On Monday November 30 2020, the Director-General of National Council for Arts and Culture, Otunba Olusegun Runsewe visited Retro Africa Gallery Abuja , venue for the showcase of the Korea-Nigeria traditional clothing designs.
The project which was undertaken to mark the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean Cultural Centre in Nigeria involved both Nigerian and Korean designers who made each other’s traditional clothing style using local fabrics.
The DG in the company of his wife both received and wore traditional Yoruba attires made of Korean fabric, designed and sewn by Korean designers.
The NCAC Director – General was impressed with the whole project idea and hoped it would lead to more collaborations between both countries’ fashion designers.
About the Project
The Hanbok is the traditional attire of Korean people that has a history of over 1,600 years. Coloured with natural dyes, beautiful in its own right, the core of hanbok is its graceful shape and vibrant colours. Similarly, Nigeria has a rich and beautiful array of fabrics and traditional attires. Ankara has come to be part of such Nigeria’s colourful traditional fabrics.
To mark the 10 years anniversary of the establishment of Korean Cultural Centre in Nigeria, the Centre has organized a joint traditional clothing design project. Nigerian designers and tailors used Ankara fabric to make Korean hanbok which were showcased in an online exhibition in July this year. Later, Korean Hanbok designers made Hanbok with Nigerian Ankara materials and also made Nigerian traditional attires with Korean fabric. They made a set of hanbok with Ankara fabric for adults (men and women), another for children and made one set each of three different Nigerian attires with Korean fabric representing the main Nigerian tribes (Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba).
Between November 27 ~ December 02 at Retro Africa Gallery in Asokoro Abuja, the dresses will be showcased and interested individuals can visit the gallery to see for themselves.
Significance of the projectAs the Korean Cultural Centre marks 10 years in Nigeria, it is exploring new ways of fostering understanding and friendship between Korea and Nigeria through arts and culture. This project raises awareness on our traditional clothing and fashion styles in order to also promote exchange and cooperation as well as knowledge and technology transfer in the fashion industry between Korea and Nigeria.