Ronke Ademiluyi, is the founder of Africa Fashion Week Nigeria and Africa Fashion Week London. Though trained originally in London as a lawyer, she does not practise the profession, perhaps, because of the penchant and preference for the fashion business.
Ronke actually started her fashion career in her university days, when she traded in clothes on campus.
“My classmates and friends were my customers, way back then. On my return, after studying overseas, I opened ‘Rukkies,’ a fashion store, in Lagos,” she says.
On her assessment of the fashion industry in Nigeria, Ronke says, “We don’t have a vibrant textile factory in Nigeria any longer.
“I can’t say that the fashion industry is collapsing because we have a new generation of Nigerian designers that produce apparels that can compete globally. For instance DaViva is there with vibrant designs and has been supporting Africa Fashion Week since 2011. Currently, they have come up with the latest ABC Wax design, which they are showcasing at the show.”
She notes that that is why she decided to start Africa Fashion Week in Nigeria, as well, because a lot of upcoming designers now use her platform as a spring board to launch themselves into the industry, and they have been getting a lot of positive feedbacks.
“Designers have come back with testimonies that but for Africa Fashion Week, nobody was willing to support them or give them a platform or create awareness for them. I think it’s a gradual process,” Ronke says.
The designer, however, talks about the challenges faced in the fashion profession, saying that both the private sector and the government should invest in the sector, especially by giving them start-up funds for their businesses to take off and grow.
“Funding, getting sponsors are a few of the challenges. Corporate organisations must see the need to support emerging designers because it’s difficult for you to tell young designers, who have just started, to pay for a platform or pay for accommodation and flight tickets, if they want to showcase their designs in London.
There’s this thing they call instant gratification. It doesn’t work. There is no free meal. You have to work. It’s a lot of hard work. You can’t just wake up one day and think you’ll start making money. Go online, do a lot of research, see what your competitors are doing, as well. If not, you will lose track
“If we get sponsors, we would be able to take care of the upcoming designers. However, we won’t take all the designers but the best among them. If you look at the fashion industry in the UK, the London Fashion Week receives grant worth more than 4 million pounds every year to support British designers. That is why the fashion industry in the UK is growing. I think we need to incorporate that into our show in Nigeria, as well,” Ronke says.
Recalling how she recorded a breakthrough while staging the first African Fashion Show in London in 2011, she says, “When I saw the crowd; the queue that was almost extending to Liverpool Street, I was amazed because I was not expecting it to turn out that big. We envisaged a crowd of less than 500, but surprisingly, we had over 4,500 people standing up. That day was great.
“The other was in May, this year when we held the Africa Fashion Week Nigeria. We actually had it when there was fuel scarcity and come and see how people turned up. Over the two days, we had close to 3,000 people. That was another good memorable moment, again,
for me.
“On 1st April, AFWN launched the first Iconic Catwalk Show in Nigeria at the National Arts theatre and Tinubu Square on the 2nd. The pre-events to the AFWN, where talented designers expressed how traditional culture fused the modern spirit to fashion against the splendor of these heritage sites. The turnout was really impressive and people had a different feel of the fashion show.”
On her view about upcoming designers, Ronke says they should take it easy as there is no shortcut to success.
“I would tell them to remain focused because there’s this thing they call instant gratification. It doesn’t work. There is no free meal. You have to work. It’s a lot of hard work. You can’t just wake up one day and think you’ll start making money. Go online, do a lot of research, see what your competitors are doing, as well. If not, you will lose track,” she says.
On her personal life, Ronke says she has no passion for any other thing except fashion.
“I don’t think I have any other passion apart from what I do presently because I have been doing fashion since I was in the university. In 2001, I started Rukkies and currently, we have about five branches in Lagos,” she says.
Concerning her daily personal routine, Ronke says, “I’m very simple, I don’t usually makeup. I make up only when I’m going out for occasions. I’m a very simple person and I love African dressing. In the morning, I praise and worship God. I do that for about half an hour. Then I’ll bring my jotter out and jot out things that need to be done during the day. I’ll call my PA to discuss with him over the phone. I just attend to things daily, such as phone calls, emails.”
On her philosophy about life, Ronke says she likes having positive people around her, adding that even if people have to criticize her, it should be a positive and constructive.
“I like having innovative people around me and that keeps me going. Thank God, I have a good team, they have seen my vision for AFWL and AFWN and they have keyed into it,” she says.
Recently, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, appointed Princess Ronke Ademiluyi as the Heritage Ambassador for Queen Moremi Legacy, as part of his efforts to add value to the Yoruba culture. By this appointment, the prominent fashion designer becomes the official representative of Moremi, the African Heroine, having been at the forefront of the promotion of African culture over
the years.