Brand
Our Idea
Xclassy Apparels was borne out of a simple idea on how to make local African fabrics glamorous, chic, stylish, and fun to wear all at once. While this was a lofty idea, Xclassy Apparels has been successful in creating contemporary designs in African fabric specifically the Ankara. Creatively, we started experimenting with fusing the Ankara fabric with materials to include lace, chiffon, crepe, etcetera. We work exclusively with other fabrics with design overlays that mirrors the design patterns of the Ankara fabric. This compatibility in design patterns allowed for flexibility and creativity in our designs. While we continue to look for design inspirations from every corner of the planet, our concepts are deeply rooted in the African tradition. We are a constantly evolving company with the mission to making African fabric modern and desirable in a globalized world.
Our Evolution
Xclassy Apparels started off as Xclassy Lingerie & Apparels (XLA), a vendor/purveyor of women’s undergarments in Lagos, Nigeria. XLA sought to provide women a safe place where women can safely try on their brassieres, panties, and lingerie to determine their perfect sizes, as opposed to going to the open market where most of the women’s undergarment vendors were men with shopping stalls unequipped with fitting rooms in which women can try out the undergarments to see if it fits. Our marketing strategy was designed to rectify this problem by providing a safe environment where women of all ages can shop for their undergarments at their place of business/office locations, their homes, and at our locations. Further, XLA also sought to educate women on the pros/cons of the materials utilized in the production of women’s undergarments as well as educate women on the proper care and maintenance of their undergarments. XLA’s success in this niche market allowed the company to start expanding its business into the “Apparels” aspect of the company name. XLA’s reputation as purveyors of quality, allowed our forays into the apparels market to be a massive hit in the Lagos Metropolitan Area.
Our Now
From inception, XLA was designed to be a scalable business, as such the e-commerce model was best suited for the growth of the business. The environment in Lagos, Nigeria allowed for a fusion of a marketing strategy that included traditional merchandising, online marketing, as well as physically bringing the merchandise to the customers where they are located. While this strategy worked well in Nigeria, the company is adopting a different strategy for its expansion into the American market. For our American market, the company is solely focusing on the “apparels” aspect of the business, a niche in the American market we sincerely believe the company will thrive. Like our strategy in Nigeria, our strategy for our expansion to the American market is simple. We are focusing on our online presence. To this end, we have re-branded the company as “Xclassy Apparels”, and, we have updated our website by making sure our customers can easily navigate the website and if there are any issues, our first-rate customer service representatives are ready to provide outstanding customer service experience. While our presence in the American market will solely focus on apparel aspect of our business, our presence in Nigeria continues to incorporate all aspects of our business to include undergarments, lingerie and apparels.
Our Future
Our goal is to make the company a truly global company mandated to bringing contemporary designs rooted in African concepts and brought to life in African fabrics to all corners of the globalized world.
Ese Afolabi – Chief Executive Officer
Word of Mouth
Elegance is the only beauty that never fades.
Audrey Hepburn
Fashion is confidence. If you can get away with wearing it, it is a new style.
John Waters
Class, elegance & style are the motto we live by.
Ese Peter
Fashion is the amour to survive the reality of everyday life.
Bill Cunningham
Clothing is a form of self-expression, just like style, it is personal & lives forever.
Anonymous