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 Bët, 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 Weeks runs from June 30 – July 3 2010 at the Sandton Convention Centre
For more information, full show schedules and highlights from previous collections go to www.africanfashioninternational.com
Tickets available from Computicket from June 1.
The full list of designers is as follows
| DESIGNER / BRAND | COUNTRY |
| Abigail Betz | South Africa |
| Boudoir D’huitres | Guinea Bissau |
| Bunmi Koko | Nigeria |
| Carducci Men & Womens wear | South Africa |
| Christie Brown | Ghana |
| David Tlale | South Africa |
| Deola Sagoe | Nigeria |
| Errol Arendz | South Africa |
| Fabiani | South Africa |
| Gloria Wavamunno | Uganda |
| Heni | South Africa (JHB Based) |
| Ituen Basi | Nigeria |
| Kluk CGDT | South Africa (Cape Town based) |
| Koketso Chiepe | Botswana |
| Laquan Smith | US(NY based) |
| Laquan Smith | US(NY based) |
| Marianne Fassler | South Africa |
| Mataano | Somali (NY Based) |
| qUmi Bespoke | Ghana |
| Sakina Msa | French Commores |
| Sandra Muendane | Mozambique |
| Soucha | Egypt |
| Stoned Cherrie | South Africa |
| Suzaan Heyns | South Africa |
| Thula Sindi | South Africa |
| Xuly Bet | Mali (Paris Based) |
Nkhensani Nkosi is one of the new voices of Africa: Entrepreneur, television personality and lauded actress. She has travelled throughout the world as an entertainer / host and actress in a series of theatre plays including “Sophiatown, The Coloured Museum and Marabi” which received critical acclaim from international audiences. She boasts a mantelpiece of awards, the most rewarding as a business woman being The Top Success Story of The Year – Top Women in Business And Government 2005. Other awards include The Young Business Achiever of the Year – Young Business Quarterly (2003)
Born in Cape Town, Stiaan Louw has developed a characteristic language for his eponymous menswear label. Since 2008 he has focused on South Africa’s somewhat neglected male fashion scene. Single dominant colour tones, e.g. white, black, grey, clear lines, classic-look tailoring and materials that sit naturally, have lent his collections its own distinctive style. Inspired by social, sexual and traditional cultural themes, Stiaan says that he wanted to create a modern interpretation, related to specific forms of self-expression. Stiaan Louw’s work incorporates ideas of ambiguity and duality: masculine versus feminine, trendiness versus luxury, intellectuality versus understatement. Even so, the dominant impression is of a contemporary male iconography on the edge of and indefinable transgressive sexuality. Stiaan Louw has been nominated for the prestigious Mercedes Benz South Africa Award for Fashion Design 2009 and is currently receiving mentorship as part of the Cape Town Fashion Council Business Readiness programme.
An artist at heart with a passion and true talent in haute couture fashion, Soucha has left Tunis his home country at a young age to pursue his lifelong dream of educating himself and studying in the best European fashion design schools.
Sandra Muendane, graduate in strategic design and innovation in Lisbon.
A renowned designer since the beginning of this century, Sakina M’sa retains the characteristics of a person passionate about her projects throughout her singular trajectory. Her clothes represent the intimate and honest reflection of a history rife with symbols, of a young woman originally from the Comoros Islands, who transcended her social origin and proclaimed her hybrid identity with talent and determination. A contemporary woman—born Muslim and Animist, a punk designer as a teenager—she radiates an offbeat glamour, with an eye on romanticism and dandyism. Thanks to her large repertory, she addresses all generations and tastes, and defines her client as being «between 25 and 50 years old, active, dynamic, chic, feminine, free and funny.» Sakina M’sa’s style is truly generous, poetic, she plays with a variety of disciplines: textile, geographic, and literary.
qUmi Bespoke is for today’s fashion forward man. A man going places. A man who believes in the uncompromising nature of fashion. qUmi Bespoke seeks to be recognised as the name in men’s bespoke fashion. The signature qUmi Bespoke look is one of perfection; detailed tailored suits with luxurious fabrics, bold square buttons and brightly coloured inner lining fabrics. We aim to bridge the gap in the market for exclusive, custom-fitted, high quality men’s suits whilst giving our clients excellent value for their money.
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.
