Veteran artist and designer Jimi King has blamed the government’s lack of support for the Nigerian fashion industry on lack of vision and knowledge.
According to Mr King, fashion is a major tool used by nations to influence and promote culture worldwide.
Speaking at a media parley with select style editors in Lagos, to announce the rebranding of the Jimi King arts fashion label, he says:
“There is an absence of support for the arts in this country, there is absence of support for fashion in this country and I think it’s from lack of vision and lack of knowledge that fashion could be a major instrument that we can use to influence the world.”
He observed that this lack of vision has been passed down to this generation of artists specifically musicians in tropical Nigeria, who wear leather suits and pants in their videos instead of using the opportunity to promote ethnic designs.
A big advocate and promoter of ethnic fashion for 39 years, King also berated the the Nigerian Customs Service for the porosity in the system that has allowed traders to import cheap and fake adire from China to the detriment of the locally produced ones.
“We have leadership problems. The customs can do better. If the walls don’t crack, lizards can’t go in. We can’t do what they are doing to us in their country and that should tell you that greed and corruption are what they are capitalizing on.”
He stated that the customs is one of the largest sources of internally generated revenue after oil, “that place needs lock and key by somebody responsible.”
As the Jimi King Arts Fashion brand moves on to the next level of its existence, the designer who is a third generation of textile artists, says while the label is rebranding to meet contemporary demands, he will always have cause to put dye on fabric.
“We are rebranding, we are re rejigging things, we are re-styling and trying to appeal to different segments of the society by so doing, we are doing some low-cost things but it’s hard not to put die on clothes for me,” he said.
Renowned for his arts and ethnic slant to fashion, the Jimi King’s new store nestled on Akerele Street in the Surulere area of Lagos State, will be formally opened with a fashion show later in December.