De-Image Creation & Fashion School recently held its Graduation and Youth Empowerment Program at an elaborate and exciting ceremony that was graced by the crème de la crème of the society.
Savouring the joy of the occasion, the founder and Chief Executive Officer of the school, Mrs. Teniola Akintayo shared her thoughts and passion with journalists.
Excerpts:
You are the Executive Director of De Image Fashion House and it is such a great feat to see many youths graduate from your institute today. How does it feel doing this?
I can say that the inspiration is packaged by God, not man. Every year, we train people because we want them to be well exposed and known as creative and great fashion icons. We give our students what it takes to be a professional fashion designer. We also believe in giving back to society through our empowerment program.
When we first started, we didn’t have what we call empowerment program but now it has been added because we are passionate about helping young people. We have less-privileged people that need to be empowered in order to be self-reliant entrepreneurs. We believe that after graduation no one should be idle. When they finish learning and there is no start-up capital to establish their own business, they will go back to square one. We don’t want that to happen to them. Rather we want a situation where individuals and corporate bodies can partner with us to help these youths.
What form does the empowerment take- Is it in form of cash donation or supply of equipment?
We give out machines/equipment and sometimes even with generator to supply electricity. The truth is that this empowerment program is just like a calling. It is like when you are being called into ministry as a pastor. I really want to give my best just to train these people and give them a future. Those are the things I have in mind. That is why we are soliciting that if government can help us it will be highly commendable. Today we have 25 students graduating. We are looking for people- government, individuals and corporate organizations that can help these graduates to move to the next level.
How do you follow up to ensure that the people you have trained are doing well?
Of course, ‘Yes’! We have so many of our students outside there doing well. We have some in Nigeria and some outside the country too. They are really doing well, and that is why we have this platform for them to be able to showcase their expertise. We want people to see that they are capable and to patronize them.
How do you decide those that qualify for the Empowerment? What is the criterion?
We just look at the seriousness of their situation and when we ascertain th
at they are vulnerable we register them. We also have to be sure they are passionate about putting to use what they learn. Thereafter we enroll them for the free training.
How do you get funding this?
Well! We are just starting. We will be happy if we can get people to buy what our students have showcased so far. When you look at it, you will know that we are for real. We don’t just put them together for putting sake. We give them what it takes, we train them daily, and that’s what we do. That’s why we need people to come out and assist us. It’s not what I can do alone. I have the package, the knowledge and the passion but I need people to out and support us. I can’t do it all alone. The cost of maintenance is very high- we run generator every day and that takes money. We spend a lot to keep this vision alive and running. Like I said, it is a calling; it’s not that I just woke up one day and I said I want to run free training. No! I have been in business for years but now, I want to give back to society.
How long does the training take?
Our normal training takes 12 months while the empowerment program is for six months. But if we are able to get good sponsors to assist us, we want to do more. With what we have now, we cannot do more than six months
We have 1001 in fashion school in Lagos and Nigeria. How would you describe their efficiency and impact on the fashion world?
We have lots of fashion houses around today that before they take student, they insist you must have the knowledge of the job before coming but here, we take your students that don’t even have any knowledge in tailoring or fashion designing. We take them from the scratch and go all the way to train them to become experts. Expecting a student to have experience first before coming to your school is not the best. That means you don’t know what you are doing and you are not a thorough trainer. Here we train our students from beginning- from pressing machine, from passing button and so on. We start from the beginning and that is why you see them growing there, I’m so much proud of them.
What stands De Image Fashion School out from others?
What really set me apart from them is giving them what it takes, giving them the best. I don’t look at the money. What stands us out is the creativity, the colour mixture, the pattern drafting. Here it is a total package. We give you what you can fly with. You don’t get to a stage and then start asking- where should I go? No! We give our students the best and we are ready to do more.
Looking at the quality of work your students have done throughout their training session, will you say they are well prepared for the challenge outside school?
Yes of course. Sometimes ago I was looking at a magazine and I saw three faces. I looked closely again and said ‘this is my signature’; who is this person? Where are these people based? After a while, I gave the magazine back to the owner. Days later, I was checking through some files and I saw the faces on that magazine. It was then I realized that they had been my students.
How long have you been doing this?
I have been doing this for the past twenty-seven years.
Is it something you studied at school?
You know what really happened is that it came as a calling but because I was surrounded with some things I couldn’t start early. I lost my parents at a tender age and there was no way for me to get education. I didn’t want to be a liability to anyone; so I had to look inward and pray for direction as to what to do to earn a living.
If you were not in the fashion business, what else will you be doing?
I could have been a Lawyer or a Journalist.
