Mercedes Benz fashion Africa week 2012 is upon us; socialites, industry players and fashionistas will gather to witness one of Africa’s most prestigious events. The event will be held at Melrose Arch, Johannesburg from the 24th- 27th October. I have had a glimpse of the show schedule, which has the list of designers who will be showcasing and judging from what I saw it is definitely not to be missed. The line up features some of Africa and the diaspora’s most significant designers. With more than 20 shows over four days, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Africa will present designers from South Africa, Cote D’Ivoire, Morocco, Mozambique, Cameroon, Rwanda, Angola, DRC, Trinidad, New York, Nigeria and Ghana – all of whom have been chosen for their standards of global relevance and commercial viability along with a distinctive design that exemplifies African creativity.
Apart from our home grown designers here are some of designer’s collections I am looking forward to. Deola Sagoe who is a haute couture fashion designer from the Ondo State in Nigeria. Deola Sagoe is a fashion visionary with a unique approach to her craft that has endeared her to fans and followers all over the world. Using African fabrics, hand-woven materials, and contemporising almost-lost traditional African techniques, Deola designs present a unique vision and attitude for the modern woman. Deola has been honoured through the years with numerous awards and accolades. Her fan base increases wherever in the world her clothes are seen or available.
KIKI clothing specialises in unique African designs, merging vibrant colors, afro centric prints, easy wearable styles that are smart, organic and playful. KIKI clothing brand are all made from Ghana. Their designs are inspired from images of everyday people as well as variety of cultures, mainly Nigeria and Ghana. KIKI designs are well known for supporting and using African texiles in its pieces as part of its goals to expose Africa to the rest of the world through fashion.
“Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Africa is the authentic contemporary African Fashion gathering, bringing together and honouring designers from the four corners of the continent and the African diaspora. This global platform for the African fashion aesthetic showcases the global relevance and commercial viability of our industry along with innovation and distinctive design,” says AFI Executive Chairperson Dr. Precious Moloi-Motsepe.
Palesa Matlebyane is a Lifestyle writer for Jucy Africa. She loves fashion, reading, writing and traveling. She is the shy type but can be loud! You can follow her on twitter @palesama
