The Africa Fashion Week came to a close on Saturday after bringing together on the African platform a diverse and multi coloured display of talents and creativity from around the continent.It was a celebration of inspiration, of flair and obviously of fashion trends.
Today, I'll bring you some designers who caught my eye. In South Africa, 2 male designers who in my opinion keep pushing the boundaries are David Tlale and Thula Sindi. I very much look up to these designers and see that African fashion is truly evolving rapidly. Thula’s pieces were fluid and feminine with cuts to enhance shapes and sizes and some key pieces were also very red carpet glamour. The colours were uplifting and bold and easy to play with in terms of accessorising or clashing.
Aisha Obuobi, the designer behind the Christie Brown label has demonstrated time after time how outstanding and innovative she is. For a young designer she has quickly placed herself on a different platform from the rest of the newcomers and her pieces are definitely unforgettable and can be worn straight from the catwalk! For this collection, she has played with fusing Ankara prints with standard fabrics to create pieces that are wearable day or night.
Koketso Chiepe was another designer who caught my eye. I loved her playful take on female sensuality.
Designers to watch: Mataano & Gloria Wavamunno.
Catch the pictures below.
THULA SINDI
Thula Sindi designs for elegant and mature women. All his garments commemorate femininity and transports womanhood to its origins of tenderness, softness and grace.
He is passionate about his loyal clientele, Thula Sindi is committed to designing garments which both enable and encourage women to express their personal style.
Though his label is relatively new, it has in a short time it managed to secure a distinctive and timeless identity in the fashion trade.
CONTACT:
STOCKISTS:
The Wardrobe11, 4th avenue, Parkhurst, JHB+ 27 (0)11 880 9008
Fizz ClothingShop 43, Vincent Park Centre, Vincent, East London+ 27 (0)43 726 1113
CHRISTIE BROWN
Christie Brown is a Ghanaian based luxury women’s clothing/fashion brand whose aim is to satisfy the urge “of that modern woman who seeks a true taste of Africa”.
Christie Brown clothing is made from carefully selected African print, from all over the continent combined with silks, chiffon, denim or jersey. Our aim is to infuse a modern and distinct twist into the use of traditional African print, making it acceptable the world over; to allow women the world over to experience the culturally rich and opulent side of Africa without having to compromise their personal style, way of life or culture.
Christie Brown was founded in March 2008 and has since gone on to win the several global awards; The Emerging Designer of the Year Award for the year 2009 at the inaugural Arise Africa Fashion Week in Johannesburg, South Africa. Christie Brown was also the only Ghanaian designer chosen to showcase in the Arise L’Afrique- a- Porter, in Paris as part of Paris Fashion Week in March this year. At the just ended Africa Economic Forum hosted by Columbia University, Christie Brown was invited to sit on the panel for “African Fashion Going Global”; a discourse on making African Fashion a recognisable global industry.
Their product line consists of women’s dresses, skirts, blouses, shorts, pants and jackets. The company is still growing and we are looking to add to the product line.With many magazine features to boast of(Arise(UK), Canoe 53 Sails, Black Hair(UK), Destiny(SA), Sawubona (In flight magazine for SAA) , Aisha Obuobi, founder of the label was listed as one of the women set to make headlines in 2010 in a feature published in the international edition of Glamour magazine.
The founder of the brand; Aisha Obuobi, graduated from the University of Ghana, Legon, majoring in Psychology. With no formal fashion training, her inspiration to create the label came from her paternal grandmother, Christie Brown. After only a couple of years in the industry, the label is creating a strong presence for itself. It reflects the personality of the founder’s inspiration; it’s chic, stylish and full of that newly emerging sentiment of the new African who plays on the global center-stage.
CONTACT:
+233 244 418 477
+278 255 311 60
KOKETSO CHIEPE
Since its inception in 2001 Koketso has stayed true to her celebration of a colourful and fun-loving fashion aesthetic. The emphasis is comfort while creatively accentuating the positives and disguising the negatives. "We just want to make clothes that women want to wear and covet."
This is evident in her line of clothing and accessories that retail in the USA, the UK, Spain and Japan. Koketso's clothing has graced the third cycle of America’s Next top Model, and numerous editorials from Italian Vogue, Elle and Cosmopolitan to name but a few. This is in addition to having dressed many celebrities. "
CONTACT:
+27 (0) 71 703 0595
STOCKISTS:
Anthropologie (Soho), NYC, USA
TopShop (consignment store), London, UK
LoveBabyJoy (Koketso flagship boutique)
LaForet Harajuku, Tokyo, Japan
Edge, Sapporo, Japan
JQ designer collections, Cape Town, South Africa
GLORIA WAVAMUNNO
Gloria Wavamunno is a privately owned company that was established January 2009 in Uganda, Kampala by Gloria Wavamunno. She has been in love with fashion since she can remember and draws inspiration from all that inspires her globally in fashion and culturally, also from her country’s culture as well as from Africa. GW had its continental debut at Africa Fashion Week 2009 in South Africa, which led to a GW dress, worn by top model Oluchi, being on the cover of Arise Magazine, July Issue 2009.
Based in Kampala, Uganda, the company is in the process of expanding within Africa as well as internationally. The company's style focus is on the use of African fabrics that are transformed into unique individual modern pieces of clothing; one could say stylish African wear. Experimenting with the versatile use that African fabrics have to offer, from embellishment, to mixing it with other textured, types of fabrics, and in future also experimenting with putting African patterns on a vast range of different types of materials e.g. silks, chiffons, velvets etc
CONTACT:
Tel: +256 (0) 70 14888 44
Twin sisters Ayaan and Idyl Mohallim share a story that is anything but ordinary. Born in the U.S. and raised in Somalia, they fled the country at the age of nine to escape civil war. Ayaan and Idyl spent their school years in Washington, DC, and went on to graduate from Boston University and the University of Michigan, respectively. Their next step was to reconvene in New York City, where they embarked on a mission to stand out from the rest in the crowd in fashion and design.
Experiencing the industry from the ground up, through careful study and practice, they gradually crafted their talent, weaving their varied cultural influences into each meticulously designed piece in their studio. In 2008, the Mohallim sisters took a bold step together, launching their brand, Mataano (translated as “twins” in Somali), and developing a platform from which to express their vision and bring forth their creations to the marketplace.
CONTACT:
+ 1 718.399.2079
STOCKISTS:
Online store: http://www.mataano.com/store
MICHELLE NEW YORK376 Atlantic Avenue, BROOKLYN, NY 11217
TRUE BOUTIQUE278 Mott StreetNew York, NY 10012-3479
And that's it folks!
Photos by Simon Deiner
Don't forget to catch the African Fashion Awards today at Sandton Convention Centre. If you are in SA, try and get a ticket!!
Stay Fashion-ABLE!
Fahschyonysta
1 comment:
I enjoyed a lot that week. It was a great gathering of fashion related people. celebrites cameroun
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