A BLOGGER TALE|| MY ROOKIE EXPERIENCE AT THE HEINEKEN LAGOS FASHION AND DESIGN WEEK (LFDW) 2016

Fashion week and its frenzy, all the buzz about the just concluded Lagos and Fashion Design Week ( LFDW) which took place at the Federal Palace and Casino Hotel, Victoria Island was so much that I knew I was not going to miss it for anything. Those were my exact thoughts the first time I saw the first publicity picture for the show.

Fruche

Over the years, I have heard so much about fashion week and as a newbie in the blogosphere (Yeah I still refer to myself as one) I have come to realize that I shouldn't miss out on fashion events that can help me network better and help me create better content.

So the next question that kept popping up in my mind. How to go about tickets? I was completely clueless and also low on funds. A few friend suggested that I enter a giveaway or try interning for the show. I sent out a mail but I didn't get a positive response. Apparently, there was no room for me since I sent my email late.

I was so disappointed and then Sogie, a fellow blogger and friend tagged me in a picture on Instagram that Noble Igwe was searching for interns. I sent out two emails as per the two phase of the intense competition.

Sadly, I didn't make the last cut. More disappointment, ikr? Then it hit me. I wasn't even thinking about work (The 8-5 life). How was I going to miss a week at work? What excuse was I going to give at work?*sigh* I figured it was God's plan that I didn't secure the internship. I'm sure you are wondering, did I attend the event, right? Yes, I did (insert big smile emoji). Thanks to Alex, aka my lifesaver and blogger boo she made my fashion experience possible and worthwhile. I didn't get to attend all the days because of work but I was able to attend the last two days.

So for this post, I'll be sharing my experience and also the lessons I learned from the LFDW 2016.

THE FUN PART

• Freebies- Who no like awoof? lol. One of the upsides of the event were the freebies. I got a customized phone case courtesy of Sterling Bank, a goody bag from Maybelline and Eva+. Also, there was a photo booth where you get your pictures taken for free. I took some pictures with Uzo but sadly we were unable to get the pictures, they ran out of paper for printing out the copies.

Day 3 (Photo Credit-Bella Naija)

• The Street Style- This is the fun part, although I didn't exactly get to fully enjoy this part since I arrived late on both dates. This is the part where your picture gets taken and possibly you might get interviewed, loads of press around aka Paparazzi. You might want to get your picture game on and smile always. I wasn't exactly prepared for this *covers face*

Disclaimer alert: Just in case you find any picture of me frowning on the internet. Biko, that is not my real face. Lol!

Mai Atafo

Andrea Inyamah

• The Runway show- Did I mention that this is my first time at a fashion show. It was a good first time. I am no fashion expert but I've to commend all the designers that brought their A-game to the runway. 

Check out few of my fave from the show......

Onalaja

Bridget Awosika

LESSONS

• Don't go late- I learned this the hard way. I missed out on a lot because I came late. The main show didn't start until 8pm or even later than that (It was supposed to start by 5:30pm according to the organisers). I missed out on the street style, seminars and a lot of opportunities to network with fellow bloggers but trust me to make do with the few hours that I had. Another important reason for coming early, good seats. If you come super late, you might just end up standing throughout the whole show or having to wait for someone to stand up from their seat. Fortunately for me, I didn't have to struggle for seats but I watched people who came late go through this struggle and you can imagine how bad it was.

• Network- The importance of networking is often understated, networking is key and this can never be overemphasized, trust me.  So if you follow me on Instagram, You can follow me here.What are you waiting for? Follow already. 

For those who follow me, I'm sure you saw the post I put up about connecting with some peeps before the show. Well, guess what? I made a lot of new friends and I got to meet a lot of people at the show.

With Sandra and Dupe

With Dupe and Fola

With Noble Igwe

Shout out to all the people that actually said Hello and were super friendly, y'all are the realest MVPs.

• Go with your business card- Getting a business card is something I intended on doing in the nearest future but after my experience at the LFDW. I am considering getting one soonest. So short story, I was checking out some brands that displayed their product at the retail stand. I started a conversation with one of the brand co-owners. I sorta just mentioned that I was a blogger and then he asked me to give him my business card. I'm sure you can imagine how the whole scenario played out. I also had another encounter during the main show too. Anyways,  it was at that point that I realised that getting a business card should be at the top of my to-do list. 

• Plan ahead- Plan everything and plan properly too, especially your outfits (one of the mistakes I made) I didn't plan my outfit plus I had a bit of light situation (downsides of living in Nigeria, constant power outage). I just threw on what I felt wasn't look too rumpled. 

Thoughts on my look from day 3 and 4?

I had a blast with my fashion week boo, Uzo. You can check out her blog here. As a first timer, it was a lovely experience, the show had a few glitches but it was a wonderful event and I sincerely believe that there is room for enough improvement.

Day 3

Did you attend?

Thoughts on the show?

What are your favourite designs/designers from the show?

P.S- The winners of the #ilamosixdammy giveaway are:

• @Olutayo_emmydan - A dress from @theindulgence_collection
• @joyobiesie- A size 8 orange peplum dress
• @wanshygirl - A sunglasses from @haute.signatures

Congratulations on your win and don't forget to follow me on all social media platforms to stay updated on future giveaways.

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