I studied marketing in the university, but I’ve always been

By Christy Anyanwu

Ngozi Modebelu is a fashion designer and entrepreneur with a passion for Adire fabrics.

In a chat with Saturday Sun in her office recently, she went down memory lane on her journey in the fashion business.

How did your journey into this business start?

It started 32 years ago, in 1994. I love fashion a lot. I’m into tie-and-dye and African clothing. I do mostly export. I export to the UK, US, Canada, and some African countries like Zimbabwe and South Africa.

I read marketing in the university but I love fashion. While I was in school, I used to make clothes. I used to be fashion crazy.

It was either I sewed for myself with tailors in Enugu or I designed my styles. But the business itself started when I was in the university in my third to final year. There was an aunt of mine who was married to a wealthy man. I saw her making clothes for some of her colleagues, those married to wealthy men in Enugu.

So, I used to go help her sew buttons on the clothes and iron them. I admired her a lot. With all the wealth in her family, she still wanted to make her own personal money. That was actually what inspired me the most. So, when I finished school and got married, I immediately decided to use my boys’ quarters as a business place. Interestingly, my auntie was also using her BQ for clothes-making. Then we were living off Adeniran Ogunsanya in Surulere.

As a youth corps member in 1993, my NYSC allowance was N8,000 and at that time the sewing machine was N6,000. I bought a sewing machine with my NYSC  allowance and used the remaining N2,000 to buy some Adire fabrics.

Why did you start with Adire fabric?

I have traced my love for Adire to way back in 1988 when my friend did her wedding. The cloth I wore for that wedding was Adire. I stood out that day. I just have this flair and love for Adire.

The N2,000 I spent on Adire was a lot because the naira had more value then.

I started sewing in my house. Then I employed tailors and started making clothes. I started making for myself, my friends, family and fellow church members. When I went to church, people would admire my outfits. Then I told them that was my job. After a while, my husband got me a shop on Akerele.

So, that’s how I started making clothes. We started with just making boubous. The boubous were moving. Then every fashion shop on Akerele was also doing the same boubou. I decided to do kaftans and other styles. I started making A-line dresses. I now have customers all over Nigeria, from Port Harcourt to Owerri, Aba, Nsukka and Abuja.

In a day, we used to make like 100 kaftans. Then we would send out to customers to stock their shops and boutiques all around Lagos. It was actually a boom for me.

What is your take on the proliferation of Adire fabrics in the market?

I used to do my own designs. My boys at Akerele did the tie-and-dye. With time, they started doing their things by themselves, being their own boss. So, I started  going to Balogun market. Even when I was working with them, I still went to Balogun to buy and select some designs that were extremely good. Then I noticed some Chinese guys coming to snap these Adire for copying.

When was that?

That was, let’s say, maybe 12 years back. They were snapping pictures of the fabrics. I actually thought maybe they liked African clothing, I didn’t know they wanted to do a copy, imitation and all that. Their imitation fabrics are so bad, so substandard, just like fabrics they use for umbrellas, that’s exactly what they are. If you wear it, you’re going to sweat. No perforations, no openings to make you feel good. You’re going to sweat the whole day; even if it’s cold, you’re going to sweat.

So, I don’t buy them. I’ve never bought fakes to sew and sell for customers. Even Ankara, those cheap rubber Ankara fabrics, I’ve never bought for anybody.

What do you think about the state of Nigeria’s textile industry and advice to government?

We used to have the best wax, which was produced from Nigerian cotton. These days, I don’t even know whether they grow cotton anymore. So, I would advise the government to go back to cotton production, cotton farming. To be frank with you, every Ankara, whether it’s Hollandaise, whether it’s Hi-Target, all of them are from China. Nigeria does not produce anything. Everything is imported.

I don’t know what they did with the cotton farms and all that. So, I would advise them to go back to the farm.

What do you say about skilled tailors? Some people contend that skilled Nigerian tailors are no more, that getting a good tailor is difficult…

I do not agree with that. I have a tailor who has been sewing for me for the past 25 years. I have another one sewing for me for the past 24 years. I have another one for 20 years and another for 18 years. I don’t have a new tailor.

If they tell you there’s no tailor, it’s not true. I don’t look for tailors. I have never placed adverts for tailors for one day. One of my tailors was sick, he had a stroke. I know what I did to bring him back on his feet. Now he’s back to work.

They’re human beings. They work for you. So, they also deserve some care, love and respect.

Why did you brand your business 2+2?

The ‘2+2’ name was my husband’s initiative. He was one of my mentors. He suggested the name and I agreed.