Afro Model Awards take Nigerian models, makeup artists to the UK

Every year, people work tirelessly to ensure that the fashion and style industry is alive and bubbling, but most times, these noble workers are unnoticed or unrecognised for their hard work and this is mainly due to lack of platforms for recognition.

Most contributors in the industry, especially the models, designers, and make-up artists, give up their hard work and selfless services, which then results in severe lost of talents within and to the industry.

Owing to this lack of recognition, Afro Model Awards, an annual awards ceremony that recognises and rewards the contributions of individuals and organisations, both of African Caribbean and non African Caribbean origins, towards the growth, development and empowerment of fashion, modeling, creativity and personality was established.

Speaking to journalists in Lagos during the week, the co-founder and convener of the awards, James Jegede, said the awards, which is now its five season, was created to search, locate and reward hardworking and talented models, photographers, make-up artist, agencies, designers, beauticians, accessories designers, magazines, personality, fashion blogs, and fashion events among others, by ways of rewarding their hardwork via award recognition annually.

He said, “The Afro Model Awards was created to bridge the gap that existed in the modeling world between the black models and the white models, and to make the black models across the world attain a global status like their white contemporaries. This we have been able to achieve in the United Kingdom. The award basically recognises models for what they do. There is live catwalk category, which encourages and reward models that struts the runway.”

“Every year, people work tirelessly to ensure that the fashion and style industry is alive and bubbling, but most times, these noble workers are unnoticed or unrecognised for their hard work. This is mainly due to lack of recognition. So, most of them give up their hard work and selfless services, which then result in severe lost of talent within the industry,” he added.

On why he decided to come to incorporate the Nigerian models, Jegede explain that talents abound in the country, especially in the modeling industry but they are not recognised and rewarded.

“At Afro Model Awards, we have been rewarding hardwork, and this has inspired alot of Afro-Caribbean and non Afro-Caribbean in the United Kingdom in the past five years. I’m in Nigeria because this is my homeland and having done such much in the UK with Afro Model Awards, I think bring Nigerians into the awards is a way of helping push the frontiers of talents that abound in Nigeria.

“Nigeria is a blessed country with enormous resources, both and material, especially in the fashion and creative industry, but the human capital are not recognised and rewarded. As the most populous black nation in the world and endowed with great talents in modeling, fashion, make-up arts, In the United Kingdom, Afro model Awards is big, strong brand, and if we are able tap into the talents in the country and this can inspire more people to work harder,” Jegede explained.