Reni Folawiyo: Why We are Celebrating African Luxury
Founder and CEO, Alara Concept Store, Mrs Reni Folawiyo, in this encounter with Festus Akanbi, says Africans have stories to tell through their various artworks and fashion
The appointment was fixed for 11am last Wednesday in her office located at the imposing building on Victoria Island’s Akin Olugbade Street, Lagos. The building is striking with its peculiar boxy shape and imported design. It consists of a glass facade—covered with intricate metalwork inspired by traditional Yoruba adire textiles, which allows passers-by to glimpse what’s inside.
The building was designed by the internationally recognised Ghanaian-British architect David Adjaye. Cleverly situated beside the retail shop is the reception which gives way into inner offices.
After the usual introduction, the founder and CEO of the luxury concept named Alara-“Wondrous performer”, the elegant Reni Folawiyo, was ready to take the reporter through a tour of the magnificent building housing the store. As the door opens, the visitor is confronted by a retail space extending upward in levels, like a giant stairwell within a tall display case. The shop’s offerings are designed to include a mix of fashion, design and art, in the manner of Milan’s 10 Corso Como, Paris’s Colette and London’s Dover Street Market—emporiums.
Folawiyo’s personal style is eclectic. The store, according to Folawiyo, stocks both Western brands and pan-African design. “I felt that we needed something iconic that would change our city, change the way we see ourselves and also change the way the world sees us,” says Folawiyo.
The idea is instead of going to Europe or America to stock up on Western fashion, customers at Alara will be able to browse a selection of brands previously unavailable in West Africa, including Stella McCartney, Dries Van Noten, Marni and Valentino. There is certainly a market for them.
In terms of what motivated her to venture into this exotic business, Folawiyo said, “We want to show the world what we can do. We can excel in our fashion. We can sit side by side with international designers. What you will find is a mix of African items and items around the world and because it is quite a unique blend, not the kind of things you will find anywhere in the world, it encourages people to be better. We are here to offer support by telling people what to do and for them to come here and aspire to be the best and in that way, we can get the best of our artists.” The Middle Class To what extent is the interest of the middle class represented in the unique retail outlet? Folawiyo was unequivocal on the focus of her organisation. “We are a retail store. We are here to make money and yes, we are a luxury stall. However, we need to support the growth of the middle class. Yes, we do have expensive products but we want to support people in the middle class so that they can grow. They may buy a little now but by next month they may buy more. Maybe they will understand the idea of expiring luxury and maybe they will buy into that.
“We understand that in our own environment, we have a very big middle class which has capacity for growth, so we are prepared to work with them. So you will find materials for everyone.”
Speaking on how the project is being financed, Folawiyo said: “I have a few investors, yes, it is a difficult business to sell to investors because it is not too direct. It is not just buy and sell. What we have done is we have different other revenue streams which make it more appealing to investors. So we have a restaurant and a grill. We have a restaurant which is more formal; the grill is more relaxed for the younger ones to buy into the vision. We have an event space. We can do event in the restaurant and in the garden. The space also lends itself to events. We already had an art event here a couple of weeks ago and it went very well. We have cocktails and we have exhibition area so, revenue streams that help us to buffer our more creative part of our business.” Banks’ Reluctance But she disclosed that “The banks are not yet ready to support this kind of business. I think the banks are more interested in mass returns. The question all the banks that I approached asked me was; are you going to be on every street in Nigeria or are you going to be the African Zara. It is more indirect, so banks could not go through with it and until we are probably up and running and they see the number which will make them more comfortable, I think the banks might wait a bit.”
On what informed her choice of artworks, she said: “I collected some of these artworks when I travel and meet people where I go. Sometimes, I’m inspired by their stories. In Africa, a lot of objects have history. You can trace where it started and a lot of African artists are just bringing old crafts and mix them with contemporary and I love the stories. I just travel and meet a lot of these people. I want to represent them and expose them to our market.” Exploration Reni Folawiyo sees her exploits as a sort of exploration. She described her effort as an identity thing. “We want to identify with some products and see them in a different way; identify with the artists especially with what they have been through and it’s a way of wanting to tell the story of someone you met somewhere. I believe we have added value by listening to people’s stories. We can learn and improve ourselves from that.” African Luxury Folawiyo is unapologetic about her firm belief that Africa has its own unique luxury. “We are unique in a way because of our history. To some extent, the outside world sees us as very romantic and they conclude they need to go and help Africans to make them better. We have kings, we had kingdoms and we have culture, we have jewelries. In the olden days, the Ashante had gold. We know luxury; nobody needs to help us with that. We just need to cast our minds back to how we used to refer the kingdom and if you look at the way royal fathers dress today, like the Benin Monarch, emirs and even the Alake. I know my father used to wear beaded hats. These are the things artisans have done. They were not accessible to the common man because of the high value that they had. So, we know luxury. We believe in luxury. It’s not being forgotten. Some of these items you see with the royal fathers are luxury products which we can enhance our lives with. So, I may not sell a beaded hat, but I can tell artisans to make a bag that is beaded and it becomes a luxury product for the world to showcase. This is what I mean by African luxury.” The State of the Economy To what extent is the state of economy affecting the market for luxury products? Folawiyo stated, “You are as good as the market you are able to buy. That is a measure of your success. However, we just need to adjust. Yes, we will always promote luxury, but if we concentrate on lots of African luxury products, it will empower people to produce fantastic products. I can put it in my space and people can come and value it. It is an education. So, it just makes me to understand that I have to concentrate a lot to developing products from Africans and creating jobs and creating wealth.”
So, as Alara Store continues to offer its unique products to its customers, the fact remains that the effort will not only yield bountiful returns to the investors, but certainly, it will give indigenous African artists a sense of belonging given the fact that their products are assured of the visibility needed to break even.