Nuvi Gana: Meet the icon leading Cameroon’s fashion renaissance

By Daniel D.

In Cameroon’s fashion landscape, one name stands out – Nuvi Gana, the visionary behind Nuvi Creative and the African Heritage Fashion Week and Awards.

With a passion for fashion and a desire to uplift his country, Nuvi has not only achieved fame and success but has also made a significant impact on the lives of many.

Nuvi Gana established Nuvi Creative in 2007 following his studies in fashion and design.

This fashion house has not only brought him fame and fortune, but it has also improved the lives of many young Cameroonians who are delving into the profession.

After touring global fashion events and exhibitions, he realized that Cameroon was lagging behind in the fashion arena.

Established brands lacked exposure to effective product promotion, while aspiring designers lacked platforms to showcase their talent.

Nuvi Gana, a successful figure in the fashion and design industry, thought about ways to spotlight his country’s fashion brands as well as give back to his country.

This passion pushed him to create the African Heritage Fashion Week and Awards, a yearly event where aspiring designers, student designers, and established designers may present their creations to a global audience.

The second edition of the event took place in Buea from April 17 to 20, 2024.

More than just a fashion event, it celebrates the shared culture of Africa and unites designers in showcasing their skills.

Nuvi told MMI the idea behind the concept is to introduce Cameroon to a wider audience and to close the gap in fashion and design between Cameroon and other nations.

“Due to the shortage of means for upcoming designers to showcase their work, or due to a platform for designers that already have a brand to meet with marketers like fashion buyers and media, we were lacking that position in Cameroon,” he said.

“Then it comes to mind that I have been out there visiting different fashion platforms and different fashion seminars; why can I not bring it to Cameroon? And why not make it an African thing?”

For this reason, fashion designers from all throughout Africa were invited to the second edition.

For four days, the event featured a variety of activities, including designer get-togethers, exhibitions by student designers, Sanja and Toghu cultural nights, and, at the end, an award ceremony.

Links to the coastal regions and cultural grasslands are established by the Sanja and the Toghu Night.

These activities not only showcased the diversity of African fashion but also celebrated Cameroon’s rich cultural heritage.

 
Battling Against Second-hand Goods

Nuvi highlighted the challenges faced by Cameroon’s fashion industry, including the preference for second-hand goods over locally made products

“When our own country accepts second-hand goods more than those made in Cameroon, it becomes another problem,” he said.

He stated that this is among the causes of his membership in the Cameroon English Designers Association. This is a result of the association’s goal of getting the government to enact legislation requiring residents to wear only clothes made in Cameroon.

“This has made me bring this event so that we can unite Cameroon and make Cameroonians understand that wearing Cameroon one hundred percent is not only making people rich but also the economy,” said Nuvi Gana.
 

Prioritizing Cultural Heritage
 
Showcasing Cameroon’s rich cultural heritage is at the center of Nuvi’s drive.

He believes people without a culture are people without an identity. 

“As a fashion designer, any of your work has your identity. It is like a trademark. That is why I define fashion as a lifestyle and a culture. It is our own identity,” he said.

He is not working alone to achieve this. Many fashion designers in the country share his dream, reason why they turned out in their numbers at the African Heritage Fashion Week to showcase their own fashion designs.

Fashion designers from Buea, Maroua, Douala, Yaounde, and Bamenda turned out at the show to showcase clothing, footwear and hairstyles made entirely of African materials.

Among them was Yaounde-based fashion designer Herve Nguvi, who presented a selection of items fashioned from animal pelts, leaves, and fruit skins.

He said his designs were inspired by a desire to break free from colonial influence and celebrate Africa’s unique identity.

Similarly, Yaounde-based designer, Cora, created a line of raffia-based clothing. She said that every detail of the exquisite designs was authentically African.

The same was true of Hamza Fakil from the North Region, whose designs depicted the culture of the North.

Ernest Nwoh, another fashion designer fondly called “Toghu Boss,” displayed a variety of elegant gowns that represented the culture of Cameroon’s grassfield Region.

 
Touching Lives With Fashion
 
Nuvi says he intended to give back to mankind in addition to making money, when he founded his design brand in 2007.

Through the Nuvi Creative School of Fashion and Design, he has empowered dozens of young people some of who are now in charge of their own businesses.

The majority of these trainees come from Cameroon’s Anglophone Regions, which have been ravaged by armed conflict.

“The school is a platform I use to assist others. 80 percent of students who have graduated are from the regions affected by the Anglophone Crisis. The trainees come under my scholarship because I always make sure that every year I need to support five or six girls. To train them for free and give them sewing machines,” he told MMI.

The motivation, he said, was “just the love of humanity. I know what we are going through”.

Before he became a successful fashion designer, he stated that it was a terrific challenge. His humanitarian act was mostly motivated by the difficulties he encountered getting into the trade, and it is his goal that no one else goes through the same ordeal.

Among Nuvi’s success stories is Nde Vanista, a 25-year-old who now runs Vani-Star Fashion and Design based in Bamenda.

Thanks to Nuvi Creative, she was able to showcase her work during the second edition of AHF Week and Award, shortly after she graduated last year.

Vanista told MMI that Nuvi had given her something that she would always remember.

She studied at the Nuvi Creative School of Fashion and Design in Buea on a cost-free basis, obtaining ample skills from which she now makes a living.

ALSO READ: Bamenda Fashion Designers Shine At African Heritage Fashion Week

 
The Man Nuvi Gana
 
He is an ambitious individual who crafts innovative, trend-forward garments for an array of styles.

He possesses a deep understanding of the fashion industry, with
strong technical skills and an eye for fine detail.

Creator of high-quality pieces, utilizing a comprehensive planning process to guide garment construction.

He hails from Bali Nyonga, in the North West Region of Cameroon. In the years 2001–2004, he studied at Freeman’s Fashion and Art School in Douala, Cameroon, and obtained a diploma in fashion design.

Later in 2007, he enrolled in Samba Dio Fashion School in Senegal, where he studied for two years and left with a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Fashion Design.

He possesses great experience in fashion design, as has been designing since 2007 to date.

Nuvi has featured in many fashion events in and out of Cameroon. Among these are: the Mondial Beauty Parade in 2007 in Bamenda; FIAFA (Fredash International Annual Fashion Avenue Cameroon) in 2015; and Men’s Fashion Week Nigeria in 2016.

He has also won several awards, including the Runway Best Designer for the Mondial Beauty Parade in 2007; the Best Designer for the Ebony Project in 2011; Male Fashion Designer of the Year in International Runway Achievers and the Recognition Awards, Ireland, in 2017.

Nuvi has mentored junior designers, fostering a supportive work environment that encourages creativity and innovation.

He has also conducted market research to identify emerging trends, guiding the development of new collections accordingly.

©Mimi Mefo Info