Nneoma's PASSION FOR FASHION"

Nneoma

Nneoma Phebe Okpara is the CEO of  P.h.e.b.e, a new and growing clothing company designed to style the young woman that is classy, and stylish but isn't afraid to look sexy. The lightskinned beauty who is a Law student at the University of Lagos, shares her fashion with Debourgeois.









DB - How did you get into fashion?
Nneoma - Its been natural, since i was a kid, I've always had the flair for fashion.I really loved beauty, people looking good. I appreciate that a lot. So it felt natural to get into fashion


DB - Did you learn designing anywhere?
Nneoma - In my opinion, certain things cannot be learnt, although there are schools for it. Although i did learn sowing from a tailor for about three months, but designing itself comes to me naturally


DB - Can you recall the first thing you ever designed/
Nneoma - When i was a kid, i started with making clothes from nylon while doing those children plays and we would all wear them, then i started sowing with needle and thread.




DB - Do you do all the sketching for Phebe?
Nneoma - Yes, I do. That's actually the fun for me, I havent totally taken it as a business yet, because I even give out some of my clothes.


DB-
Nneoma - For now Phebe isn't a full time business or job, mostly now its about passion and the love for fashion, but i'm hoping to get people to handle the financial part in the shortest possible time


DB - Have you had any fashion shows featuring your designs?
Nneoma - Yes, I've had one. Panache

DB - At first sight, do you immediately know what would fit a woman's body and what would look best on her?
Nneoma - Yes, absolutely. Although I'm still learning, daily i check all the fashion sites, i google the latest trends and all that. But i know what would fit a petite girl, an hour glass etc. When i see an outfit, i already know what it's missing.


DB - When is your next line scheduled for launching?
Nneoma - Lots of people have been asking me that, when is your next line coming out, why haven't you relaesed new stuff, your blog has been inactive etc but I'm taking my time, its been over 7months since I started work on the new stuff, but i don't want to be like the usual designers. So I'm putting in a lot of effort into the new line and I hope as soon as it comes out people will appreciate it.


To  check out more designs, place orders for exclusive designs or to contact P.h.e.b.e, go to the blog

http://www.phebeescorner.blogspot.com

MARCO MARTINEZ AT TEN

Marco Martinez is arguably the biggest urban apparel designer in Nigeria, with the Boys Are Not Smiling (BANS) tees, Girls Are Not Smiling tees, DJ Jimmy Jatt (D3PLE J)snap backs, MADE ON THE STREET tees, the tennis designs and so many others which constantly get sold out, the fashion house definitely has its hands full. The CEO and creative designer of Marco Martinez, Paul Ade Martins,a graduate of Engineering at the University of Lagos, took time out of his packed schedule for an interview with DEBOURGEOIS and shared some of what makes Marco Martinez the power house it is.


DB - Where did the name Marco Martinez come from?
DB - My friends helped me come up with the name because then i was looking for a name (even the M symbol came before the name because i always loved superman and other comics growing up), so after much deliberation, someone said why not Marco but i thought to myself later on that anyone could be Marco so i decided to add a second name and then all the big designers had two names like Louis Vuitton, Ralph Lauren etc. So i thought since my surname was Martins and Marco sounded Italian, i should make it Marco Martinez. Also there was the Nigerian factor, there is something about foreign things, no matter how much they like it once they see that it was made by a Nigerian that's when they would turn it inside out and start looking at the thread and all that. I actually heard of someone who had sold some of my clothes and when they asked who Marco Martinez was, he said "na one italian guy like that wey come Nigeria"


DB- What made you go into fashion?
MM - I have always loved drawing and designing, i remember back in Unilag, i designed the number on the door to my room at the hostel and everyone liked it. So i thought why not make this a business rather than a hobby. I never worked for anyone, so that helped me launch early and i was able to take the risk of going into design fulltime. 



DB - Did the Marco Martinez brand start with Boys Are Not smiling?
MM - No, the brand has started way before that. Back then when people would ask me to help them get clothes, no matter the specifications and whatever they wanted on it. I would get exactly that, so they started asking how that was possible, that's when i told them i was actually the one who made them. That was in 2002 so the brand is not new at all. The BANS tees didn't get to the market till about five years ago. I designed it for Terry Tha Rapman for his song "Boys are not smiling" and the entire design process was shown on MTV, right from designing the face on the shirt to completion. That's how BANS was born.

DB - What inspired the Dj Jimmy Jatt snap backs?
MM - I have known Dj Jimmy Jatt for a long time and he'd come see me or i would go see him. but there was one day he came to see me and i noticed something odd about him, i couldn't place it at first and then it hit me, so i said "Uncle Jimmy why are you not wearing a hat" because i had never seen him without one. That is when it just clicked because I had been thinking about my hat line because i didn't think it was proper that everyone was wearing hats saying "NYC" or "ATL" and those kind of hats. Why rep somewhere you've never been, or where you are not known etc. I wanted something we could relate to. And who better than Jimmy Jatt who is an icon and is known everywhere for his love of hats. I immediately went to work designing and i showed them to him and he liked the designs. that's how the snapbacks were born.


DB - What type of partnership exists between the fashion house and DJ Jimmy Jatt?
MM - It is a business relationship as per the D3PLEJ snapbacks, but he has always been a friend and customer of the fashion house


DB - What has been the response of the international community to Marco Martinez?
MM- The response has been great, we have been getting requests from all over the world for our designs. For instance some white boys in Germany requested for the BANS tees, and i began to wonder what boys are not smiling had to do with people in Germany. The major challenge we were having before was how to produce in bulk but now with our factory we are more equipped for export than ever before. Also we have moved from a new brand to an accepted and established brand in Nigeria so now we can go into the international scene. Some of our customers buy in bulk and take it outside the country to resell.


DB - Do you have any intentions of going from urban designs to also doing couture?
MM - Our customers know we are not strictly urban because we make jackets, shoes etc, however as a trained engineer i couldn't see myself attending directly to customers, such that when we make clothes someone would come back and say "oga, i no like the cloth again or amend am e no size me" and all that, but in the next 12months we are expanding our designs.


DB - The brand's fans have remained loyal even after all these years, what inspires the loyalty?
MM - I think its just God


DB - Have you had any fashion shows where Marco Martinez has showcased its designs?
MM - Actually we have been invited to a lot of fashion shows but we have declined those invites such that some are upset with us. but we have been mostly interested in building the brand, focusing on our designs and our customers. Right now though, we are more open to doing fashion shows and soon we will begin having fashion shows

DB - There are a number of urban apparel designers in the Nigerian fashion industry. What sets Marco Martinez apart from the others?
MM - Quality, Finish and knowing what our customers want. Plus our unique designs


DB - In your view, what is the state of the Nigerian Urban apparel design market?
MM - The industry is still growing, and i believe that as much as there are lots of designers out there we still have less than five percent of the population with all of us put together


DB - If you had the opportunity to work with any fashion houses or labels. Which ones would immediately come to mind
MM - Alexander Blage


DB - Are you solely responsible for creativity at Marco Martinez or there are other persons involved?
MM - We are a company and i am the creative director. Currently, we are hiring designers to add to our versatility.


DB - How can interested designers get in touch with you?
MM - They can send mails to info@marco-martinez.com with all their previous works


DB - What are the things that inspire both your Marco Martinez creative side and Paul Ade Martins, the man?
MM - I am inspired by Music, Feelings and my immediate environment. I am inspired by what I see around me everyday.


DB - If you had the opportunity to steal three things; one body part, one personality trait and one material thing from any person(s), what would they be?
MM - Body part: 6packs from Tyrese, personality trait: Messi's humility and consistency at the top, material thing ; Micheal Jackson's Estate


Visit the marco martinez website www.marco-martinez.com , like on facebook http:/www.facebook.com/marcomartinez47 and follow on twitter @marcomartinz47

ID CABASA "EXCELLENCE IS MY DRIVING FORCE

Olumide Idowu Ogunade popularly known as ID Cabasa remains one of  Nigeria's top producers, ranked alongside the likes of  Don Jazzy, Cobhams Asuquo, Ty mix and other super producers. the prolific producer who holds a Bsc in Economics and a Masters Degree in Management Sciences sat down to chat with debourgeois at his Akoka studio and shared insights into what makes him the most sought after producer by both upcoming and established Nigerian singers.

DB - How did you go from a masters degree in management sciences to music?
Cabasa - before music i was a banker i worked with savanna bank and oceanic bank for a couple of years after my service year. after oceanic i decided to go back to school for my masters, it was during this period that music moved from an hobby to a real career choice. this was after a lot of persuasion from within myself and someone that i respect a lot, my pastor, who advised me to really look into music since i seem to do it without any stress. then i discovered that i was getting fulfilled unlike when i was at the bank, even though the money wasn't coming at first i was still fulfilled and with that came the financial reward. now i can say boldly that i cant compare what I'm making now to whatever i would have been making in a bank
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DB - Why did you go into production and not singing and other aspects of music?
Cabasa - It was like fitting into the right hole. i weighed all the options and discovered that the singing side of it, i know it, i even lead my church choir and i can teach people how to sing, i know vocal harmony but my voice range would not make me a proficient singer, i am more of a conscious singer but when it comes to going the extra mile i cant do it. so what really flowed was arrangement of music, i can play virtually any music instrument that i lay my hands on and i understand how music works so that's why i went into production. all i was doing then was getting people who knew how to sing, train them and produce them.

DB - who was the first person you recorded for?
Cabasa - i cant recall cos as at 12yrs i had started going to studios as a young secondary school boy and helping people record. but when i truly embraced production some of the guys i first recorded for are still with me, like Lord of Ajasa and 2phat

DB - what was the chemistry between you and 9ce?
Cabasa - before 9ce there was lord of ajasa, ruggedman and even faze. but i met 9ce through someone in my church who was in the same group with 9ce and wanted me to work with him, there was just something about him that i liked, his warmness, he has a listening spirit and i actually wanted to train him in production. but i realised later that he had a very good voice and he is a good writer who writes lyrics. i started encouraging him to sing because he never really believed he had such vocals. He did and from there, the chemistry between us was like that of a lab mouse and a scientist. what i couldn't do as a singer, he did. it was a complimentary relationship and he could listen and take correction. he was staying with me then. the chemistry is not restricted to 9ce, its more like a coded tunes thing. for instance if you see Olamide now you will talk about the chemistry but its something that any artist who works with coded tunes feels, once you pass through the system you begin to conform to the coded tunes way and that helps to produce the best

DB - when did coded tunes become an official record label?
Cabasa - 2005. i created the record label with 2phat and lord of ajasa signed to the label.
DB - do you have any artists signed to coded tunes now?
Cabasa - im working with two new artists presently, Meaday and B rank. Meaday is a R&B singer, he is a complete singer you need to see him on the piano, he is very good. B rank is a reggae/dancehall artist. they both have singles out right now and have we are working on getting them out there. but we also have some other artists who we are still watching out for to sign but we need to be sure about them first.

DB - if you had the opportunity to work with any artists locally or internationally, what two names would immediately come to mind?
Cabasa - if you asked a young producer that question it would be really easy, but for me ive worked with just about all the big names in Nigeria, 2face, banky w, olamide, 9ce, ruggedman, Eva and all the others you can think about, i think the only big name i haven't worked with is Dbanj. so if there are any two artists that i want to work with right now they would be the two next big things coming out.

DB - how do young artists who want to join the record label get across to you?
Cabasa - there is a system here at coded tunes, first 2phat who is the managing director performs the first audition, cos he knows what we are looking for, if the person passes that, he comes to me for a 2nd audition and then i perform some character tests.

DB - Do you think there is an opportunity for other people to come into the industry?
Cabasa - more than enough, the A List artists in Nigeria are very few same with B list artists and  even C List artists and fewer producers. I'm even very concerned about that, i need more guys to come into production, I'm happy that a couple of people have come in now. because someone is reigning now does not mean your turn will not come. the stars we see in the sky are so big its said that the number of stars in the galaxy is more than the sand on earth yet there is still enough space left

DB - what inspires you?
Cabasa - I'm inspired by a lot of things but most especially the word of God, from it i learnt simplicity. i believe anything worth doing is worth doing well so the need for excellence inspires me to work hard. excellence is my driving force. nature also inspires me, after spending time at the beach and with nature i start to think of lyrics and music and by the time I'm in the studio it all comes out. also I'm a thinker, i spend a lot of time thinking especially when i travel and  i go on a lot of vacations, I'm not saying i worry but I'm a critical thinker.

DB - where do you see cabasa in the next 5years?
Cabasa - its really about where i see me but where coded tunes will be in the next 5yrs. we actually have a 10yr plan but in the next 5yrs we plan to take Nigerian music to the world. i believe that by then the international community will come to us for our music, to the point that we will be the ones signing big artists like  Akon or whoever is big then. we see ourselves churning out the kind out the kind of music the world wants to hear

DB - if you had the chance to steal three things one body part, one personality trait and one material thing from any person or persons what would they be?
Cabasa - i would love to have Daddy Adeboye's gentle nature, I believe if i have that I will live long he is so close to God , the material thing would be if bill gates could transfer his company to me, then body part would be to just add some weight cos I'm too skinny.

Find out more about ID Cabasa and the entire coded tunes family at www.codedtunesent.com.