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.
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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Abigail Betz, Africa Fashion Week, Alesha Dixon, Alex Curran, Ayaan Mohallim, Boudoir D'Huitres, Bunmi Koko, Carducci, Christie Brown, CNN, DAVID TLALE, Deola Sagoe, Dr. Precious Moloi-Motsepe, Errol Arendz, Fabiani, FIFA 2010 World Cup, Gloria Wavamunno, Grace Jones, Heni Este-Heijzen, Idyl Mohallim, Ituen Basi, Kate Middleton, Koketso Chiepe, Lady Gaga, Laquan Smith, Lauryn Hill, Marianne Fassler, Mataano, Mel B, Mimi Plange, Neneh Cherry, Noir, Oprah, Patricia Field, Qumi Bespoke, Rachel Roy, Sadie Frost, Sakina Msa, Sex and the City, Soucha, Stoned Cherrie, Thula Sindi
Deola Sagoe is one of nigeria’s best known fashion designer’s, she won the Best African Designer Award in 2000, in a competition organised by MNET and Anglo Gold, to find African fashion designers to represent the continent at New York’s fashion week. She was nominated by none other than the fashion guru himself, Vogue Editor-at-Large, Andre Leon Talley. She has had the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Will Smith and Samuel L. Jackson attend her fashion shows in the U.S. Deola Sagoe pieces can be likened to individual works of art. She constantly reinvents the wheel with a contemporary African twist. Says Deola “My biggest inspiration is Africa, the different textures, the colours, the culture, the people, the vibe, there’s a lot of passion amidst so much repression. African fabrics are the base foundation for her designs, juxtaposing indigenous textures and colours with western silhouettes.
Africa has long been a muse for the arts throughout the world, most recently in fashion, with the world’s top designers choosing to look towards African techniques, designs and materials to ensure that their collections appeal to a wider global audience. Many great international designer houses have borrowed from Africa in creating their most recent collections, including Louis Vuitton, Lanvin, Oscar de la Renta and Christian Louboutin. There appears to be a new excitement around the African aesthetic.
African Fashion International hosted the inaugural Africa Fashion Week , at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg South Africa, the designers on show where not the most well known African designers to succeed in the international fashion industry, such as Azzedine Alaia from Tunisia, Ozwald Boateng from Ghana, Deola Sagoe from Nigeria and Marc Bouwer from South Africa who have all worked hard to create incredible careers that many of the current designers seek to emulate. But an elite of less well known but equally talented set of the designers from the continent where assembled in the first of what will become an annual showcase. The eight-day fashion spectacular culminated in the African Fashion Awards, which recognized the very best of the best in African fashion.
Fashion Weeks around the world have historically been responsible for successfully putting designers on the map, resulting in the development of their fashion enterprises. This continued support has inspired fashion entrepreneurs to become economically successful and make a contribution to the developing economy. Fashion contributes. Fashion transcends culture and ethnicity. And the ethos behind the Africa Fashion Week is to continue to work toward the celebration of the African identity and unique creative signature.
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