Few weeks ago, PR Girl Media (Lusaka based PR and Events Company) invited Nadrey Laurent (formerly Totally Ethnik) to showcase at this year’s Lusaka July 2017.

It happened that I had to attend the event as the #PRGirl for Nadrey Laurent.

Love the beauty and energy the girls at PR Girl Media put into their event and really doff my hat to them.

The event was a sold out one. Zambian fashionista’s came out and did a massive appearance on the red carpet. They didn’t come to play at all.  Good fashion sense with great fashion show, loads of food and drinks.

This year’s event which was themed “African Luxury” really lived up to expectations with Special Guest appearance from Boity Thulo, South African fashion icon and media personality. From the red carpet appearances to the food, and drinks had the best of what a luxury event could offer. For the girls at PR Girl Media, they wanted nothing less than giving the guests an experience of luxury.

These socialites and A-listers, influences and celebrities showed up looking glamorous in their best outfits and also saw Africa's highest fashion on display with designers from Ghana, Botswana, South Africa and Zambia on stage.

The fashion show had some great designers such as Zambian based Esnoko, ChizO and Nadrey Laurent (formerly Totally Ethnik) from Ghana, Quiteira & George from South Africa and iZaura from Bostwana amongst others all showed the best of their pieces on the runway.

After the event, I had the opportunity to meet and chat up with these sisters who have become Zambian fashionistas and style influencers and were recently featured on CNN. Talked about many things relating to African fashion and also learnt a lot from each other. Wish them well as they put Zambian Fashion on the global map. I had a great time talking with them.

And then I found a great connection, the girls at PRGirlMedia (Chishi and Monde Nyambe) & MaFashio (Sekayi and Tukiya Fundafunda) are both sisters in business together. How beautiful it is to be in business with your sister. Cheers ladies, keep up the great work.

I did have a great time in Zambia and will keep the memories with me and hope to return sometime soon.

I will leave you with these photos…

Sekayi and Tukiya Fundafunda of MaFashio

Monde and Chishi

Costume by @Nadreylaurent

Faith Senam Ocloo 
Fashion Public Relations
 Fashion I Beauty I Lifestyle I Arts

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Have you wondered what the Duaba Serwa’s , Christie Browns and Joyce Ababio’s of our time have in common? Ask any random person on the street about fashion brands making waves in Ghana and Africa and very few names will run through peoples mind.

Over time, it’s the same names and brands that have dominated the industry. Each year new and emerging designers are known, heard and seen but many of them are unable to live up to expectations due to several factors thus disappear into thin air within a short while.

Its no doubt the fashion industry in Ghana has become a vibrant one with many young ones starting their own fashion line be it for the passion or for the fun of it. But the concern is how do you start your fashion business and sustain it as well as stay relevant and be top of mind in this mass fashion world.

The business of fashion is a big world and can be very hard to control. You need to step up your game to be able to gain the much needed attention and be the preferred brand choice by stylists, celebrities, editors, buyers and clients etc.

 Here are 4 helpful tips to guide your fashion brand

Always have something new to offer

To stay relevant means you ought to always come up with new and innovative designs to dazzle your clients and fashion enthusiast. Being an established designer does not say it all. You need to constantly launch new collections that will grab the attention of many. Understand the industry you are in and work towards bringing up new ideas.

Be dynamic (Change with trends)

Fashion thrives on trends. Fashion is dynamic. It’s an ever changing world. You should not be comfortable with your world and your sense of style. Make it a point to learn from others and adapt to other new trends.

Be Socially and Ethically Fashionable

Fashion does not operate in a vacuum. Considering how important clothing is to the society at large, a fashion designer will remain important to the society if he or she is committed to making sustainable products that impacts social lives, improves the environment and supports the communities they operate in.

Be ready for business

As I mentioned earlier, the business of fashion is a big world and you have to first know your product and create a brand identity that will help you stand out among many others. My earlier article on Creating a fashion brand identity will guide you on how to create a fashion identity that will set you apart from a million others. Don’t try doing everything by yourself. Request for extra hands when the need arise to grow and expand your fashion business.

 

Faith Senam Ocloo
CEO

E’April Public Relations

Follow on twitter @eaprilPR and @faithsenam

Photocredit: A collage of others work

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Name:    Millicent Baku

Position/Company:    Public Affairs Officer/West Africa Examinations Council(WAEC)



Describe your job in one sentence: My job as a Public Affairs Officer and Head of Protocol at the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), Headquarters is a very challenging but also a very fulfilling role.

How did you get into Public Relations; how long have you been in PR? I did not set out to be in communication or public relations to be specific. I always knew I was good with words and for me that meant I needed to be a lawyer. After secondary education, I applied to Legon to do law but my application was late so instead of staying home for a year doing nothing, my father decided that I should enroll in a communication school. I listened to him and I loved the school and the course so much that I have no regrets in my choice. I am now in my 8^th year of working in Public Relations.

What is your interest/specialization in PR? I like public relations as a whole because I am good with people and I like seeing problems as challenges but the aspect of PR I find very fascinating is Persuasive Communication.

What is a regular day for you as a PR Person? Hmmm a regular day for me differs from day to day. Being responsible for 2 offices, PR and Protocol, I am always pulled in different directions. In PR, I have a boss who keeps me busy with a lot of writing and reading and in Protocol, I have to plan and luckily sometimes delegate the work. Right now, we have our annual conference coming up this March, this means planning every aspect of the conference, writing speeches and various reports etc. at the same time, I have to see to travel arrangements for delegates all over the member countries.

How do you think PR can help change how brands are perceived? When you call yourself, your product or service a brand, and no one gets to know about it, then the effort you used in branding was a complete waste. It is one thing to brand and another thing to communicate your brand to your audiences. This is where PR comes in to communicate effectively to your publics what your brand stands for and how different it is from others. This means that anyone looking to brand themselves or their business needs to employ PR skills and tactics or a PR specialist to get the job done effectively.

What kinds of challenges do you face in your Public Relations career choice? Besides the bureaucracy that goes on in the public sector, a lot of what we study about PR is theoretical and very different from what the actual job entails. Especially working for an examination body, you are faced with the challenge of balancing how much information the public should have while at the same time safeguard the integrity of the institution. This means being able to balance information flow among all stakeholders of the council. I have learned a lot on the job and have gained a lot of exposure within the past years.

As a PR Professional, what can’t you live without… the one thing I can’t live without is my brain and my gadgets (computer and phones). If I lose them my job is on stand still.

Do you feel pressure to dress well for the job?n From the very first day on the job, my CEO made me understand that as a Public Relations Professional I was automatically the face of my organization this meant that I had to be at my very best at all times – appearance, comportment etc. all inclusive. Fortunately, I always like to look my best because it gives me some kind of confidence. So no. there is no pressure except on my pocket.

Any advice to young ladies especially African women who may want pursue a career in PR or any communications related field? I will encourage more young ladies to venture into the world of PR and Communication because it is a very interesting field and one that will take you place if you let it. But to get to the top, you have to be well spoken, well read, develop excellent interpersonal relationship and skills and of course be ready to learn. No one can teach you confidence in the classroom. You can only be confident if you are knowledgeable in your field and you apply that knowledge to whatever you do.

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