My experience with Tiffany Amber

If you stay in Lagos, or have any idea of fashion, you definitely would know what Tiffany Amber is… Founded in 1998 by Folake Coker, Nigerian fashion label Tiffany Amber is known for its rich aesthetic and wholly West African feel. Although Coker was born in Nigeria, she was educated in Switzerland, England and Scotland, eventually graduating with a Masters in Petroleum Law. Despite her formal training, the designer was drawn to fashion, and ultimately decided to create Tiffany Amber, a clothing brand that has since become iconic in its country of origin. Since its inception, the brand has worked to empower artisans from the African continent through vast employment opportunities. Today, Tiffany Amber (an imagined name thought up at the time of its founding to appeal to a Western market) is considered a household name in Nigeria, and can count four brick-and-mortar stores across Lagos and Abuja. Coker has shown her collections across Africa, and the major fashion cities in Europe and the U.S, even making history as the first Africa-based designer to show twice at New York Fashion Week. She was the first recipient of the Designer of the Year award at African Fashion Week in Johannesburg in 2009, and won the award for Fashion Brand of the Year at Arise Fashion Week in 2012. The brand has also received the recognition of prestigious fashion titles, including WWD, Vogue and Vanity Fair, and the high acclaim of former Vogue International Editor-at-Large, Suzy Menkes. The fashion industry in Lagos is a different ball game especially as an employee. It sure takes and takes… it’s the peak capitalist market all round. My very brief journey with Tiffany Amber started few months after an unplanned exit for a different fashion brand in Lagos I helped set up due to a pay cut issue. A friend sent me the ad for a fashion brand looking for a Product Developer which was my specialty, so I applied and soon got talking to the representative from the ad. It was unknown to me I was applying to TA at the time. The entire conversation was very hush hush with the business I was applying to; I just wanted to work lol! I was sent an address for an interview where I came to light who I was applying to.The address was the factory and work space for production somewhere on the island. It definitely was the biggest workspace I have ever worked in. Most of the workers were not from Nigeria and eager to assist me which was a green flag. The first interview lasted for a day! I was given an outfit to replicate on paper, it was a long process but truly a breeze! It took the whole day to finish from 9am till about 7 in the evening. I obviously did great as I was called back for another interview after a week! I was readyyyyyy! For the second interview, I was assigned to a tailor to produce a calico sample with the patterns drafted. It took a full day as well! [At this point, I am hoping the technical terms are not making this write up uncomprehensive, there will be a mini glossary at the end of this article. Bear with me!] After some days, I was gotten back to by an agency asking to come for another interview at another different location. Girl! It was their recruitment agency, and it was an oral interview, where my CV was dissected and references from previous workplaces were discussed as well as my intending salary. I was to wait for another feedback. For the next phase, after a few days at the agency, I was called by Folake Coker and was invited to the showroom in Victoria Island for a brief introduction and meeting. She truly is a force to reckon with. The moment was absolutely surreal to say the least. After an opening prayer, there was a little heated admin staff meeting and an onboarding on tasks assigned to me ahead. The last phase of the interview process was a paid 1-week trial working closely with Folake Coker to develop new product designs. About 20 pieces were created in the course of the week, there was little or no documentation of work process of products made as it was against the brand policy. One of the many experiences which made me channel all my resources into venturing into starting my brand. Hi, I am Casey Young. A Product Developer, Pattern Maker, Multimedia artist and Founder of CASADICASDENIM. A Denim brand founded in 2021. Obsessed with art and fashion and most recently denim, a fabric that’s never going out of fashion; I ventured into creating denim pieces with the goal of making it accessible in every colour, size and location. You can follow more on my start up journey on social media ~ @ARTBXTVH [twitter and Instagram]. Do check out my denim pages [twitter ~ @CDCDENIM; Instagram - @casadicasdenum] Also, my denim flutter wave store ~ flutterwave.com/store/casadicasdenim GLOSSARY: • Patterns – flat templates made out of paper used as a key instruction guide for cutting the separate parts of a garment. • Calico samples – used for mock up garment production because of its cheap, has a mute color and is flexible to work with. • Product developer – one who plans, develops and presents fashion focused products for a specific market within a company.

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