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How Has Instagram Impacted the Nigerian Fashion Industry? Adebayo Oke-Lawal of Orange Culture shares his Two Cents with BN Style!
It is amazing how social media has quickly blown right before our eyes into this magnificent career defining tool. Brands have been built (and broken), and a generation of Instagram famous celebrities stroke super models have struck gold courtesy IG – Hey Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid!
A lot of our now super famous celebrities have Instagram to thank for their many brand endorsements like Kendall Jenner’s deal with beauty brand Estée Lauder. They cited Kendall’s huge social media following as the drive behind their choice, saying in a statement “[Kendall] is the ultimate instagirl, and we are excited to leverage her image, voice, energy and extraordinary social media power to introduce Estée Lauder to millions of young women around the world.” Then of course, Kylie Jenner’s Puma deal and many more deals that have come along the Kardashian avenue has been hugely because of this new social media frenzy—suddenly numbers matter and a good count leads all the way to the bank.
Coming back home, we at BellaNaija Style turned to one of Nigeria’s coolest ‘IT’ menswear designers – Adebayo Oke Lawal of Orange Culture who has managed to amass a cult following of loyal fans amongst young Instagram savvy Nigerians home and abroad to share with us on how impactful his nearly 41,000 Instagram followers have been to his business. He had this to say:
Instagram has definitely helped my sales alot especially in reference to the diffusion line. I Because the line is so relatable and a lot more mainstream than our main line. I find that social media gives us a wider connection to a wider and more lifestyle longing market since we do not sell on the website just yet. It is our avenue for which people from London, Kenya, Nigeria et al can look at the pieces in motion, static and other diverse ways and build an interest daily until they purchase a piece.Instagram kind of gives followers an opportunity to grow with the brand and to be a part of the brand’s story.
I won’t necessarily say more followers equates to more buyers but it does increase the probability. What I would say is the consistency of posts has equated to more buyers for us. Instagram buyers I think are more interested in clothing that’s packaged and marketed to relate to their lifestyle – that’s what I believe – buyers on Instagram aren’t necessarily looking for lookbook shots but for a way that they can connect more intimately with your brand and with the clothes you create. My Instagram buyers are definitely followers looking for something unique and interesting even when it comes to buying a tee shirt / they love a story – clothes that tell a unique story.
She is truly beautiful ! We love @yagazieemezi in Orange by Orange culture ❤️ – #fave
A photo posted by Orange Culture Nigeria (@orangecultureng) on
On whether the typical Orange Culture Instagram customer haggles over price and their sales turnover via Instagram:
They rarely haggle to be honest. They usually just buy if they can afford or work on saving for later, or if they can’t they’d look for something else they can afford. Considering we have three lines, it helps when people are trying to find a way to connect to the brand by buying an item. About purchases per month, to be honest – we’re not too sure but it keeps increasing. Well everyday we get at least two orders from just the Instagram page.
