Veekee James is fast becoming a household name in Nigeria. She is a fashion designer extraordinaire with a client list home and abroad worthy of envy and she has done her part to amount each of her high calibre, big money-spending customers. As a fashion designer in Nigeria, if you don’t know who Veekee James is you should quickly check her out (@veekeejamesofficial) because you have been lagging.
Veekee rose to the limelight after winning the Calico competition for fashion designers and going home with a grand prize of N750,000. This money enabled her to set up her shop and office. According to her, she learnt sewing from a very young age as her mom was a tailor and she learnt from her mom. In the present day, Veekee steals all the glamour on Instagram with the high-fashion bridal dresses she makes for clients. Everything about her pieces is always top-notch, from the fabrics to the sewing, to the intricacies of the design to the final styling. Wearing a Veekee James piece is every woman’s dream as no detail is left imperfect.
Veekee James extended her genius-ness and good-hearted spirit in 2022 by organizing a first annual gala in her name simply to empower designers. It was the talk of the town, the rave of the year. Designers that wanted to compete were asked to submit an entry of a cloth they’ve made, after which seven designers were picked to compete for a grand prize and a brand new industrial sewing machine in Lagos, Nigeria.
The d-day was lit (forgive my slang)! The red carpet also found a best-dressed winner with a prize of N300,000. The gala brought in various designers aside from competitors hoping to feed their eyes and network with other like minds. There was no entry fee and the hall was packed full of spectators. Celebrities and bloggers were not left out as the whole place was crawling with them.
The competing designers were to showcase three design pieces with the themes; light it up, Ankara galore, and dinner dress. Models were provided for them to walk the runway. The competitors did not come to play as every outfit was amazing. Some of their designs even caught the attention of the people present and were sold out after the event.
However, every competition needs a winner and one had to emerge from this gala. Design by Lexie (@designs_by_lexie) came in the first place and took the grand prize. Her designs were worth it and it was a fair result. There were also runners ups and they all went home with consolation prices. All seven competitors were given Industrial sewing machines also. Games and fun activities were played and designers in the audience were asked to drape dress forms in a limited time to also won sewing machines. You can see it was truly an empowerment gala!
The best part of all was the Bride of the Gala. Prospective brides getting married in 2022 were asked to submit their names for a raffle draw and a lucky bride (@_vickyvogue) was picked, her wedding dresses and other needs were fully taken care of by various sponsors of the gala. Her wedding dress, pre-wedding shoot dress, reception dress, bridal robe, after-party dress, make-up, gele, bouquet, clutch, hair and event planning were all taken care of by these sponsors. When her name was announced, you should see her joy, she was simply elated.
This is the first Veekee James gala and according to her, it’s annual. The first one was a grand success and consequently, the upcoming ones would follow suit. I pray God gives her more grace to keep excelling in all her endeavours. It is my earnest wish and of my manifestation that someday Planet Zaiy is on that runway showcasing her designs 🤞🏼
Planet Zaiy 