General News | 19 May 2008 12:53 CET

I AM NOT A TAILOR — GENEVIEVE

Following the successful launch of her fashion brand, St. Genevieve, very talented actress and mother of one, Genevieve Nnaji has declared to all and sundry that she is not a tailor.

There have been talks that she has turned to tailoring and dumped acting that brought her fame and fortune to irk out a living. Immediately we got wind of her turning to cloth making, we put a call across to the Mbaise, Imo state born actress to verify the authenticity of the talk.

Hardly had we finished our enquiry that she started laughing, her first set of words were in yoruba, eyin omo yi, eni pami meaning, you journalist will not wear me down with your enquires. Weeks before then, papers have been full of reports that she has now turned to cloth making. Some praised her for her versatility, while others mocked that acting roles are no longer up to the task of picking her bill, hence, need to look else where.

She however told us that none of the talk has any iota of truth. Samuel, I am not a tailor she told us unequivocally. She promised to send us the invitation to the launching ceremony of her cloth line, St. Genevieve so that we understand what it was all about and true to her words she did.

The launching was everything a fashion event should be. It was full of razzmatazz, fashion parade and ladies with fashion statement that would make Victoria Beckham nod her heads were there. The event which took place on May 4, at Coral Hall, Victorial Island Lagos was organized by Ndidi Obioha led Enthyst Event and she coordinated every inch of it flawlessly.

It was there that we got to know that Genny as Genevieve is fondly called is only inspiring fashion designs, while Lamide Ajayi of Iconola does the sowing. As it is, Genny draws the design or tell Lamide the sort of designs in her head while Lamide applies her tailoring ingenuity to create the reality of Genny's designs. Lamide is one fashion designer that has earned her respect in the fashion industry as one of the very best. It was sort of two of the very best in two worlds teaming up together to create timeless designs.

Presently, the ready wear cloths can be purchased at Iconola, the outfit of Lamide, but Genny is planning big time to open a boutique on the island, where her ready-to-wear brand, St Genevieve would be easily purchased. She plans to throw the door open for other boutique to purchase in wholesale and take it to other part of the country.

She informed the audience that the need to throw open the door of her private designs came about as a result of people asking where she got her wears from. Most people who come across her usually wonder if her cloths are made in Nigeria. She reveals that most of what she wears she designs; her tailors just bring them to reality.

The need to make the designs that have done her pride accessible to other fashion conscious women made her enter into the partnership with Lamide. It is on record that Genny is one of the most fashionable actresses we have in Nigeria.

Meanwhile, Genevieve who just returned from a movie location in Abuja told us she is still busy acting and that is the more reason we've not been able to sit her down for a chat. That effectively put the rumour that she is no longer getting movie script to rest. That we can tell. But what we can't however tell is when the former face of Lux would start designing for men, so that we can have a piece of her creative mind on our body.

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