Chicago Fashion Week set to honour African fashion trailblazer

As the Chicago Fashion Week beckons, those who have distinguished themselves and contributed their quota to the fashion industry are being recognised.

One of such persons, is Lexy Mojo-Eyes, African fashion ambassador and the Chief Executive Officer of Legendary Gold Limited. He will be bestowed with this special award at the upcoming International Arts Awards Gala and Fashion Week scheduled to hold June 30 to July 3, 2022, in Chicago, United States.

The International Arts Awards Gala and Fashion week is the flagship event of Al Nisa Designs, run by African-American fashion designer, Carmin Muhammad, who is also the brain behind ‘Women Working Together Inc. A native of Los Angeles, Muhammad was shot into global fame after her article, ‘Pink Hijab Ladies, stole the show at Torino fashion week went viral. She has not looked back ever since.

Lexy Mojo-Eyes

Mojo-Eyes will be honored in recognition of his immense contributions to the African fashion industry for three decades, which have in no small measure beamed the spotlight on the continent’s fashion, bringing it global reckoning and patronage.

The pioneer African fashion promoter and entrepreneur has been in the vanguard of promoting African fashion for close to three decades, transforming his vision to make Africa the future of fashion globally, and it would seem that future is now, given the attention it has received.

After three decades of pushing the frontiers of African fashion towards inclusivity and global reckoning, the manifestations of African fashion in more recent times are persisting as nuggets of attraction, inspiring and pulling hosts of people into communion with their beauty and novelty. With the passage of time, the relentless effort at promoting African fashion by Mojo-Eyes continues to draw pilgrims, journeying across different trade routes, to its fairs, from the Sahel to the savannah and rain forests.

Model

The fashion promoter also introduced the first major fashion event in Nigeria known as ‘The Nigeria Fashion Show’ in 1997, ostensibly as a vehicle to build awareness of the rich prospects imbued in African fashion; sustained by its annual editions ever since. In stimulating this awareness, the show which gave Nigerian designers the first national platform to express their creative talents compelled participating designers to use only local fabrics and accessories in producing their collection.

Debuting on the international stage in the year 2000, Mojo-Eyes took 10 top designers from Nigeria to the first international edition of the Nigeria Fashion Show in Paris, from where it proceeded to Milan, London, New York, Atlanta, Houston, Washington DC, Stockholm, Tel Aviv, Johannesburg, Sidney, Perth, Tokyo, Cape Town, Shanghai and the list is endless.

Determined to push even further the frontiers of Nigeria’s fashion possibilities, Mojo-Eyes got the ears of the Federal Government through the wife of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, late Chief (Mrs.) Stella Obasanjo lauded the objective of the show and supported the initiative of which she ultimately became Grand Patron and regularly attended.

Understanding the unique connection between fashion and modelling, Mojo-Eyes has also been creating opportunities for African youths to make meaningful careers in modelling. As a result, Mojo-Eyes in December 2003, signed a franchise contract in Paris with the International fashion television, Fashion TV, a union that birthed The Nigeria Model Awards, with the goal to create opportunities for young Nigerian girls seeking to build careers in international modelling.

The insatiable quest of the fashion titan to create new opportunities for young Nigerian girls led to his signing of a new contract with New York-based Ford Models in 2004, which secures a Nigerian representative at the annual Ford Supermodel of the World contest in New York where these girls stand the opportunity to win modelling contracts worth $500,000 and above. It is instructive to note that the lives of many young girls have been transformed through these channels, with positive ripple effects resonating with global sustainable development goals.

In recognition of the value he has brought to the fashion space, Mojo-Eyes was appointed by the Federal Government through the Ministry of Information and Communications in 2005, to produce fashion shows as part of the Heart of Africa Project, which he satisfactorily executed in Washington DC, Atlanta, Houston, Paris and London.

Furthering his enduring exploits and positive influence on African fashion, Mojo- Eyes in 2009 was appointed the only African on the Board of Governors of the World Fashion Organisation due to his invaluable contributions to the growth and development of the fashion industry in Africa.

His remarkable strides in the African fashion industry weave from bringing recognition and attention to the African textile, garment and fashion industry to the very core of its commercial nerve, stimulating investment and economic opportunities that give the continent’s fashion business viable impetus.

At the instance of AFREXIM Bank through Folio Communication, Mojo-Eyes was appointed to organise an event which included, fashion, music, films and the Arts for the African creative industry at the 1st Intra African Trade Fair in Cairo, Egypt. He consulted in the creative industry sector for the African Union’s participation in Expo 2020 Dubai and presently consults for the United Nations on the African creative economy.

Legendary Gold Limited over the years has been at the forefront in promoting African designers and creatives in the African fashion industry, with quite an impressive number of influential designers having been influenced by the brain behind Africa’s foremost fashion promoting firm sustainably inspiring creativity and economic opportunities with its annual events: The Nigeria Fashion Show, the Nigeria Fashion Week, the Nigeria Fashion Awards, the Nigeria Model Awards and Africa Fashion Reception.

Mojo-Eyes has not only staged and been part of huge transcontinental fashion exhibitions to create awareness – from fashion to Milan, New York, Paris, Dubai, UK., but also developed the digital-savvy.

In collaboration with the African Union and UNESCO, Mojo – Eyes through The African Fashion Reception, has globally projected African fashion designers and entrepreneurs since 2013 bringing immense success to the continent.