If You Don't Know, Get To Know: POPWAVE
Our instalments of Get To Knows have so far been from a perspective of what it is like to work in the UK fashion scene. This instalment however, changes that. POPWAVE are a Nigerian brand based in the capital Abuja. I spoke to 1/4 of the collective to understand what it is like running and growing a brand in Nigeria, their inspirations and what they aim to do with the brand in the future.
We'll start by getting to know how you guys met?
Okay, first of all, I'll start with my name is Michael. Basically, how everything started was like this. I actually have a twin brother. So me, my twin brother and two of my friends call ourselves a collective of people who came together and made up our mind that we should create something different in Nigeria, Africa and Worldwide, and that's how we came up with the name POPWAVE.
When did you guys decide to do this? How far back was that?
That was back in 2019, back in March.
Where in Nigeria are you based/from?
I'm from Abuja and where based here too
What is the fashion scene like in Abuja?
I would actually like to tell you the truth. Most people, I ain't doing anything in Nigerian fashion based in streetwear. We're talking about supreme standard, we're talking about Vlone standard, whatever our international brands like Stussy and the rest. So like, if I'm going to actually compare that to what's happening in Nigeria or Abuja, here is nothing compared to that. So as a collective came up with the idea that, okay, let's change the game. I think it's time to show people that we are actually creative in what we're doing. So, we started making cool clothes that people will like and like to wear every time and value.
What is it like building a brand in Nigeria?
In Nigeria, it is based on location. The location is more isolated, it's not easy for people like us running brands here. And actually creating content in Nigeria is not easy at all. Everybody is so so mean. You can't just go to a park to shoot a video with your camera, someone will tell you to drop your camera down. So running a brand in this country is not easy, but everything is possible for real.
You mentioned it's not easy to grow your brand, and you have obstacles creating content. Is that because of issues like SARS?
I won't put SARS and business or SARS and clothing together because that's based on insecurities and different things in the country. But my own statement is based on the clothing line part. It's not easy in the sense that most people can actually see your craft and truly feel it, but it's not easy for them to afford your product in this part of the world. So most of your audience usually comes from other parts of the world like the UK and the US. In Nigeria, most people who have money, I don't know, go for the most popular brand. They won't go for a small brand or a start-up brand selling clothes for the first time, they will not buy your things. You'll have to prove to them that you are worth buying in this part of the world. You get what I mean, right? So like, it's not actually easy for you to pull up an audience from different parts of this country. Not only this country. I'm talking about Nigeria because this is my roots. Selling products in these parts of the world is not easy.
You have to prove to the people that you are worthy of them dropping their money to you. Running our brand now, we have so many things to do to out the brand. We have to market, we have our own influencers, no matter how big or small. You don't have 10k to be an influencer anyone can influence, and we value that. Recently, everything is going on well, everybody's fucking with the brand. At first, it wasn't easy; back in 2019, it wasn't easy to get people to rock with the brand and be like, "Okay, this is POPWAVE." Since 2022 the game has changed to like people are actually seeing us and our creativity.
So as part of the collective you mentioned, it's you and your twin brother and two other people. What are some of the roles you guys play?
First of all, I'm in charge of the marketing strategy and all l marketing procedures in terms of sales and everything appropriate. My twin brother is a creative director. He does the design. Of my friends, one is involved with arranging models and scouting them. The other person is also involved in creativity; he is the second Creative Director. So, we have two creative directors, a marketing strategist and a human resource contact.
What cultures do you tap into the most in terms of inspiration?
We get our inspiration from games, cartoons, and anime. We can literally watch something and create a t-shirt from it. Or musicians, actually, our first drop of POPWAVE was a Travis Scott rap T. After that, we wanted to redefine ourselves and didn't want to be selling rap T's because there are so many people in the game selling that. So we're like, we should create a rebrand ourselves in a certain way that our products would look unique. So now we get into core designing, and we started making unique products for ourselves and the audience. Things you could buy, and if you see this shirt outside, you instantly know this is POPWAVE.
Now that things are moving in the right direction, what's the next move for you guys? Do you plan to travel to Europe doing pop-ups, or is everything solely based in Nigeria and Africa for now?
I can say this in a confident way. I don't think I will be based in Nigeria for so long because if I'm trying to push a brand that I want to be worldwide, I don't think I'll be able to stay in one location and push it. I need to travel to different parts of the world, and that's something that we are working on. Well, before I actually travel to any part of the world, I think I need to conquer this region, and that's Nigeria. You mentioned pop-ups and going to different parts of the world and doing them sometime this year because POPWAVE hasn't done a pop up since its creation in 2019. Sometime this summer, we're planning to do a big pop up in Nigeria, whereby we want to bring all our products back. We have so many unreleased things that we haven't dropped on our page yet, that are coming through in the coming weeks. I don't want to talk too much about the future, I would rather work and show our consistency. This is something that won't end now. It is something for the long run. It's like a franchise.
I don't know if you've watched the Kanye West documentary, but people will see you and not believe in you. It's almost like you're my friend how can you come and pass me? That sort of talk, but then one day you will now realise that that friend you're laughing at is somebody different. We're all human beings, literally if Supreme can do it. If I don't know, there are so many brands. I don't even want to mention luxury brands, but so many people who are doing it, then why can't I do it? And literally, most of them even did it before the internet. I have access to 1 million people through my phone, so why can't I do it?
Is there anything else that you guys want to want to share?
Well, I just have advice for upcoming people trying to get into something. Personally, you have to know what you're doing before you get into what you're doing. When you start, you should be consistent in believing what you want/need will come into your reality. Dreams come true, so why not just try.
Art
