Founder and boss of House of Borah, Ifiok Akan has added author to her resume with the launch of her book, In The Fabric Of Fashion is a masterpiece c
Founder and boss of House of Borah, Ifiok Akan has added author to her resume with the launch of her book, In The Fabric Of Fashion is a masterpiece chronicling the writer’s decade-long journey in the fashion industry.
Packed into 10 chapters, the book shares her numerous challenges and triumphs, experiences, insights, and tips for fashion entrepreneurs and other individuals navigating the ups and downs of starting and growing a business to become a household brand.
Here is what she has to say about the book.
“The book is basically about me telling my story and affirming that I am here to stay for a long period. I realise Africans aren’t adept at telling their unique stories. So, the book is just me putting the bits and pieces of what I had to go through to build a fashion brand, the difficulties and strategies that I used to succeed because you cannot build any brand without putting some modalities in place.
“Also being a wife, a mother and an entrepreneur and having to also build the brand in the city of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, in a city where fashion wasn’t really reckoned with so to speak, a place where I came and changed the dynamics of what they hitherto felt was fashion and how they used to see fashion designers.
“This book is important because I speak in various fora and I get asked a lot what my story is, how I am able to navigate my way through the different facets of my life. So I thought, why not just put all the answers to these questions down in a book so I can easily refer people to read the book for each question I get asked.
“It is a fashion blueprint that will be useful for newbies, aspiring fashion designers and veterans. A lot of chapters in the book are dedicated to fashion entrepreneurs. I mention some of the exclusive places I source for my fabrics, relatable stories in the fashion industries. I also talked about style preferences, how people should just make designs that stand out as there will always be someone who will like them.
“A lot of times, fashion designers think people are only interested in a particular design not knowing that fashion is so versatile. Fashion designers should just embrace their creativity and not limit themselves. Fashion is one of the basic necessities of life, so whether you like it or not, people will always wear clothes, so why limit yourself.”
On the ultimate take away from the book
I talked about us, humans, being the light of the world. God has called us to be the light of the world. We are like a city built on a hilltop which cannot be hidden and so we should let our light shine according to Mathew Chapter 5. I think people are not really shining their light because they might either be timid, fear the unknown, fear not getting accepted for who they are and what they are doing. We cannot be a city set on a hill and be hidden or lack creativity. So it means we need to study to show ourselves approved. We have value to bring to the world and so we have to keep inspiring, that is why we are here on earth. So this book is me telling people, it is time to shine, break away from that mindset of thinking little but to come out and embrace themselves more. It is time for them to tell their story because the world needs to hear their stories. That is how they get to shape their narratives. There are lots of people who have different perceptions about African entrepreneurs and what we do. So I believe we need to talk more and shine more. Let Africa as a whole know that there is something happening here. Let us be more of what God has created us to be. It is more or less like propagating the gospel.
