HOW I WAS ABLE TO MAKE IT BIG IN FASHION……MUDI

The name MUDI is undoubtedly one of the most popular design in Nigeria and perhaps Africa at large, the very amiable man behind it Clement Enajemo recently in an interview disclosed that creativity and risk gave him his present feat in life. 

 The Brand, MUDI fashion seems to cut across even in many parts of African, are really satisfied with that

 I wont say am satisfy because in life you keep aspiring , i can only say am happy with the level have attained, i still need to be coming out with new ideas especially as a brand to be recognized world wide.

 What are some of the new initiatives you are putting into the level you are now

 Am only concentrating on building the brand, outlets in some Africa countries and beyond. i spend lots of time thinking about creativity because lots of people are outside there copying my style, so to maintain the uniqueness, you must not stop coming out with fresh designs. There are some ideas i have now which am keeping to my self, when i think the time is ripe i will unveil them

 You were also into female designs before , do you still intends to go back into it

 For now am not thinking of that, am focussing on male designs, let other designers also concentrate on that. My vision is really with men let me pursue that

 What are the immediate challenges you are encountering

 For me the immediate challenge i will say i have now is outright copy of my work by some designers, , its a pity there is no copyright protection in this country, there is nothing i can do about it hence i am always on my toes to keep on doing the best.

What are some of the ways you personally adopted to control it

 For now i dont put any of my new designs on my website, i also advertise in a low key thisdays just to check the excesses of this people that try to copy me. Some of them will buy a design here and go and duplicate in another colour  ironically they will still tell people its MUDI design.

 Do you thinks they do that because they believe your designs are too expensive

 Not at all, its just that there is nothing you do in this life some people will duplicate you, though good things doesnt come cheap but thats not to say am too expensive

Is there anyway that the industry be regulated to reduce this menace

 We have FADAN, they are trying there best but sincerely its difficult to deal with such situation, checkout what is going on the movie industry, piracy has ruin many producers despite all effort to curb them. I only pray to God to keep giving me ideas

 Are you looking at storming Europe now

Gradually we will get there, the dream of every designers is to be known worldwide, already we are doing very well in all our outlets in some African countries, we keep moving on .

 Apart from fashion designing what else do you do

 For the past 23years it has been fashion, i dont do any other thing

 Why do you choose to love things outside the many conventional ways in this part of the world, like your offices, cars, dresses etc

Simply because am an artist, i sleep, drink, eat, thinking of how to be creative, that is why am so different.

Where do you like to spend your holidays

 I do my holidays within Africa, i love to see African environments it gives me inspiration, it can be Uganda, Botswana any African countries i dont just go for Holiday, i go for inspiration

 In what way are you giving back to the society, do you have a Foundation

 No, but almost every week we receive people here that need our advice , support in many different endeavour and we try to do our best for them. Not until you raised a Foundation making money from it instead of giving to society, i do mine quietly, for the industry, society and economy of the country

 How rich is MUDI at the moment

 Rich in what sense, am not rich but am contended, my richness is not in naira and kobo, but contentment

 Where do you get your materials from and how were you able to do you do it that makes your fabrics  always different from others

 Firstly we get all our fabrics outside the country because because we dont have textiles industry in the country anymore, i thank God the third eye i always used made me select the best in terms the difference you will always see in my designs and the way they are matched together. Again, you must have taste, use your creative sense and have passion for it, with all that you will always come out with the best. I also have partners abroad that we work together to come out with distinct designs.

Who are some of the designers that appeals to you in Nigeria

 We have lots of them doing very well despite the challenges, its a tough terrain to flourish in but we keep on moving. I dont wanted to mention anybody’s name there are lots doing well in the industry

 With the level of fashion in the country now , what kind of future do you see for the industry in Nigeria

 Very bright, its moving fast, if you check the cloths i made 10years ago and compare to now, you will see the different thats the way the industry is moving

 In waht area will you want the government to support

 If you check we are all working on personal effort, no loan or grant to support, so we keep working hard for ourselves

When people see the beauty of your Head office, they tends to ask if you have some people that are backing you like sponsoring the business for you, how where you able to acquire the building

 Sincerely it was a woman that was an agent that gave me the hint that the building is up for grab, i dont have the money then , i never thought of having it at that time even though i have the dream. So i have to approach my Bank and they borrowed me the money but i have since paid back, am not owing them a dime now. Its God that is sponsoring me, i have nobody else, thank Him.Many people have said lots of unpleasant things when they see the structure, some say am into drugs, my Bank is there you can verify, i borrowed money from GTBank and have paid up, life is about risk, i took that risk to borrow the money, you cant succeed if you dont take risks

How do you enjoy your money outsdte work

Enjoyment is not about money, its your mindset, my work gives me joy because of the passion i put in, i work throughout the week, half day on Saturday and rest on Sundays after Chruch.