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By Nwinkus, November 5, 2009 10:11 pm

Vlisco the Hollandais brand has many admirers one of the more creative ones is Lisa Folawiyo a Nigerian fashion designer. In less than four years Lisa has perfected the art of wearing Ankara, being the first to embellish the fabric with sequins, swarovski crystals, beads and the like, she  turned Jewel by Lisa into a coveted luxury label. She is also not afraid to mix ankara with a wide range of fabrics such as taffeta, linen, cotton, chiffon, chantilly lace, and silk. In 2008, Jewel by Lisa featured in the This Day Africa Rising Festival in London, and was one of only 3 designers chosen for the catwalk show at the M-net Face of Africa modelling competition. Most recently, the label showcased a highly raved 40-piece collection at the Arise Africa Fashion Week in Johannesburg, South Africa. Subsequently, another equally successful collection was revealed at the Mercedez-Benz New York Fashion Week Spring Summer 2010 collections. Jewel by Lisa has been featured in several publications such as Arise Magazine, The The New York Post, Style.com, Women’s Wear Daily (WWD), Glamour (South Africa) True Love and Genevieve magazine

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By Nwinkus, August 30, 2009 7:48 am

In  what was a visual feast of pretty summer dresses, dazzling evening gowns, edgy silhouettes and bold design choices shown for three days  between 20th- 22nd 09 the spring/summer collections for 2009/2010, of the Arise Cape Town Fashion Week was presented at the Cape Town International Convention Centre in  South Africa.  African Fashion International and  ARISE Magazine collaborated again after their successful inaugural ARISE Africa Fashion week.

Its been said that Cape Town is also home to many of Africa’s most established couturiers and a significant tranche of its fashion media and models. Looking at what the city offered ranged from the  unique and innovative to the colorful and mellow.

What was particularly interesting was the The Cape Town Fashion Council presented a vast showcase of graduate talent from selected schools, from this pool we can take a look at the future of fashion talent on the continent. But also there were a number of established designers such as Tarien Malherbe, Undacova, Black Coal designed by Pumeza Mekuto, Doreen Southwood, Misfit, Tart, Michelle Ludek, LaLesso, SUZAAN HEYNS, LUELLA SHOES BY DAVID TLALE, CRAIG PORT, LOVEWATERLOVE, TRACY B, MALICK, CARDUCCI WOMEN, GAVIN RAJAH, FABIANI, STEFANIA MORLAND, KLûK CGDT. As we proceed, it will be interesting to see what this diverse and mercurial industry that is African fashion will Morph into.

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By Nwinkus, July 27, 2009 4:24 pm

I first stumbled on Arise at my local news agent 3 months ago, now you will say what is so new about that, well it was a totally different experience seeing a magazine solely dedicated to African fashion, with African designers was unheard off at least in the west, but what was more striking was the breadth of the articles and the quality of the imagery, i am a photography enthusiast so to see pictures taken properly was a thrill non the less i had not come across any magazine yet that was solely dedicated to Africa in this way before. My love affair with this magazine seems to grow from strength to strength, because, not only are they providing journalistic diversity but have also taken to showcasing the designers they write about within their pages by sponsoring the African fashion week 2009 in Johanesburg. The menu reveals a cross section of what the magazine is about, it covers all sorts from an interview with Akon, to  Sway chatting about stuff, African WAGS and of course pictures from the African fashion show and loads more. MODEL OLUCHI ONWEAGBA takes center stage