Why African Fashion is the Trend of the Decade: Pt. I
African Fashion International recently celebrated a milestone 15 years in the industry at their fashion week event in Johannesburg, South Africa. Here are the highlights of day 1.
Reporting live from the golden city of Johannesburg, South Africa! Yes, that's right… I have been fortunate enough to visit South Africa’s largest city / Africa’s wealthiest city… and even more so during African Fashion International’s 2022 Fashion Week event.
This awe-inspiring event held on Diamond Walk in the hustling & bustling Sandton City, near the world-famous Nelson Mandela Square, kicked off the same day of my arrival. What better way to launch Fashion Talk?
This year’s event by AFI was held between November 17th to 19th. African Fashion International is a marketing, retail, and development platform for African luxury fashion, founded in 2007 by Dr. Precious-Moloi-Motsepe.
Her vision was to create a platform showcasing Africa’s diverse fashion talent & put them on the map to be discovered. What I find most interesting about her is her leap in her 40s from the medical world to the fashion industry, two very different life paths, which takes a lot of courage & passion.
The lesson here is … it’s never too late to start something you’re passionate about. No matter the current path you’re on, you can always change course.
A Look Into Day 1
During this year’s event, AFI celebrated 15 years in the industry… what a milestone. The event showcased glamorous, bold, & eye-catching menswear and womenswear styles. There was no building anticipation or starting off small... I was blown away from the start of the show. What made this experience even more exciting was watching the live stream on the big screen from my beautiful Sandton penthouse.
10 Pan-African designers dominated the runway with their latest collections. Styles ranged from suits to fabulously cut dresses, 2 piece sets, and separates.
Designs incorporated bold & beautiful patterns, stark bright colors, and muted colors. Fabrics ranged from high-end silks to velvets, satins, and cottons. To tie it all together, of course, trendy accessories were incorporated. I always say an outfit is not complete without at least one statement piece.
While all the designers did an amazing job, the designers that stood out to me personally were House of Stevolution, Ascend Label, Lebo Merafhe, Suitability, and Woke Studios, all for various reasons.
Pretoria’s House of Stevolution kicked off the event by showcasing semi-formal womenswear designs. This collection was absolutely stunning. The base color of all the styles was hot pink, which is what really caught my eye.
Hot pink stockings were added as an accessory to some outfits, which really helped pull the looks together and added to the high-end feel. Like the color pink, the collection was powerful, eye-catching, & bold.
Ascend Label presented sporty pieces made of high-end knitwear. The collection featured an array of colors from red to orange and each outfit was primarily monotoned.
I loved this collection because it was simple yet striking. It really emphasized how less is more (well, sometimes lol). If you’re into minimalist dressing and sporty-chic fashion, these pieces were made for you.
Lebo Merafhe simply blew me away. From the bold cuts in the tops to the simple yet striking cut of the pants, this collection had a bit of something for every fashion diva. The main colors used were blue, raspberry pink, and black.
All the models wore sleek long ponytails to compliment the flowy style of each outfit. So ladies, if you’re planning to go on vacation anytime soon, I highly recommend getting pieces like these to add some spice to your wardrobe.
Suitability presented their suave collection “A New Way Of Living” which featured menswear suits. I’m really into menswear designs so this definitely caught my eye and was the climax of the event for me.
Opening the show was a distinguished gentleman who wore a printed suit jacket, which looked like a cross between tie-dye & splash paint, a hat to match, black pants, and held a cane (not shown in the picture). Very smooth!
The collection incorporated African-style suit pieces, Fez, Panama, & Fedora hats, and stunning patterned suit jackets. I loved everything about this show from the high-quality pieces to the way the men confidently modeled each outfit. Real GQ-like. Gentlemen, now this would be a real fashion upgrade in my book.
Lastly, I’ll close out today’s Talk with Woke Studios. The brand presented formal womenswear dresses and separates, with a difference. Shades of yellow ranged from imperial to lemon to gold, while there was one style in strawberry red & another in fuchsia.
This collection caught my eye because it was vibrant & rich and the clothes were made of elegant fabrics full of luster. These pieces are perfect for a gala and can work for a nighttime or daytime event.
From this show, it is clear that the “African style” cannot be put in a box. We are a vast array of people with many cultural differences, individual senses of style, and different thoughts on beauty. However, one thing we all have in common is our willingness to stand out and make a statement. It is our differences, but also similarities, that make African fashion so unique and irresistible.
So some questions for you .. is African fashion the trend of the decade? Who are some new & exciting African designers we should be on the lookout for?
Stay tuned for Part 2….
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Exciting! Waiting anxiously for Part 2.
Amazing outfits ,Waiting to see more of Amazing stuffs ,I love the combination of Ethnic and contemporary fashion. 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾