Princess Abba Folawiyo and Fashion are inseparable. Her creative concepts flow in a vision like manner that she finds easy to interpret perfectly. The quality of her breathtaking and innovative designs are enough to fetch her the crown of queen of fashion designs. Her knowledge of fabrics combinations, colours, cutting and sewing were not acquired in any classroom, they were naturally inborn. Princess Abah had already set up Labanella Creations as a fashion house before she attended the London Fashion School just to acquire a certificate.
Her passion and commitment to fashion is such that she designs from her heart, rather than from her head, and so she puts in a lot of loving effort into every design at Labanella, making sure that what she makes for people are what she would wear herself.
She founded Labanella creations in 1978, and in 1981, it was formally incorporated as a limited liability company. The outfit, one of the foremost and most successful in the country, became a pace setter and has participated in fashion shows, in some of the world’s major fashion centres such as London, Paris and New York. In 1986, the company staged shows in many West African countries in a project known as “Labanella goes Eco-west”. Back in 1963, Princess Abba had emerged as the best designer at VC-10, award in Ghana. Presently she is the matron of fashion designers association of West Africa (FADEWA) and the Matron of Honour of Fashion Designers Association of Nigeria (FADAN)
Over the years, Labanella fashion house had pioneered several trends. According to her “ I used to make corporate clothes, but when I realized that Nigerian women are on the plump side, I reviewed my position. I do not subscribe to the trend women squeeze into fitted clothes.” Her desire to make clothes that suit the figures of her clients largely influenced Labanella’s inclination to Kaftans, Culottes and Jilabias.
The contributions of Princess Zainab Abba Folawiyo cannot be easily chronicled. Describing her as a quintessential pace setter in fashion designing who deserves wide acclaim on the African Continent would not be enough for a woman who lives, breathes and talks fashion. She has left indelible footprints for thousands of current and potential players in the industry to follow.
Perhaps someday, and in her lifetime, she would be given due recognition, especially by the government of Nigeria. Perhaps one day, her art and contributions would become a course of study in Nigerian and African institutions of higher learning. When that day comes, Princess Abba Folawiyo would have received some of what is due her, for her immense input into the making of a new order in fashion designing.
On May 18th during the Africa Fashion Week Nigeria at the Eko Hotels, Princess Abba Folawiyo’s creations will be on the runway as a source of inspiration to millions of Nigerian fashion followers, including designers, connoisseurs, students and dealers. In this interview, the doyen of Nigerian Fashion reveals why she supports Africa Fashion Week Nigeria.
