LAGOS, Nigeria(VOICE OF NAIJA)- Nigerian fashion designer Veekee James has revealed why she has no plans to leave fashion designing for content creation, despite the huge financial opportunities available in the digital space.
The designer said she believes fashion could give her greater long-term financial returns, noting that she hopes to sell a single outfit from her brand for $100,000 or more in the coming years.
“In the next five years, I see myself making one dress for $100,000, if not more. Just one dress,” she said.
Speaking in an interview, Veekee explained that even a major content creation deal may not match the earning potential of her fashion business over time.
“I don’t know the content creation that can make me stop fashion designing. I don’t know the kind of money I would see,” she said.
Veekee acknowledged that content creation could bring in substantial money through brand deals.
However, she argued that such opportunities may be limited by contract periods, unlike the income potential of her fashion business.
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“Maybe a content creation deal could pay me $500,000, but that might be a one-year contract,” she explained.
She added that the money generated from producing just a few high-value dresses could potentially match that figure without taking as much time.
“The amount I can make from one, two, three, or five dresses wouldn’t even take that long to achieve,” she said.
For Veekee, however, the decision is not only about money. She described fashion as the foundation of her career and something deeply connected to her purpose.
“Fashion designing is my foundation; it’s my baby. It’s not something I joke about,” she said.
The designer stressed that she would only consider walking away from fashion if she believed she was no longer following what she described as God’s purpose for her life.
“Unless I see that I’m losing focus on God’s purpose for my life, I won’t abandon it simply because there’s money elsewhere,” she added.
While she remains open to profitable brand partnerships and content creation deals, Veekee stated that fashion remains at the heart of her creative identity.
She also used the opportunity to distinguish between being a tailor and being a fashion designer.
“There is a difference between a tailor and a fashion designer,” she said.
According to her, tailors typically work from existing designs, while fashion designers create their concepts from the beginning.
“Tailors are those who copy styles from fashion magazines or designs they are shown. My mom was also a tailor, but fashion designers draw and create everything from scratch,” she explained.
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Veekee also defended the premium prices attached to her designs, saying the cost reflects the investment she has made in building her fashion brand.
She revealed that customers do not get one of her dresses for less than ₦1 million.
“I don’t charge below ₦1 million to sew a dress for a customer because I’ve invested so much in my business,” she stated.
Veekee then challenged customers to consider the value attached to wearing her designs.
“Do you know the value you get when you wear my clothes?” she asked.
With fashion still firmly at the centre of her ambitions, Veekee says she is determined to build a luxury brand capable of commanding global prices rather than trade her design career for the faster but potentially shorter-term gains of content creation.
