have even had enough time to apply for and get visas for me and my artist and yet we havent seen you.

Desmond,your PAs friend was involved in an accident and suffered internal bleeding while driving artists who came for your event and when you were told all you said was "its none of your business". God will forgive you.

The girls you brought from Lagos who worked for you and you ran off without paying them or giving them transport fare to go back will never forgive you.

The babe (name witheld) you brought from Lagos and you abandoned her in the hotel (because she no give you do) will never forgive you.

Mr Ejiro Okhipwo of most beautiful girl in abuja,so many people speak ill of you and i pray to God that you change your evil ways. I wont say its because you are short (short man devil) because i know a lot of great short men. I guess you think you are smart and can use and abandon people,but you are far from smart. Your days are numbered and karma is a bitch.

You keep saying commissioners are your friends,the IG is your friend. So? They are not above the law and will not stoop as low as to support your stupid antics. The same IG that is against crime? He will probably end up locking you up.

I wrote this so people and especially fellow artists should beware of the moronic abuja entertainment fraudster called Ejiro Okhipwo. If you must work with him (at your own risk) COLLECT ALL YOUR MONEY and RETURN TICKETS before you fly to Abuja,because you might not see him after the event and dont be surprised if he threatens to fuck you up lol!!!

ENTERTAINERS STAY AWAY FROM EJIRO OKHIPWO,he is not to be trusted. I am speaking from experience

Breaking News..DAVID BECKHAM CRASHES CAR ... Leaving Beverly Hills Mansion

David Beckham has gone from soccer to sock-her ... he crashed into a female driver as he was leaving his Beverly Hills driveway.

No one was hurt ... but it appears Beckham was at fault by pulling out without having a clear right of way.

The other driver's front panel is clearly dented, but that's about it.

What would you do, if you were David Beckham??

Lady Gaga to Perform in UK x-Factor

Lady Gaga, please stop! It's getting too weird! The superstar singer wore this spooky see-through creation as she landed in London yesterday for her performance in X-Factor UK. More bizarre is that she walked barefoot (legs painted white), with her arms raised and she had this disturbing stare...as she walked to her hotel and greeted fans

Photos: Day 3 of president Goodluck Jonathan's pilgrimage to Israel

President Jonathan pictured above praying with other Nigerian pilgrims at the side of River Jordan, the place where Jesus Christ was baptised by John The Baptist

Briton dies in Nigerian plane crash

Briton dies in Nigerian plane crash

The crash site

A British woman died in a horrific plane crash which killed at least 145 people in Nigeria, it emerged last night.

A spokeswoman for the Foreign Office confirmed the death and said next of kin had been informed but gave no more details about the victim.

The plane ploughed through homes, mosques and a school shortly after takeoff from the northern Nigerian city of Kano bound for the capital Lagos, 400 miles to the south, on Saturday.

The death toll among people on the ground neared that of those aboard the plane, with rescuers warning the number was likely to rise.

Carrier EAS Airlines today reported two more survivors among the 69 passengers and eight crew members. The announcement brought the known total of those saved aboard the plane to four - a female crew member and three passengers.

LIST OF HIGHEST PAID NIGERIAN ARTISTES

A list of top Nigerian highest paid hip-hop artistes was recently released by Encomium magazine; perfectly researched and confirmed.

The list had the music duo of P’Square topping it as the highest paid hip hop act. The music duo are learnt to be charging between N9 and N10 million for a show within Nigeria.

D’banj comes second on the list with a charge between N6 and N7 million to grace any event in the country. Before the split from Mo’Hit, D’banj topped the list with charges between N7 and N8 million while P’square was N5 million.

2face comes the third highest paid artiste on the list. Although his fee is not consistent, He is said to be charging between N5 and N6 million. It was learnt that 2face because of his love and passion for the art easily adjust fees and not always keen like other acts on their particular amount.

Wizkid is the fourth on the list with a gracing fee of N4 to N5 million. Artistes like Owawunmi who actually is the highest paid female star, Flavour, Timaya and Olamide charges N3 million. Others in this category are Darey Art Alade, Duncan Mighty, and Chocolate Music artistes, M.I and Ice-Prince.

The likes of Iyanya, Davido, Wande Coal and Tiwa Savage are in the league of artistes that go for N2.5 million, while D’Prince, Dr.Sid and one time highest earning artiste, 9ice collect N2 million respectively. Naeto C and Waje are said to be in the category of N1.5 million.

1- Psquare – N10million

2- D’Banj – N 8million

3- 2Face – N6million

4- Wizkid – N5million

5- Omawumi, Darey, Duncan Mighty,Olamide, Timayah, Flavour, M.I, Ice-Prince – N3 million

6 – Iyanya, Davido, Wande Coal, Tiwa Savage – N2.5 million

7 – 9ice, D’Prince, Dr. Sid – N2 million

8 – Neato C and Waje – N1.5 million.