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By Nwinkus, July 28, 2010 8:59 pm

Though the African fashion week ended on the 3rd of  July we have just had a look at some of the interesting , there were a number of very interesting shows, however one of  the standout shows was that of the South African designer David Tlale, this young man has consistently produced stytlish and creative designs , while Deola Sagoe seemed to produce a standard set of signature dresses though not as edgy as David’s. Xuly Bet produced  another set of   designs in mono colour.  Black was the sum total of these  set of designs that  where  potentially eye catching including, overall it was a good show and a lot of the designers turned up and delivered, there is one area though that I believe might need to be addressed going forward and that is the area of Indigenous Styling ; this concept refers to styles that have been perpetuated for quite a few decades and in some case a few years  centures, these creations where as a result of fashion and functionality, the usual style of the modern interpretation of African fashion are catwalk concepts infused with fabrics used by africans such as these wonderful pieces by Koketso Chiepe and Christie Brown, right and left, but it will be nice to take a concept like BUBA and IRO (a Yoruba traditional style for women in the west of Nigeria) and use it a concept to create different designs.

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By Nwinkus, June 7, 2010 10:46 pm

June 2010, Johannesburg – African designers from all over the world are jetting in to showcase their Trans seasonal 2010 collections at the Sandton Convention Centre during Africa Fashion Week which starts on June 30, only days before the FIFA 2010 World Cup Quarter Finals.
Established South African fashion-world heavy-weights including Marianne Fassler, Errol Arendz, Stoned Cherrie and David Tlale will show alongside global talents like Deola Sagoe (fresh from New York Fashion Week) and current celeb-favourite Laquan Smith.
Xuly Bet, the Paris-based go-to label for many celebrities, including Grace Jones, Lauryn Hill and Neneh Cherry, will be opening this years’ Africa Fashion Week. The award-winning label recently made global headlines with the ‘Obama’ dress at New York Fashion Week.
Marianne Fassler, who has not shown for two years, will be showcasing a collection entitled Global Gathering. The collection, a multi-layered extravaganza will focus on the idea of beginning: Africa as the birthplace of mankind and children as the original designers – her show will open with a small capsule collection designed under her direction by two children Adam (7) and Sibella (9), before continuing on a journey that pays homage to Africa’s polyglot of nations. Joining her on the schedule is New Yorker-based label Mataano. The soft, feminine line is designed by the Somali sisters Ayaan and Idyl Mohallim who have been likened to the Olsen twins of Africa and have featured on CNN and Oprah.
Other designers traveling from the US include Laquan Smith, the current favourite of Rhianna (he designed the gold dress for her Rudeboy video) and Lady Gaga.Mimi Plange, who has worked with designer Rachel Roy and Patricia Field, the famed Sex and the City stylist, will be bringing her sophisticated, yet deeply romantic label Boudoir D’Huitres to Africa Fashion Week. Bunmi Koko, a British-based label has been garnering UK press attention over the past year with her innovative, structured designs favoured by celebrities such as Mel B (who chose a Bunmi Koko couture dress for the 2010 Brit Awards), Alesha Dixon, Alex Curran, Sadie Frost and Kate Middleton will also be showcasing on African soil. Local South African brand Stoned Cherrie will be marking their tenth anniversary with their Africa Fashion Week show – their Summer 2010 collection is a retrospective look at the label’s silhouettes throughout its history.”Africa Fashion Week is providing a platform for shining stars from across the diaspora, the continent and the country,” says Dr. Precious Moloi-Motsepe, Chairperson of African Fashion International. “The world continues its love affair with all things African, African as a point of reference, not as a cliché and it’s very important we here in Africa continue to support that.”  Completing the line-up of designers at Africa Fashion Week 2010 are Sakina Msa, Ituen Basi (last year’s Africa Fashion Award winner for Innovative Designs), Soucha, Heni Este-Heijzen and Christie Brown (joint winners of last year’s Emerging Designer Award), Noir, Qumi Bespoke, Koketso Chiepe, Gloria Wavamunno and Abigail Betz, Thula Sindi, Carducci and Fabiani. The four day event features more than 30 designers from Guinea Bissau, Nigeria, Uganda, Botswana, Ghana, Somali, Tunisia, French Commores, South Africa, Mozambique, the United States and the UK.   Africa Fashion Week runs from June 30 – July 3 2010 at the Sandton Convention Centre

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By Andrew, September 11, 2009 9:44 pm

David Tlale, winner of the Arise Africa Fashion Week Designer award, will be showcasing his designs at the New York Fashion Week in September 2009.  Tlale’s designs have been lauded in South Africa and he is considered one of the premier fashion designers in South Africa and internationally.

The New York Fashion week will give Tlale a great boost and help expose his fashion sense to a much wider, more particular audience.  In his show which will be titled “Cultural Intimacy”, Tlale will be highlighting  ‘Africouture’ at its best – Swazi and Ndebele geometric patterns, ostrich eggshell jewellery, traditional beading, and Kudu horn all swathed in natural and skin-toned colors.

Tlale will be shocasing his designs in a category entitled Arise: African Promise Collective, which will feature Nigerian designers Tiffany Amber and Lisa Folawiyo, and Madagascar’s Eric Raisina.  His clothing line will be featured on the night of September 11th.

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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.