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Ejiro Amos-Tafiri is the creative director of an emerging brand, Ejiro Amos Tafiri.  Prior to starting up her fashion label, she was able to gain experience, working briefly at Out of Africa, a fashion house in Lagos, as a production assistant and a junior designer while waiting to be called up for the National Youth Service Corps. She was also able to score an internship with Zizi Ethnic clothing and Tiffany Amber.  At Tiffany Amber, she went from becoming the creative assistant to the creative director, where she worked on collections that showed at local and international fashion shows during this period. A few of which are: FAFA Kenya - Fashion for Peace Nairobi Kenya 2009, Arise Africa Fashion week Johannesburg South Africa 2009, New York Fashion Week spring/summer 2009, Face Of Africa 2010, Lagos Nigeria.
Ejiro has participated in several exhibitions and fashion shows such as: Stars on the Runway 2007, Creative Academy reality T.V show 2006 from which she emerged the winner in the Fashion category, Ade Bakare young designers’ competition 2007, and Moments with mo young designers’ competition 2008. All these prompted her to start her own label.  
Recently, clothes from the label were showcased at Le Petite Marche and the brand is gradually becoming one to reckon with on the Nigerian fashion scene.

Elizabeth Ole spoke to Ejiro Amos-Tafiri about the label, her expectations for it, amongst other things.

SV: Fashion to you is …

A way of life – an expression of what is inside one’s self.

SV: Your sense of style is…

Understated

SV: Your interest in fashion started …

In secondary school S.S.S 1 at Q.C.  I went on an excursion to Yabatech fashion section. It was like scales fell off my eyes and right before me was the world I had unknowingly longed to experience.

SV: The label Ejiro Amos Tafiri represents …

Freedom to fully be you- Fashionable clothing that is wearable, expressive, modest, simple, and affordable and has sex appeal.

SV: Where do you see yourself as a designer in the next five years?

I see the brand becoming institutionalized with a large followership locally and internationally.

SV: What is exciting right now in fashion?

For me the fact that there are loads of emerging local fashion brands and designers like me. In the recent past when I was studying fashion in Yabatech, it was perceived a taboo for a young, bright promising girl to dream of becoming a designer.

SV: What in your opinion is the future of fashion in Nigeria?

That the common man mainly wears, reckons with, and identifies with Nigerian fashion brands which can be achieved through mass production and decent distribution channels.

SV: Most interesting piece you’ve designed so far …

That will be the ‘’Keep Lagos Clean dress’’ I designed for Moments with Mo Young Designers’ competition in 2008 because it challenged me mentally and technically. The entire dress was made from garbage off the Streets and was created to instantly send a message to the onlooker.

SV: Favourite type of clothes to design …

Definitely dresses because they combine all the clothing blocks - the bodice, skirt and possibly sleeves ... it is total and fun.

SV: How do your designs differ from that of other designers?

Well, like painters we all have various colours (fabrics, ideas) on our palettes and I mix mine to create clothing of international appeal with an African twist to it, thereby letting my individuality show in our creations as a brand.

SV: Your choice of fabric to work with is...

I work pretty much with any fabric available to me at any given time, I’m currently experimenting with fabric mixture - combining various fabric types, textures and weights to create some form of aesthetic balance.

SV: Your three favourite fashion items are …

Sunglasses, sneakers and a huge bag

SV: What has been the most difficult aspect in launching the label?

It was finding an internationally acceptable identity for the label within a short period of time - the name, branding, quality and standard of the products because it is very crucial to the survival and longevity of any brand.

SV: If you were to educate people on fashion you would emphasize on...

Stay true to yourself; see fashion through your own eyes... be individualistic.

SV: Piece of item or clothing you cannot do without is…

Shorts; they are extremely comfortable to work in.