is MiddlepersonMostFashion’sRevered
Boluwatife Adesina @bolugramm - Contributing Writer Boluwatife Adesina is a media writer and the helmer of the Downtown Review page. He’s probably in a cinema near you.
David Nwachukwu @ebube.nw - Contributing Writer David Nwachukwu has always been immersed in fashion from the age of 10, watching a Dior by Galliano show on television. His work in fashion stretches across media, marketing, brand communications as well as design. As a fashion & lifestyle journalist, David has tracked key industry data for various publications including Industrie Africa, Culture Custodian, Haute Fashion Africa, and HELLO! Nigeria. A Geography graduate from The University of Lagos, David consciously aligns this background in environmental advocacy and sustainable development with the need to promote a more ethical fashion ecosystem. He currently oversees strategic communications at Clean Technology Hub. Dr May Ikeora @mayikeora Dr May Ikeora is an academic researcher, Author, and ex-beauty queen cum entrepreneur. She is a specialist in Human Rights, Gender and Peacebuilding, consulting for organisations like the United Nations, African Union, World Bank, Mission89, Governments and the Kofi Annan Peacekeeping Institute. She gained a PhD in Law from the University of Hull, UK, and has received numerous awards for her work, including that within African diaspora communities in the U.K. received at the House of Lords. As an entrepreneur, May founded a cosmetics company called L’Avyanna, based in the U.K. and Nigeria and possesses numerous beauty licenses from the U.K.
It’s much like what our cover personality this week speaks about. Many busy women seek stylists’ services for several reasons, ranging from leaving a marriage to holding a new position in a job and, as such, need to look the part.
Guest Art Director:
OGANNAH
Onah Nwachukwu Chalya Shagaya Writers: Kehindé Fagbule, Tilewa Kazeem Olaniyan John ‘Blake’ Oladimeji Balogun Sunny Hughes ‘ SunZA’
@onahluciaa Editor-at-Large:
I like to think of stylists as wardrobe psychologists; they guide you towards the answers you seek when expressing who you are with your clothes. Although, as with psychologists, not everyone needs one, those who know when they do immediately seek help. That’s precisely what Veronica Ebie does for the clients that she styles; she takes the stress of figuring out how to dress off your back, so you have one less thing to worry about in your most likely very busy life. Who wouldn’t want that? I certainly do.
Editor:PUBLISHER/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Graphic Design:
Ihave often been of the school of thought that simplicity is the key to elegance. Yet, another part of me tends to want to be dramatic with my wardrobe and, from time to time, go for pieces that don’t necessarily match my personality. It’s almost the same when it comes to colours. I started being in love with red, and I gravitated more towards burnt orange and green as I grew older. Or so I thought until my page planner from an old job said, “You like the colour blue.” I instantly corrected him, saying, ‘No! I like burnt orange, white and green.’ He responded, “You wear blue three out of five days at work, every week. I returned to my wardrobe and realised he was right; my workwear came in blue and cream or white, but my casual outfits were burnt orange, green, and some whites. At that point, I sought the help of a friend and stylist. She made me understand that I had compartmentalised my life and subconsciously picked blue every time I shopped for office wear and, for relaxed outings, chose those other colours. We began reorganising my wardrobe colour choices to suit colours and silhouettes that I loved, reflecting who I had become in my professional life, an Editor-in-Chief, yet complimenting the person I was at that stage in my personal life.
VOL 2 NO. 36 • SEPTEMBER 04 - SEPTEMBER 10, 2022 PAGE 2 THEWILL DOWNTOWN • www.thewilldowntown.com www.thewilldowntown.com thewilldowntown thewilldowntown Onah Nwachukwu @onahluciaa + 2349088352246
Odun Ogunbiyi @oddbodandthecity Contributing Editor Odunayo Ogunbiyi is an ex pharmacist with a passion for food and pampering. Writing about her exploits wherever in the world she may find herself is just her way of staying sane in this zany world.
AUSTYN
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Until next week, enjoy your read.
WHATSAIDYOU @toosweet_udo@smk.17.74@YettyD INSTAGRAM we are Thankpriceyou
@insignamediaOshalusiKolaPhoto:Makeup:Zaron CONTENTS PREY 12-130706 161514 BEAUTYCONFIDENTIALDOWNTOWN MOVIEDOWNTOWNSOROSOKECULTUREREVIEWDOWNTOWNMINI BACK TO ESSENTIALSSCHOOL 5 WAYS TO TAKE CARE OF DREADLOCKSYOUROHH-LY COURSE A-PLUS GEN MAJORMAJORINTRODUCINGZAJTHEGENERAL EDITOR’S NOTE 04-058 VMA SPECIAL AND THE MOON PERSON GOES TO… COVER CELEBRITYMIDDLEPERSONMOSTVERONICASTYLIST,EBIEISFASHION’SREVERED 03 ODDBOD & THE CITY MYMYMOTHERSISTER
& THE CITY OGUNBIYIODUN
The conversation of generational trauma has been a regular topic of conversation amongst my sister circle for the longest time. I am constantly worried that I will be the topic of conversation between my daughter and her future therapist. We are all human and trying to do the best we can. As my dear friend Shirley always says, “When you know better, you do better”. It turns out knowing better may involve you understanding your ancestors because we carry some of these traumas in our DNA, and if you don’t even understand WHY you are acting out, HOW can you seek healing and correct yourself? Like I said, thoughtprovoking stuff. I will not dive deeper into the story’s specifics because I hope that Paulo gets the funding to bring his production back to the stage, and
Some of the subject matter was extremely sensitive, and I get that there would have been frequent stops during rehearsals to unpack and unburden from the weight of telling this story.
I don’t think there is a single soul on this planet that has not realised that your relationship with your mother shapes EVERYTHING. It is the most complex, perplexing, relevant relationship you will have the pleasure or misfortune in your life.
Before I start my review, I really must mention that I went to the show with absolutely no foreknowledge of what I was letting myself in for. To be fair, the audience was given a trigger warning, but I still wasn’t ready. Paulo has written a beautiful, insightful and emotional play about women and generational relationships and how they shaped their lives.
ODDBOD
Iwas in two minds about the relevance of writing about my adventures last Saturday. Sadly, I am very aware that after I have raved about the beautiful experience that was the Sisiano production, My Mother My Sister, it will no longer be available for you to watch. It ran for two days at the theatre at the Alliance Francaise, Ikoyi.
you will get to enjoy it all for yourselves. Theatre enriches the minds and lives of all who participate in bringing it to life and to those who consume it. Theatre remains a mirror of our society, influences introspection and deepens our connection to the broader community. Nigerian theatre is an artform well worth funding and supporting.
The story follows Hope (the matriarch of the family), her three daughters, and her grandchildren. As with all things on the surface, you may want to judge her for how very differently she treats everyone in her
The strong cast of women, Mawuyon Ogun, Yeri Lilian Ovekeyan, Dolapo Philips, Bunmi Olunloyo, Sharon Adaeze Onyegula, Linda Nwanneka Anumba, and Josephine Ewuru, are to be congratulated for a triumphant showing on the stage. They had two weeks to pull it all together, which you would never guess because there were ZERO mistakes. I also want to thank them for what I experienced with them.
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I don’t want to be my usual dramatic self and say that the experience was traumatic, but I cried hot tears, and I don’t think there was a single person who did not feel the need to process what they watched.
My Mother My Sister family and how they relate to her. And, as with all things in life, with communication and explanation comes understanding and compassion. The unravelling of it all is told beautifully through song, dance, scenery, and beautiful costumes.
Chloe Bailey Kamie Crawford Nicki Minaj Khalid Latto
2022 MTV VMAs Celebrates The Best in Music Videos
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BY KEHINDÉ FAGBULE
Last week, the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards aired live from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, United States. The event featured your favourite celebrities on the night, hosted by LL Cool J, Nicki Minaj, and Jack Harlow. On the recognition front, Kendrick Lamar, Lil Nas X, and Jack Harlow were tied for the most nominations, with seven each. Doja Cat and Harry Styles followed with six nominations apiece. At the same time, Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Drake, Dua Lipa, The Weeknd, and Ed Sheeran each had five, with Swift being the biggest of the night as she completed a clean sweep, carting away every single ‘Moon Person’ she was nominated for. Legendary rapper and host, Nicki Minaj, was honoured with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard award— presented to her by her fans. She marked it by performing a career-spanning medley including some of her hit songs, Beez in the Trap, Chun-Li, Moment 4 Life, Anaconda, Super Bass and more. Here are some of our favourite looks from that night.
And THE MOON PERSON Goes To…
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The long vacation is over, and a new school year beckons. It is school resumption season, and so for a lot of people, things are going to be a little different. Although it is not the most pleasant news for Lagos commuters who will now have to welcome back their old friend, traffic, for parents and guardians, it's news met with mixed reactions. Whether your bundle of joy is just starting their school life in daycare and playgroups, or your smarty-pants teenager is resuming the session's first term in a higher grade class, there is a sense of newness that this resumption season holds dearly. If taking your kids on school shopping is not already a tradition for you, we strongly recommend that you make it one. BY
KEHINDÉ FAGBULE Your Back-to-school Shopping Guide Back To School Essentials Leather Ballet Flats GUCCI FLOWFLY X5 Play Kids SmartWatch With GPS XPLORA Tonal-buckle Textured Belt EMPORIO ARMANI KIDS ADIDAS+DISNEY Mickey Mouse Shoes ADIDAS + DISNEY Wool Icon Stripe Sweater BURBERRY KIDS Back to SchoolFENDIStationary Children's Backpack MARC JACOBS Mathematical Set ZIZNKUB
OHH-LY
According to Hirschi and Stark, connections within societal institutions, such as church and family, restrain individuals from engaging in non-standard behaviours by encouraging oversight of youth and providing models for healthy behaviours. You hear the pastor preach at church every Wednesday and Sunday about how he met “Rev Mrs” at a Sunday service, and they clicked right away but didn’t have sex until their wedding night. When you get back home, your parents confirm the pastor’s assertion by stating that’s how they met. Whether true or not, people’s environments and shared moral standards have a way of influencing them, especially while they're young, because that’s when they’re most susceptible. Oluwaseyi Dolapo Somefun’s (a published health researcher) research article for BMC believes that interaction with religious instructions and leaders may influence youth religiosity, which may eventually influence youth sexual behaviour. He also anticipates that these interactions would be strengthened in the presence of parents in the household and with parental religious affiliation. I concur entirely. Devout parents also contribute to the long-term sexual abstinence of many Nigerian teenagers. Surely, no child wants to ever disappoint their parents. However, one particular thing I've been privy to notice from people who have devout parents but still, one way or the other, end up having sex is that they are highly petrified at the idea of them finding out they're sexually active.
GETTYFROMIMAGE
One important aspect of religion that emphasizes the depth of religious convictions and commitment is religiosity. It is described as a person’s faith, spirituality, and veneration of a deity. Because abstinence has been repeatedly cited as the most effective means of preventing STIs and unintended pregnancies. That’s why the phrase “I’m waiting till my wedding night” has served as a deterrent for many years.
Sex and religion have never gotten along unless, of course, it takes place during marriage. I want to call your attention to one of the many references to premarital sex in the Bible: Hebrews 13:4. “Let marriage be held in honour among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.” The Quran also shares the same sentiment with the Bible on premarital sex, albeit a bit extra. Quran (24:2) “As for female and male fornicators, give each of them one hundred lashes, and do not let pity for them make you lenient in ˹enforcing the law of Allah, if you ˹truly believe in Allah and the Last Day. And let several believers witness their Readingpunishment.”thebitabout “one hundred lashes” got me scratching my head in wonder. Will I ever get what’s coming to me? Perhaps all the lashes I got while younger have made up for it? I don’t know. But I do know that religion acts sort of like an abstinence contraceptive, if I may, for the under-aged or sexually inexperienced Nigerian youths. I know because I’ve seen it happen many times, and research agrees with me.
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There’s this belief that kids whose parents are clergymen have a tinge to commit the most sin. I get that it is an unfair stereotype and unnecessary pressure to put on those who are just trying to live their lives, but most people reading this and have friends who fall under this bracket can agree so could Babara. She was given the name after her confirmation, but she never really liked it and the pressure it came with. Her father had been a strict parishioner for as long as she could remember, and he made sure neither she nor her brother strayed a step out of line. Barbara always felt like she'd been imprisoned in her own home, but even prisoners find ways to entertain themselves, and hers was reading steamy erotic novels. She used her pocket money to buy two more for every one her dad burnt, confiscated, or tore. Despite being a 24-year-old first-class graduate, she’s never treated like an adult. Her mom is her confidant, but there’s not much she can do about her husband; it was who he Shewas.imagined a world where everything was loose and careless through the stories she read. There, she had a fictitious boyfriend who was always there for her whenever she felt the urge to masturbate—a habit she had developed while attending university and had become increasingly difficult to conceal. She found herself at a Charismatic group’s prayer session with them, trying to cast out the demon on the day her luck finally ran out, and her father walked in on her. COURSE BY TILEWA KAZEEM
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She continued, “So I completed my NYSC with ThisDay Style, and I knew that the best way to show what I do, is by doing it. So I started taking permission to style the cover personalities of the magazine. And that way, I figured people could see my work, what I did and how serious I was, and I could interpret the Nigerian woman’s style how I wanted to see her dressed up, with a fresh set of eyes. So I started working with many celebrities on the cover: Genevieve Nnaji, Tiwa Savage, Dolapo Oni, Misi Molu, and Adaora Oleh. It gave me two folds; on the one hand, I was able to pull from the designer, which gave me insight into meeting many of the designers—Mai Atafo, Bridget Awosika, and Meena were all just relatively starting or had just relocated—working with the designers to interpret and pull clothes and then style the celebrities for the cover. So, ThisDay was such a strong platform in helping me break through to working with photographers; I also met TY Bello. So in two folds, it gave me access to celebrities as first-hand clients and designers in the industry.”
But the realities were different from what Veronica had imagined. Unlike others with a similar relocation story, her own was without incessant back-and-forth travelling. New to the Nigerian fashion scene, she admitted to enduring a difficult start. “It was very difficult setting up my company. Right after moving back, I registered my company and started working with ThisDay Style. It was a platform that was so helpful and beneficial to me at the time. Ruth Osime was an amazing mentor; she gave me all the tips and insights I needed to understand the society and women in Nigeria and
Veronicajourney.Ebieis Fashion’s Most
how they dressed. It was completely different from how we dressed in the US.”
CelebrityMiddlepersonReveredStylist
“Ididn’t know anyone or how to start to style (Nigerian) women,” acclaimed celebrity stylist, Veronica Ebie, revealed as she recounted her experience bridging a gap in the Nigerian fashion industry through styling and creating personal aesthetics for the biggest names in the country. At a time when there was a clear void—and one could say disconnect—between local designers and the end consumers, Veronica came bearing solutions. She shared her
BY KEHINDÉ FAGBULE and it felt right. Femi lived in the UK, I lived in the US, and it seemed like a good fit when I saw the opportunities, but it was because my dad passed away. There were no intentions for me to ever move to Nigeria, I was fully raised in the US, so my whole thought processes and concept of how I absorb life was based heavily on my upbringing in the Veronica’sStates.”upbringing was very fashion-centric. Before she began her career in styling and retail sales in Houston as a 23-year-old, she was already modelling when she was only 17. She talked about transitioning from being the muse and getting styled as a model to having a muse and styling other people. “It’s all about the clothes being put on you. How do you embody a piece and bring it to life? The transition to doing it for other people now gives me life to see how I can make a woman understand her full essence. Looking good and styling yourself to look absolutely amazing is part of the character of who you are. So while as a model, you are playing the character for a brand, as a stylist, working with women, having the VSFL agency, and running a business, is me helping other people add a character; a part of their life, by helping them wear their clothes and creating this ambience of life through clothing that they wear.”
Veronica’s first mission as a professional stylist in a country where styling as a paying job was not a reality was to figure out what Nigerian society was like. No doubt, the cultural differences between the United States—where she learnt the ropes of fashion—and Nigeria were the first place to start. How does the Nigerian woman dress? Speaking on the differences, she said, “It was a very laid-back sense of style in the US; T-shirts and jeans. Your clothes didn’t necessarily define you in that sense. Whereas in Nigeria, you are showing your full character through your clothing. So it was difficult starting off. I didn’t know anyone or how to start to style women in Nigeria. However, I’m someone who deals in strategy and always thinks things through as far as I can before I start something.”
The Nigerian-born stylist, who began her almost three-decade-long career in the fashion industry in Houston, Texas, the United States, where she had a 10-year modelling career, unclothed why she decided to alter her life trajectory and return home to Nigeria. She narrated, “I hadn’t been to Nigeria since I left when I was 14. I had just gotten married in 2008 (at 30) and planned to live in the US, but my dad passed away. I came back for the funeral, and I saw that there seemed to be many opportunities. I had conversations with certain people my cousin introduced me to; aunty Ruth Osime (former Editor, Thisday Style), Nduka Obaigbena (Chairman of ThisDay), and Esosa Anenih, and we were just having conversations. The publisher had just started Arise fashion magazine at the time, and it seemed like the right fit. So I spoke to my husband, Femi, at the time, and we agreed to move back to Nigeria and have a fresh start. We just had a son who was three-months-old,
time when people had little or no pressing wardrobe needs—affected that arm of her company. “We were affected by the lockdown, especially for personal shopping. The good thing is that many clients underneath the VANE division that provides private service are people that pay months in advance and are retainers. So all we did was offset the service until the pandemic was over, and we could connect by giving many free styling services via (Instagram) live. It also helped to improve marketing and strengthen brand credibility with individuals who didn’t understand how I offered personal styling services. And for those who couldn’t afford it, were more aspirational, or wanted to understand it better, it allowed them to have a one-on-one conversation with me regarding how they improve their wardrobe. That was actually really good for the marketing arm of my business because we were able to reachwebrand,strengthenhelpedItandtheclientsglobally,aconnecttoplatformmarketinganInstagramandpiggybackpivotwithasamazingtooldirectlywithlotofpeopleeveninUS,UKCanada.reallyustotheandcouldnowmany
givesstylists,haveThenonthedirectlyandwewanted,piecesandcomewhowithappointmentsclientswouldinselecttheyandnegotiatedliaisedwithdesignertheirbehalf.wealsomanywhichcredibility; they would also come in and do a lot of pulls for their clients. It showed people that this is how showrooms are meant to help the fashion industry succeed. So for me, I think it was successful for what my expectations were.”
How did she convince people to hand over their wardrobe concerns to her? “Fortunately, I never had to convince anyone to let me style them. I was styling the cover of ThisDay Style, and many people began to recognise my work. I started to get hired to style other magazines as a freelancer. I stopped working with ThisDay, so I set up my company. Then I worked with Genevieve magazine, styling quite a few of their covers as their Style Editor and Director, and this just made a lot of people come to meet me to style them. Then I started working with Tiwa Savage, styling her personally. I got projects to style shows like the Nigerian Idol, for instance. I styled OAPs, Gbemi Olateju and Toolz, who contacted me to style her when she started her own show. I was also contacted by GTBank to style a fashion and lifestyle platform they had putandimagehavingtheSheclientfirstatpersonallyouttocelebrities,projectsmanyIinlooks.how-to-wearonSoearlymycareer,workedwithcommercialandhopinggetmynamethere.Iwasn’tstylingthattime.MypersonalstylewasTiwa.understoodessenceofacompleteasacelebritywantedtotogetherateam, so I started styling her personally. So after people saw my styling work with Genevieve Nnaji, Mo Abudu, and Tiwa Savage, they began to approach me. I started having people say, ‘oh please can you style me for this? I have a wedding; what should I wear for this?’ I think it also helps that I had that GTBank show and something for Pulse TV, so giving a lot of styling advice and what to wear, and then using myself, when Instagram launched its platform, also really helped.”
Also, I double up as a buyer for the store along with two other amazing people on my team. We compile all of this information for consumers and have buyer meetings with the brands stocked in the store to help strengthen their productivity and pieces or aesthetics for the end users, which of course, is the consumer. So, on the one hand, as a buyer in the store, I use the information to service the brands in the store, and as a consultant and underneath the advisory arm, for different designers, I use templates and strategies so that they can definitely reach their consumers.”
What does her role as an intermediary entail, one might ask? How does she facilitate the interactions between designers and their consumers? Veronica demystified this. “In working as a middle person between designers and end consumers, we offer many insights.
brands that couldn’t sign up for consulting services. I had just finished my MBA at that particular moment, right before the pandemic, which was, of course, in Global Luxury Brand Marketing, so I was able to offer that service to a lot of brands for free, and I had a lot of people sign up for that as well. So I started offering consultation classes one-on-one via zoom for people. While we were affected, on the one hand, it helped us to strengthen the other divisions of the Inbrand.”2012, two years after launching her styling agency ‘Vane Style’, Veronica founded ‘Vane-Style Showroom,’ a designer and stylist collaboration showroom which happened to be Nigeria’s first Style Showroom. Looking back in hindsight, how significant was that to the Nigerian fashion industry growth? It redefined the designer- end-consumer relationships within the fashion industry, with stylists as an essential link. “I came back and started working in fashion, and I knew immediately that there was no structure. There was no business of fashion per se in the Nigerian fashion industry. It was more of sales. But the operation, structure and strategy to scale up a business weren’t there. There were no platforms, no real direct-to-consumer marketing strategies, and a showroom is what offers that. Of course, I came from the US, where there is so much structure in fashion. You understand how important a showroom is. Acting as the middleman for retail stores and brands and linking the designer to the consumer because essentially, what the showroom offers or should offer is samples so buyers can engage directly in a more relaxed setting where the designers actually see what they stock in their store. So I feel it helped people understand— even though I was way ahead of the time—that the showroom was necessary. I opened one and funded it 100 percent, even though many people couldn’t understand how you make money from a showroom. You see, you need the designers to give you their exclusivity to showcase the pieces to the buyers. But do you really have any buyers? We didn’t because we didn’t have any retail stores, so it was a way to reach the consumers directly. So we had private “...doing it for other people gives me life to see how I’m able to make a woman understand her full essence...as a stylist, me working with women, having the VSFL agency, and running a business, is me helping other people add a character; a part of their life, by helping them wear their clothes and creating this ambience of life through clothing that they wear.”
Fast-forward to 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic halted the world and kept us all indoors for months. Veronica, who is also a personal shopper and wardrobe consultant, discloses her bittersweet experience of how the lockdown—a
One division of VANE is the advisory, offering consultations, and I do that directly; having tons of meetings with the designers, helping them understand their consumers, helping them think in terms of their consumer’s lifestyle, and making their pieces more commercial if that is the aesthetic of the brand. I also help them understand their aesthetic and strengthen it so clients can automatically relate. It’s almost like your character; if you’re soft-spoken or outgoing —all I’m doing is introducing you to other people with similar interests in being friends with you. That is how I explain it to designers so they can target the right customer. And when it comes to the client, we’re using a lot of data that we gather from the clients that we style daily, data that we get from the store, what people want, the sizes that work, the styles, colour, fit, fabric.
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nails, it’s something that we can all apply and use. And like I said, it was an initiation to beauty; it was my first interaction with beauty—the same as my daughter. So it was the right choice for me when it came to beauty and having a product,” she revealed.
mostones.reallyareanything,money,it’sairheads,wannabesarewardrobestohireismisconceptionwithmestyleandknowledge,technique,loveoftoallowtoworkthem.ThewomenwhoVANEStylestyletheireitherororawasteofbutiftheyactuallythesmartThewellput-together women have stylists; they have somebody who is an expert at understanding cuts and styles, what works, and how to even better their bodies. Most women are actually just too busy. They either have very demanding, extremely high-profile jobs that require that they look a certain part, and they’ve decided that ‘while I might know something, this is not my area of expertise, so let me get someone who knows this. I can take this off of me, so I don’t have to think about it, even though I appreciate fashion, and they can just help me curate and put these things together.' Our services also include taking care of their shopping, alterations, dry cleaning, picking up, and dropping off. We liaise and have designers make them custom pieces, so there’s a lot that goes in, and there’s a lot of added value advantage to having a stylist. Our services are extremely discreet, so we don’t share our clients’ contacts, every single star client we’ve ever had. Thank God, in 12 years, there have been consistent and constant referrals with people, and most of our clients stay with us for three, four, and five years. We also have people who appreciate fashion but don’t have the time. And we have people who have to deliver the same way that another designer would deliver the same product in another country. So if you’re going to charge a certain amount of money and you’re saying this is what goes into my costing, many consumers don’t mind you giving it your all and even increasing your price to make sure that you deliver on quality in terms of product and Doesservice.”she see Nigeria as part of the future of fashion retail shopping, including shoppable videos? “Of course, Nigeria is definitely ready for retail shopping. We see that every day with VANE, the retail store. We get that every day with our clients. Now, we’ve shifted from 80 percent of our clients shopping outside of the country before they travel to 80-85 percent shopping within the country before they travel on vacations, holidays and birthdays. We are a very celebratory nation, our culture celebrates, just like the Italians, Arabs or Indians, and so we are definitely ready. We’re always shopping; people are always buying things that they need. We are ready; I think it’s going to be part of future retail shopping,” she enthused.
So you need to work with a place that has restrictions and approvals, and so I produce in the US, and we sell globally.”
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As you may have probably figured out by now, Veronica’s clientele boasts of A-list celebrities and socialites. However, who would she say her favourite person to style is? The celebrity stylist barely divulged. “Everyone’s my favourite. As a stylist, I don’t have a favourite celebrity or client. Every single client I have worked with is extremely unique and greatly appreciated. They give me that amazing opportunity and trust my
To grow any industry, converting marketing strategies have to be in place. Within the fashion scene, that could take any form between models—whose job is to act as real-life exhibitors of the apparel—and influencers—whose job is to create awareness of the products—deciding what strategies to go with is often a tricky one. Veronica shares her expert knowledge on it. “When it comes to using influencers as a marketing tool, it always helps. You just need to ensure that the whatcommunityconsiderfollowing.whichconsumers,buttotheyhowconnection,thebecauseyoutheirbecauseusesimple.audience;youridentifiesinfluencerwithtargetit’sthatYoudon’taninfluencerofnumbers;usethemofreach,andrelatableare,notonlyyourproductalsototheiristheirSoyoutheirandtheiraudience
Having set the ball in motion and becoming one of the biggest names in Nigerian fashion, Veronica made her mark in the beauty industry. In 2016, the celebrity stylist added the title, Beauty Entrepreneur to her growing accomplishments by creating her own premium luxury nail polish line, ‘VANE Polish.’ The question is, why nail polish? “There’s an innocence to nail polish. Most girls’ first association with beauty is lipgloss, lipstick or nail polish. I’m not someone who wears makeup often. I appreciate makeup, but I don’t wear it often, so I wouldn’t know where to start. But with nail polish, there’s an innocence to it, a beauty; it is something I can do by myself. It’s also bonding time for my daughter and me. I like nail polish and the colour options. I like that whether you decide to have natural nails or acrylic arearoundConversationsluxuryonlyheldby a few. In any given saturated creative industry, luxury is mainly associated with the exclusivity that ensures that the finished product is only enjoyed by people in a privileged social class—cue the biggest fashion houses in the world. But Veronica disagrees; she has a different definition of luxury. When asked if she thinks Nigeria is ready for luxury fashion retail, she replied, “I don’t think the question is ‘are we ready for luxury fashion retail?’ I think that luxury is all about service and time. I think luxury has to do with the exclusivity of time and how it relates to a particular piece, product or service, which means you’ve taken the time to put in the work. Whether it is three hours cutting and sewing a garment that you made by hand or making limited pieces because you are the only person who can do it, you’re taking your time because you want it to look amazing. I think that Nigerians have always embodied luxury. Nigerian consumers are attentive and know what they want when it comes to quality and how it should be made. In fact, I remember very clearly when I started; 80 percent of the pieces I would buy for clients were outside of the country because they shop, they’re exposed, they travel, they know, and they are tying it down to value. Not that they didn’t want to shop from brands within Nigeria or Africa, it was just that when they think of luxury or the finishing of the product, the fabrics were not up to par, which means if you wear it once, it washes and tears. It wasn’t holding up in terms of value. So I feel we are luxury, and now, all that’s happening is designers have begun to understand that the consumers are no longer going to settle for mediocrity, and they have got to up their game. If that takes you educating your team and tailors, and even searching for more fabrics or giving that exclusivity in terms of product to the user so that when you are applying these costs to an item, they totally understand and can see the value, good. Because if you’re saying, ‘I’m going to charge 400 dollars for this dress,’ nobody wants excuses. They don’t care if you made it in India or your backyard; you have to be able “...The misconception is women who hire VANE Style to style their wardrobes are either wannabes or airheads, or it’s a waste of money, but if anything, they are actually the really smart ones. The most well-put-together women have stylists; they have somebody who is an expert at understanding cuts and styles, what works, and how to even better their bodies...”
When asked what production was like and if the nail polish is produced in Nigeria, she replied, “My production process for the nail polish is quite tedious. No, we don’t produce here, just because the quality has to be right.
The consistency has to also be right.
is like? You cannot give somebody who is maybe a foodie a job to influence makeup. Her people follow her because of food, where to eat, spices, what to buy, and how to prepare and combine things. And unless she’s a lifestyle influencer, there would be no need. You’re better off finding somebody with five thousand followers with maybe 30 comments on their posts and people engaging, as opposed to somebody with two million and a ton of likes but barely ever has anything relatable in terms of comments to her brand. So I think that’s a crucial point to consider when using an influencer instead of a model. Yes, you use models all the time for the fit and look of the garment or for campaigns, but more and more, we see the rise of Influencers. I mean, magazines use influencers, celebrities can double up as influencers, and vice versa. So influencers can also be models for your brand, as long as they are relatable to the brand.”
For stylists looking to garner the needed respect to upgrade their clientele, not many people other than Veronica are in a position to offer advice. Having an illustrious career which has seen her facilitate several masterclasses, speak at numerous fashion events as an authority, and mentor many young up-and-coming fashion enthusiasts, her guidance is highly regarded with reverence within the fashion scene. Our Editor was able to get a few pointers from the expert stylist. “One of the things I tell anyone who wants to work in the fashion industry is that the opportunity is there. You can’t look for someone to give you a handout; you must show that you want to be in this industry. You have to intern, be willing to humble yourself, sacrifice, learn, to gain knowledge. You have to be serious, extremely consistent and have passion behind it.
either relocated, lost weight, got out of a situation or marriage, or gotten a promotion and need to look a certain part. There are so many reasons why somebody would need or want a stylist. For most of the clients we’ve received and had the pleasure and opportunity to work with, every single one of them has been someone who was never from a pretentious place or a very shallow point of view of meeting a stylist because they were bored housewives. In fact, if anything, they are so many women that I respect, look up to and admire for where they are in life. Many of them are extremely intelligent, smart, gifted and talented, so if anything, it’s just an honour to be in amazing company and styling amazing women of strength and character.”
If, for instance, I don’t like tight clothes, I’m never going to like tight clothes. If I’m somebody who likes to be snatched, I will always like snatched clothes. If I like to wear short things, chances are I will usualy continue to have short things in my wardrobe. So those things stay with you because it is your aesthetic, which is your character, but many other things change.
As the interview drew to a close, Veronica was asked the rather cliché—but important nonetheless—question: what are five fashion staples that everyone should have? “Fashion staples everyone should have is an amazing blazer and a kaftan [laughs], especially here in Africa. A really nice easy kaftan. Another thing is a pair of jeans, fashion sneakers that double up as casual sneakers that you can wear every day and can wear to travel as well. A pair of really nice slacks, be they black or khaki, and a white t-shirt. I always say people should wear white t-shirts, either v-necks or long sleeves, but whatever it is, a silk blouse or a white t-shirt is necessary for everybody’s wardrobe; these are the staples,” she enlightened.
You can’t do this for the fame; trust me, there’s not enough fame that’s going to make you want to do something when you have to meet a client at 4 o’clock in the morning or you’ve worked all night tirelessly on a client’s garment or have to pay for something that your team member or somebody messed up on. There’s no glory in that. It’s hard, long hours, and it comes from a place of passion and desire to want it above everything else. But the most important thing is to intern. Dedicate a year to interning properly, sacrifice and gain everything you can. Being on time matters, keeping to your word, communicating with your clients, saying thank you, and going the extra mile. All these things will help to form very strong relationships where they can trust you, repeatedly call you back, and recommend you for further work.”
In the same light as the positives, Veronica touched on the problems that still plague the Nigerian fashion industry—and Africa— today. “One thing that I say still troubles us is production. For me, it is single-handedly what is crippling us—the cost of producing the garment. Even though we have a few that are helping but single-handedly, I think it’s the one area where we are crippled, struggling, and need help and assistance. Production and access to fabric and textiles are the areas that need to be developed.”
PAGE 11 THEWILL DOWNTOWN • www.thewilldowntown.com VOL 2 NO. 36 • SEPTEMBER 04 - SEPTEMBER 10, 2022 COVER “I like nail polish and the colour options. I like that whether you decide to have natural nails or acrylic nails, it’s something that we can all apply and use. And like I said, it was an initiation to beauty; it was my first interaction with beauty—the same as my daughter. So it was the right choice for me when it came to beauty and having a product..”
For many A-list celebrities and socialites, Veronica is the go-to person for the creation of a signature style. Every A-list we have come to love today had styling decisions to make at the early stages of their career. What look do they want to be known for? Most of them leave that pondering to the hands of a instaysisevolving.growth,changes.stylestyle,myreallyyearsexplained,fromlookcreatedemeanourinterpretButVeronicaprofessional,Ebie.howdoesshepeople’stoasignatureforthemscratch?She“Afewago,whenIunderstoodownpersonalIknewthatvaries;italsoJustlikeitisforeverTheresomethingthattruetoyoutermsofyouraesthetic.
Then I realised also that nobody ever wants just one style; so I created this template that has a variation of styles. When I have consultations with women, I listen first of all to understand your lifestyle because your lifestyle will always dictate your personal style. Once that is done, we create a client profile based on your lifestyle from scratch, and we look at the numbers together and use those numbers to identify your style within the categories we have. Everything from your calendar, your looks to your shopping is formed based on that.”
The fashion industry’s styling arm has undoubtedly come a long way since she started. Having come into the industry at a time when the level of the industry’s exposure to the global scene was at a minimum, Ebie highlighted some of the positive changes that have not gone unnoticed from then until today. “I am so proud, impressed and blessed to be a part of our industry. We have come a long way from when I started. As I said, in styling women then, first of all, there was no platform. No one was doing what I was doing when I started; I created something that did not exist. Having the personal style clients was easy; it was more like, ‘she has style, okay great, help me.’ However, with designers, it was more like, ‘while you do have the creative designs, you are missing how to structure the business, scale, grow, build, and connect to your consumer. If you’re selling 5, 10 or 20 pieces, follow proper structure and strategy, and let me help you, you will be selling 100 to 150 pieces.’ So that was where it took convincing, but now we have so many designers doing extremely well; understanding how to cut, manage the backend, understand the customer, commercialise, create a really exquisitely finished garment, and create something authentic to themselves. And even if people are copying you, how do you continue to use business strategies for fashion to make sure your business is evolving in the right direction? As I said, people are taking more pride in wearing Nigerian fashion, and I don’t think it’s a case of, ‘oh, it’s a trend, or it’s cool,’ why wouldn’t you want to wear homegrown designers? It is more accommodating and affordable; they understand your style a bit better, and it’s more relatable. The problem clients always had was finishing and value for money. Now, many designers have stepped up such that it’s even more difficult to find a designer, especially in our showroom, in say,andbrands—Nigerian90wearingstartednowbecauseIthingsoftenPeoplequality.havedoesn’tstore,ofretailthearmthewhogreatseethatwear—Ihavepercentthey‘a Nigerian designer did this? Wow! They’ve come a long way. The finishing is great’ Nigerian designers are taking pride in what they’re doing, and they know the fierce competition. You’re not a Nigerian designer; you’re a global international designer who happens to live and reside in Nigeria. So your competition—who you’re looking at and colleagues are not just the brands here but globally. So it’s up to you and in your best interest to step up your game because they are so many anymore,mediocrityisbest.totoourItgrowonlyindustry.tothey’reherespendaremostthatEspeciallyeverywhere.designersnowweseeclientschoosingtoinNairainNigeria;choosinginvestintheItishelpingusstronger.encouragesdesignerscontinuegivetheirNobodysettlingforandclients can tell when their garments are not well done. It’s good so far.”
Fashion in Nigeria has grown leaps and bounds. With the coming of age of this industry—that was once looked on with disdain—coinciding with the mass exportation of African fashion, Veronica’s influence, defining the aesthetics that served as the blueprint for its growth, cannot be gushed over enough.
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Cleaning your scalp is crucial, as is removing any buildup, lint, or extra oil from your locs. Use a sulphate-free shampoo instead of products that leave residue on your hair, and stay away from products that contain them. Your Dreads
Cleaning
WAYS TO TAKE CARE OF DREADLOCKSYOUR BY IDOWU LAMI
VOL 2 NO. 36 • SEPTEMBER 04 - SEPTEMBER 10, 2022 THEWILL DOWNTOWN • www.thewilldowntown.com
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PAGE 13 VOL 2 NO. 36 • SEPTEMBER 04 - SEPTEMBER 10, 2022THEWILL DOWNTOWN • www.thewilldowntown.com
It's important to dry your hair after you've washed your locs. No one wants mould or mildew to grow in their locs, so make sure they dry correctly! Take a handful of your locs and gently squeeze out as much moisture as possible from them. Work your way down to the ends, starting near the roots. You shouldn't disregard the condition of your scalp just because you have locs. As we previously mentioned, your scalp is still skin, so it will require some care. Use a mild oil that won't clog your pores; just keep that in advise using a silk or satin pillowcase while you sleep and putting your locs in a silk scarf or hat to keep them covered. Brittle locs may snap or break, and cotton may soak up moisture. That implies that your locs will lose valuable moisture as a result. prevent dryness, we advise using a moisturising spray followed by hair oil on your locs.
City was me hustling. I’m a hustler, and when I believe in something, I go for it. I might not work once or twice, but if it is something I believe in, I’ll keep going till I get it. I just keep my eye on the ball and pop up anywhere. I’ve been to Hennessy Artistry 2018; I was part of the finalists that year and was one of the finalists for the BetaMalt rap competition. I’ve been in rap competitions back in school, and I was just pushing my music in any way I could while in school.
The Major General Introducing
VOL 2 NO. 36 • SEPTEMBER 04 - SEPTEMBER 10, 2022 PAGE 14 THEWILL DOWNTOWN • www.thewilldowntown.com BY TILEWA KAZEEM
It happened like a movie because I’ve been working for a while, but the disadvantages I had were that I wasn’t meeting the right people and didn’t have the right resources. I had the talent and the drive, but I didn't grow up in Lagos, the entertainment capital, so it was hard for me to network with people. All I had was my phone and the Internet. That was how I was able to build up the little fanbase I had before getting signed; it was from making freestyle videos, jumping on covers, and online competitions. The journey with Chocolate City started with a DM from the label’s A&R. At the time, I had just released my first single, Salo, and it was doing well. So, he hit me up and said my stuff was good. I think he listened to my single and my freestyle and told me to drop by the studio the next day. I got to the studio the next day and played my songs and freestyles, and they said they loved the talent and wanted to invest in it. And I'm grateful for it.
DOWNTOWN
Is it too soon to ask if there are any features in the pipeline? The project didn't have any. The music is what leads us there. I respect everybody and want to work with everybody, but I just go into the studio every day to make music. If I’m there and the opportunity rears its head, sure. I have stuff where I worked with people, and when it’s time to put that out there, I will. I just wanted people to know where I was coming from with this project.
Do you care to tell us where you're coming from and where the music started for you? Music had always been a part of my life because my mum and grandma were in the choir. I always followed them to church, played the drums, and started the piano in church as well, so I just fell in love with music. Making music professionally started with me writing rap lyrics in junior secondary school. I had a music group in Kanji, Niger State, where I grew up, and we used to just rap and freestyle. So the journey before Chocolate
SOROSOKEmyself
Major AJ
I'm calling my fans the Major gang. I even have a song titled Everything Major, and it’s for the Major gang.
The notion that comes to mind whenever you hear Kainji is that your mind immediately wonders about the Kainji Dam— responsible for providing the country with electrical power and you wouldn't be wrong. But it is also the small town Chocolate City’s new signee, Ajogwu Boluwatife Vincent, better known as Major AJ, hails from. His debut project, Retroverse, introduces the world to this electrifying young talent and his fresh and retro-inspired approach to afrobeats. He tells DOWNTOWN how it all began.
You mentioned the label wanting to put out a project. Can you talk to us about how the signing happened?
My grandma, everyone is super proud of me and happy for me. I have such a supportive family, and knowing that gives you that backing.
You mentioned your folks being very instrumental to your music. How proud are they of you? It has been amazing. Some moments ago, I got off the phone with my mum, and she was singing Superstar, so she’s proud. She was so happy when she called me. I’m from a really small town, Kainji; derived from the Kainji Dam, and at the time I started, there wasn't a studio in town until I was 16. So coming from that place, it feels amazing.
Is it early to ask if you've gotten a name for your fans already?
The name of your debut project is such a cool name; What does it mean to you? So basically, like I always say, the most important thing for me is the music; it starts from the music. It wasn’t like I had the mindset of creating the Retroverse going to the studio. It all started when I got signed after everything was ready to go. The label wanted to put out a project; maybe an album, an EP or a single, something to set the ball in motion. We were in the studio, myself and the team, experimenting, trying to find my sound and know
That would make you the major general, correct? [Chuckles] Yes, it would. better. With afrobeats getting bigger and more artists popping up, as a young artist, you have to find what is unique to you. So one day, I was driving home- I happen to be a huge fan of Daft Punk- and that day, I was listening to their album and the idea of afrobeats swelling in popularity, I thought, why not take it through this looking glass. But it was just a subconscious thought. Then along the line, I linked up with the producer, Dunnie, bringing about the first track, Afrodisco. We also worked together to create Taboo, and the rest was history. Retroverse was making amazing music from the heart. Since being signed, how has the world taken to Major AJ, and what has the reception been like? The response has been amazing, very amazing, to be honest. With the project, the most exciting thing about the reception has been people having different favourites from the EP. That's how you know people are truly enjoying the journey. Even on Twitter, where people are savage, I'm getting good reviews.
So, were you trying to coin your genre from the afrobeats with this project? Initially, I wanted to call the project Afroretro, but I didn't want people to get the idea that Major AJ is all about Retroverse. It’s just an era. This journey will have different phases, so this project is the sounds from the Retroverse. It’s afrobeats but coming from retro elements, instrumentation and approach. And as time unfurls, you'd experience different sides and aspects of Major AJ.
I wanted to face music squarely, but my mum wanted me to get the degree. So I was studying computer science and pursuing music. I’d save money to record music and promote it, sending Whatsapp broadcast messages. I was just pushing myself in every way, and I'm delighted it paid off in the end.
Adeoluwa,Enioluwa 23. Media Personality Enioluwa, popularly known as Lipgloss Boy, is a writer, TV show host, art director, and beauty influencer. Having completed his master’s degree in Marketing Communication, Enioluwa has been heavily involved in the media space, hosting The Late Night Show With Eni. In this online show, he interviews celebrities, Fenty.Rihanna’sselectedonesameclassicbrandbecamemediaThiswassignificantentrepreneurs,influencers,andotherfigures.DonJazzyhisfirstguest.year,hegrabbedtheattentionwhenhethefirstNigerianambassadorofglobalclogs,Crocs.Inthemonth,hewasnamedofthebeautyinfluencerstobethefaceofbeautybrand,
With over 199,000 subscribers on her YouTube channel, Eniola Olanrewaju, popularly known as Korty EO, is one of Nigeria’s fast-rising content creators. Korty, who used to be a model, joined Zikoko, where she worked as a writer and content creator. During her time there, she helmed a show named HER dedicated to showcasing the often-overlooked life of women in Nigeria. She eventually left after two years to join Mr Eazi’s music accelerator program, emPawa, as its head of content. This position gave her free rein to pursue projects and create her work in her own image, ultimately leading to her starting her own show on Korty’sYouTube.shows are primarily quirky and relatable, telling original stories through her often laid-back confessionals between scenes. She has interviewed some of the biggest names in the Nigerian entertainment industry on her channel, such as Asa, Don Jazzy, Rema, and so on.
The concept of age and experience go hand in hand.
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P.Priime, 20. Music Producer At just 20 years old, Peace Emmanuel Oredope, with the tag ‘P.Priime’, is one of Afrobeats' most talented producers. Having graduated from the Sarz Academy, the wunderkind has since grown leaps and bounds. It may still be early days in his career, but he has worked with the biggest names in the Nigerian music industry, such as Wizkid, Olamide, Fireboy, Teni, and so on, including the queen of alternative sound, Asa—whose 2022 album, V, he helped produce. The Grammy-nominated producer is responsible for so many hit songs in the country (including one of the biggest songs in 2021, Portable’s Zazoo Zehh), positioning himself as a brand everyone wants to work with.
Korty EO, 24. Indie filmmaker and YouTuber
CULTURE
4
The more time had at a particular job or skill, the more you know, the better you become. Experience cannot be bought; it can only be earned through consistency and the willpower to position your name into conversations that features industry leaders and not just your age group. Some young Nigerians have taken up the mantle to be exceptional in their fields and constantly keep the older generation on their toes.
Notable Youngsters A-plus Gen Z BY KEHINDÉ FAGBULE Ayra Starr, 20. Music Artist Born in Cotonou, Benin, to Nigerian parents, Oyinkansola Sarah Aderibigbe, widely known as Ayra Starr is one of the top voices in the music industry. She began a fashion career as a 16-years-old before deciding to pursue music. After covering several songs by famous artists on Instagram, she posted her first original song, Damage, on her page in December 2019. This brought her to record executive Don Jazzy’s attention, leading to her signing to one of the biggest labels in Nigeria, Mavin Records. In 2021, she released her self-titled debut EP and debut album, 19 & Dangerous, to critical acclaim. Having forced her name into the top Nigerian songstresses conversation at just 19, she is indeed what she said she is, dangerous.
Adams has been nominated for the Oscar five times in the past decade, and Arrival is an effective reminder of why that is. She commands the screen effortlessly, even when she doesn't appear to be doing much of anything, and she embodies Louise so wholly it's easy to forget we've seen her in dozens of other roles before. Louise isn't an especially showy performance — it doesn't involve tics or prosthetics the kind of ostentatious outbursts that attract awards attention — but like so many others on Adams' resume, it's quietly a great one.
Everything about Arrival feels meticulously crafted, from the gorgeously composed shots (you could probably freeze just about any moment in this movie and come away with a stunning still) to the Jóhann Jóhannsson score. Like Sicario, Arrival uses its soundscape to draw you into the movie. When Louise donned a radiation suit for her first meeting with the heptapods (as they call the aliens), I could practically feel the humidity through the sound of her breathing. The aliens' spoken language is a rumble almost more felt than heard. Combined with his resolute commitment to keeping Arrival grounded — this really is a world just like ours, except with aliens — Arrival starts to seem like an experience we're having, not just a movie we're watching. It's hard to say too much more about Arrival without digging into spoiler territory, so I'll just leave you with this: Arrival hit me where I live. Its true concern is nothing so trivial as extraterrestrial life but questions like how we understand the world, how we remember our own stories, why we allow ourselves to suffer, and what we get in return. It's brainy sci-fi with a big, beating heart.
The original 1987 Predator movie is sublimely simple, stripping down a science-fiction and action premise to its rawest elements, with just a grizzled band of military commandos squaring off against a super-strong, heavily equipped hunter from outer space. Later films (and comics, novels and video games) have expanded the mythology surrounding the Predator species itself, but the core of each of these stories has always been the battle of wits and strength between an alien monster and the people it’s trying to kill. The prequel Prey is the franchise’s best instalment since the first because director Dan Trachtenberg and screenwriter Patrick Aison seem to understand that what makes a Predator picture exciting is watching grossly overmatched humans figure out how to stop the unstoppable. Prey is set 300 years ago on colonial America’s Great Plains and has as its hero the underdog of all underdogs: a Comanche warrior named Naru (Amber Midthunder), who has only a few primitive weapons to use against the Predator’s high-tech armory. After just a little bit of setup — establishing that Naru likes to hunt and fight — Prey gets straight Denis Villeneuve's Arrival begins with a premise we've seen in a hundred summer blockbusters. One day, aliens arrive on Earth in the form of twelve mysterious ships scattered around the globe. Their purpose is unclear, and humanity is naturally both intrigued and terrified. Where it goes next, though, is a welcome return to grown-up sci-fi, more Contact or Interstellar than Independence Day. For starters, the aliens don't open with an attack. And we Earthlings don't, either. Instead, the U.S. military calls upon Louise (Amy Adams), a linguistics professor, to try and make contact with the alien spaceship in Montana. From there, Villeneuve carefully unspools a story that's equal parts heart and intellect, encompassing memory, language, loss, love, grief, and the passage of time.
Scan this with your camera to access the playlist (Apple Music) this with your camera to access the playlist (Spotify) BNXN fka Buju - Bad Since '97
Moelogo_ Blue Lab Beats_ Kold AF - Waiting Runda - Monaco Falz - Parampe Lucky Daye - Feels LikeDuncan Daniels - The Rhythm Zinoleesky - Call of Duty DJ KhaledFridayy - GOD DID feat. Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, John Legend & Fridayy Dice Ailes - Zombie to the action, as the heavily camouflaged Predator starts tracking and killing in ways that initially suggest maybe a ferocious animal or some local French trappers are to blame. Once Naru gets a glimpse of her true enemy — during a thrilling sequence that also sees her dashing through a creek and dodging a bear — she quickly has to learn how the alien operates so she can find its weakness and protect her tribe. Prey has a refreshingly compact running time, and unlike a lot of modern action movies, much of it takes place in the well-lighted, colourful daytime rather than in the visually bland, murky night. There’s even some thematic resonance here, as Trachtenberg and Aison parallel the Predator’s hunt with the French trappers’ encroachment on Comanche land. Mostly though, Prey works because the filmmakers don’t overcomplicate it. A Predator story should have well-crafted and excitingly staged scenes of humans fighting an alien. This picture has plenty. 7/10
Louise is a withdrawn and serious sort, not much given to smiling or joking. Perhaps her reserve is explained by the opening scene of the movie, an extended memory montage that shows Louise having and raising a baby girl, and then losing her to illness. "I used to think this was the beginning of your story," Adams' Louise says at the beginning of the sequence, but "memory doesn't work like that." Prickly though she may be, Louise is brilliant in her given field. When the aliens begin to "speak" in their language, Colonel Weber (Forest Whitaker) brings her on board, along with a theoretical physicist named Ian (Jeremy Renner). And as Louise begins working toward an understanding with the aliens, she finds that the work is affecting her in ways she can't understand, control, or predict.
Prey VOL 2 NO. 36 • SEPTEMBER 04 - SEPTEMBER 10, 2022 WATCH OF THE WEEK MOVIE REVIEW: ARRIVAL
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