Agbani Darego reappears with ‘Stylogenic’
“I have been very busy. I have been in school. I have been studying at the New York University for a degree in Psychology. I have been doing a lot of modelling work. So, it’s not as if I have been away doing nothing,” she told Sunday Trust in Lagos at the launch of her […]
“I have been very busy. I have been in school. I have been studying at the New York University for a degree in Psychology. I have been doing a lot of modelling work. So, it’s not as if I have been away doing nothing,” she told Sunday Trust in Lagos at the launch of her new pet project, Stylogenic reality TV show.
The show to be hosted by Agbani Darego, the Face of L’Oreal, will be focusing on fashion and style. It will be hitting TV screens across the continent sometime after the World Cup and would also be available on the internet and mobile phones.
Agbani explains the philosophy behind Stylogenic to Sunday Trust; “Firstly, I must say that the show is quite unique, in the sense that unlike other reality TV shows, it won’t be focused on a particular individual, or one aspect of fashion. It’s going to be focused on the whole aspects of fashion. In essence, it will be focused on a group of people involved in fashion such as the designer, the model, the make-up artist, the stylist, the hair stylist and the photographer. What this means is that at the end of every edition when there is an eviction, not one person will be evicted, but the whole team.”
She thinks the idea of not limiting the show to Nigeria is exceptional as it would be targeting a pan-African audience. The show will reach out to Africans in diaspora and will feature casting sessions in London, New York, Johannesburg, Nairobi and Lagos.
“I believe that’s a great opportunity to take the African fashion industry to a new height, and for me, when I was approached to host the show, I was like ‘wow!’ It’s a great opportunity, it is something I can be very proud lending my name to, and it also offers me the opportunity to spend more time at home,” she said.
She also explained that Stylogenic “is trying to portray a sense of style that everyone has,” she said. “For example, in Nigeria there are so many ethnic groups, and each one of them has its own different attire; that’s stylish, that is being fashionable; that’s style, and that’s what we are trying to promote. Everyone has a sense of style that they are proud of, and we are not trying to change it.”
She noted that “For me, I am not trying to force my sense of style on anyone. The show is about people being aware of style. My own preferences, or choice of style is quite different from that of everyone, because we are all different types of people.”
She did not deny that the show is modelled after Project Runway but insists this is different because it is focused on the team, not just an individual.
“It’s going to be a team of six people, and there are going to be several teams. I believe we will have six teams made up of six people, and we are going to have 13 episodes. At one episode a week, I think that will be about three months and it is open to sponsorships to brands who want brand visibility”
The teams will be competing against one another for mouth-watering prizes including a showing at Fashion and Design Weeks in London and Cape Town, said Solomon Ikhioda, Head, Sponsorship, Insight Communications Ltd, one of the show’s executive co-producers.
Ikhioda who was speaking recently during a presentation to the media held at the Clear Essence California Spa & Wellness Resort, Ikoyi on Friday disclosed that entries for contestants will open in a few weeks, adding that it will be open to all Africans with casting calls to be held in Lagos, Johannesburg, Nairobi, London and New York.