Radio program on fashion and style

INTRODUCTION Fashion is a general term for a popular style or practice especially in clothing, footwear, accessories, make-up, body piercing etc. In some ways, fashion helps us to show who we are and depict our personality in the terms of visual information. Fashion does not just define all the latest on the most popular clothes, in reality this social phenomenon involves more importance in the way we choose clothes and how we show our attitude to the world. It is also a form of communication, a part of our personality that is showcased in different ways like what we eat, style of clothes we wear e.t.c. All these builds the main stream of fashion but inspite of our personality, every person in the world has something in common even if it’s the smallest thing. All over the world, there are people who have the same tastes, who choose the same food and clothes of the same kind. Today, globalization has created trends which we call fashion and these trends influences our lives. These trends which influences us in so many ways has coloured the perception of many into thinking that fashion is an exclusive of only develop nations and African which is a third world country has nothing to offer when it comes to fashion. This should not inhibit the true meaning of modern fashion because it goes beyond that. The essential sense of fashion is all about how society feels itself mentally. People and societies create fashion and make it the standard of life. African is not left out when it comes to fashion. It has followed fashion trends and has continuously improved in the fast improving and competitive fashion industry. In 1993, Mrs. Folorunsho Alakija former national president of the fashion designers association of Nigeria (FADAN) and also owner of rose of Sharon (House of Fashion) travelled to the United States of American to attend the black expo exhibition. There and then, she found out that the westerners were ahead of African in fashion and she also realized that they knew it better because she could not compete with them in their own line. It is not in African countries she thought to work with fabrics like pure virgin wool. Therefore she decided to opt for something that is from the eye of Africa, then she started working with ethnic fabrics that celebrate Africa capturing and representing the styles, symbols, signs, dreams and aspirations of the people. It is in line with this that this thirty minutes radio talk show will be aired to showcase African fashion, its present state in the fashion industry, its relevance to the society and the challenges facing it and also how fashion has negatively influenced the youth. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE Though the importance of fashion cannot be neglected in today’s society, it has certain draw backs too. Fashion does not preach ethics. Every new fashion or trend is promoted and advertised in such a manner that youths cannot avoid it. They do not bother whether it is moral or immoral. Fashion is often associated with promoting capitalism and it least rational because people buy new clothes when even old ones are still wearable and they discard old clothes just because they are no longer fashionable. Certain fashion trends are also harmful to health because it has made teenagers extremists. What could be more harmful than a few teenagers getting strange tatoo and piercing body parts especially the tongue or the forehead, that pin in the tongue has to hurt. Fashion has also made certain teens rebellious because they are so much attracted by current fashion that they go to any length just to own that trend and most of them indulge into stealing or using other ill means to become fashionable. The programme fashion and style will therefore be used to reach out to the youths to give them a true sense of what true fashion is all about bearing in mind that is not all that is seen on movies, internet or foreign magazines that really depict fashion. The programme will showcase African fashion and encourage youths to once again embrace African fashion. REASONS FOR USING RADIO AS A MEDIUM Radio has been chosen as a medium for the programme, “fashion and style” because it is an easily accessible medium which everybody can get because it is cheap, portable and easy to use. According to Abdullahi (1986) says “the most important advantage of radio is that it offers its ability to reach specific audiences through specialized programming”. Radio is also adopted by different parts of the country and can reach people at different times of the day. The Macmillan English dictionary for advanced learners define radio as “a system of broadcasting information and programme that people can listen to” Gughielmo Marconi was the man who foresaw and developed the use of radio as a means of communication reaching millions of people instantly. One of the unique features of radio is its ability to reach people while they are doing other things. Asemah (2009) asserts that “the portability of radio sets makes it possible for people to listen to radio programmes anywhere e.g in the toilet, while driving, even on the street”. Since the target audience for this programme are the youths who are most likely to be busy doing one thing or the other, radio will be most appropriate for the programme as they can listen to it in their busy schedules. REASONS FOR CHOOSING THE TOPIC Fashion has existed since people started wearing clothes. This topic fashion and style was chosen because most of our youths have neglected the African fashion and have imbibed the western fashion. Through the use of the internet and also magazines, many youths have fallen in love with the western way of dressing and have therefore neglected the African way of dressing. The topic was chosen in order to remind the youths that there is need to patronize the African fashion or way of dressing more than the foreign way because they are in Africa and are supposed to showcase the African way of dressing so that the westerners too can fall in love with the African style. TARGET AUDIENCE This programme fashion and style is targeted at the youths because fashion has become an inseparable part of youths. Youths of these days want to be fashionable and they pay attention to one another’s clothes, hairstyle, jewellery and so no. They are quick to follow anything around the world which appears in vogue and it is also in their nature to want to be like other youths in different parts of the world. Youths have become fashionable through the use of television, books and magazine which has made it possible for them to access fashion in other parts of the world. Youths and the latest fashion trends take over the high streets all over the world. These high spirited youths use their interest in fashion to track down the latest trends around and their ever evolving fashion styles are expected to make fashion headline most times. QUESTIONS Please can you introduce yourself? What is your own definition of fashion? What is the relevance of fashion in the society? What is your opinion about our modern day fashion? Most youths today in African are influenced by western fashion that they see on television, magazines and other social media networks, how has the trend affected the African fashion industry and the society at large? How has celebrities influenced our youths in terms of fashion? What can you say about the present state of African fashion? What are the challenges facing African fashion today? How much difference have you observed between the modern day fashion and that of the olden days? How do you view the African fashion in years to come? What advice do you have for the youths? REVIEW OF RELATED PROGRAMME Young people around the world are quick to follow anything which are appears “hip”. It is in their nature to want to be like other young people in other parts of the world because they are quick to relate and to follow what they think is fashionable. By fashion we mean dress, taste in music, language, hairstyle, drug taking and even moral values. It is impossible to control the coming of fashion from other countries. The programme “fashion and style” is targeted at the youths who are into fashion and it is also a platform where youths will get to learn and know how fashion can influence them negatively. Bridgette Rae’s weekly show, “where are you in going that?” aired on WNYC radio at 7(GMT) on Saturday is a related programme to “fashion and style”. The programme discusses topics like fashion, personal style, shopping and living your best life. Her programme also includes everything from lighthearted topic like how to find stylish, comfortable wears and accessories, fashion trends and how to look good. In addition, Bridgette has also tackled more provocative subjects like a realistic look at plus-size fashion, shopping addiction also fashion and youths. Furthermore, Diana Njokus radio programme, “fashion and beauty” which is aired on supreme FM 96.1 on Fridays at 6:30pm-7pm is also related to fashion and style program. The programme talks about how “fashion and beauty goes hand in hand, and how to make up and combine colours in order to look your best. The programme is a general interest programme which involves everyone in the society. In the last edition of her programme, she talked about decency in dressing and also stressed on dressing the way you want to be addressed. She says that fashion in her understanding is being comfortable in what you wear. In conclusion, she said everyone is into fashion both young and old, male and female. The African context of fashion depicts respect because the African fashion especially in Nigeria is all about decency. African clothing is the traditional clothing often vibrantly coloured, worn by the people of Africa. REVIEW OF THE TOPIC According to Gillary (1994) “fashion is a popular style or practice in clothing, footwear, accessories, furniture, make-up, body piercing”. Fashion is a distinctive and often habitual trend in style in which a person dresses. Style on the other hand according to the oxford dictionary is a distinctive appearance typically determined by the principles to which something is determined, it is also elegance and sophistication. According to Baroque Louis of the latest fashion trends (2014) says one certain thing in the world of fashion is change and that we are constantly being bombarded with new fashion ideas from music, videos books and television. Philip Gregory Andrews of the, “Ezine articles” says fashion and style has both positive and negative influence on the youths. One of the positive influence is that fashion helps one become creative and unique with different style that will fit ones personality and lifestyle. Fashion is about ones’ personal style and not all about looking the same like the supermodels. Beauty comes from within. He further explains that another positive influence of fashion is that it is an avenue for savings. With a gigantic variety of different styles, your wardrobe will not go out of style if one can add or mix a little accessory, your old will become something new and trendy, you do not need to spend extra money to buy super expensive branded clothing just to be in with fashion. Creativity is all one needs with a little help tips from the experts and one will create a fashion statement in ones little way. Fashion also creates confidence as long as you are comfortable in your looks. It is not all about expensive clothes but if one is confident with ones’ style, one will get the attention one deserves and peer pressure will no longer be an issue. Furthermore, fashion also has its negative influence. According to Dammar .M. Grace, a presenter at the “Hip-Hop “club, she says that the hip-hop way of dressing has influenced the youths negatively. She states that as hip-hop started to become popular, it created a strong influence in societies fashion and for several years many adolescents mimicked the styles of their favorite celebrities. One negative response to “hip-hop “fashion is the sagging of parts which originated from the jail practice to give other immates an invite for sexual intimacy and many young boys this days have emulated this form of dressing which certain people in the society regard as disrespectful and disgusting. Philip Gregory Andrew of the “Ezine article also says that another negative influence of fashion is that it trends to depreciate self esteem especially for the girl child in the sense that most girls are down-graded or looked down upon if they don’t wear the latest clothing from either Dolce and Gabbana, Gucci, Chanel e.t.c. It simply means they do not belong to the popular girls group in school. This could add pressure to young girls to become part of a group that more often will result to low self esteem and even depression. In addition he says that financial deficit is another negative influence. Stereotypicals is what is going on with fashion style. One often try to buy branded clothes that are very expensive and trend to buy branded clothes that are very expensive and trend to spend more beyond what one earns just to be up to date with fashion and style and one ends up broke or even in debt. In conclusion, the negative influence of fashion surpasses the positive influence. As fashion has now become an inseparable element therefore it influences the lives of such individuals in a negative way. It keeps us getting involved always in something new which could lend to financial deficit in the sense that one might try to buy branded clothes that are very expensive.