Hello African fashionistas, these are the designers that will be showcasing their pieces on day one of Africa Fashion Week London 2015. Friday, August 7th will be the first day of the 2015 edition of Africa Fashion Week London. Tagged #AFWL2015, this is the fifth time the event is taking after its launch in 2015. AFWL will be taking place at Olympia West Hall in London where it will play host to designers and exhibitors.
Once again, leading hair care brand Motions are the official hair sponsors of #AFWL2015 and will be creating the hairstyles for the catwalk to compliment the dynamic fashions.See the designers that have been lined up to showcase on day one of Europe’s biggest Africa fashion event.
SAKARA
Inspired African Fashion, portraying various innovative styles and techniques. Expressing the soul of the cultural continent and the people who live within or come from it.
ASAKE OGE FOR Da Viva
AsakeOge Couture was founded by Asake Agoro from Nigeria. The Label was launched February 2009 at the London Metropolitan Fashion and Dance Charity Show when she was invited to come up with a collection for the fundraiser. It is a womenswear brand that creates ready to wear, as well as bespoke pieces.
TUMIILA by Tumisola Ladega
Tumiila is a fashion label founded in 2012 by UK based young designer Tumisola Ladega. She was 14 years old at the time but decided she didn’t want to wait to begin her dream. Prior to this, her individual designs have featured in competitions from the age of 12.
She has since produced a series of collections as well as individual garment projects. Through these years her designs have graced the catwalks of major fashion shows and fashion weeks in places such as Miami, Maryland USA, Lagos Nigeria, Johannesburg South Africa and of course London. As a developing label, Tumiila touches all areas from high-end couture to urban, and from evening wear to ready to wear. Tumisola is now 16yrs old and her work has also had the privilege of recognition by the honorable Joan Burstein and Professor Jimmy Choo.
VICTORIA GRACE
Victoria Grace is a fashion label created and curated by Jennifer Rönne. Jennifer is a London born Nigerian, married to a German. Her fashion career spans from working with Condé Nast Vogue UK, Calvin Klein London, and an independent PR consultant in the UK. She is currently working and living in Lagos Nigeria with her family where she created Victoria Grace; a classical label for Elegant, Graceful and Victorious women. She blends the Eastern & Western fashion with African Ethnicity, a combination of both her life and work experience. Victoria Grace collection campaigns to raise awareness towards Sickle cell anemia.
LIHIYA CLOTHING
Dumile and Tivamile Dlamini are sisters from the Kingdom of Swaziland and are currently residing in Taipei, Taiwan. Along with their brother, the sisters co-founded and are designers for LIHIYA, which means covering. Lihiya is an initiative to help craftsman and women from the Kingdom of Swaziland and other rural areas globally, generate income through Co-Design projects for fashion and product design.
SEE ALSO: Elegant Styles To Steal From Chic Ama Style.
According to them, their design aesthetic is blending traditional textiles with modern design to create products that are unique, have a function, and tell stories of the people in rural areas in different parts of the world. Lihiya is a “cross-cultural ambassador” that seeks to connect our customer’s urban lifestyle to the rest of the world. LIHIYA has worked on design projects with indigenous people of Republic of China Taiwan, Tibet, the Hakka people of Taiwan Ping Tung and textiles from the Kingdom of Swaziland. Our mission statement is to “Speak for those who cannot speak for themselves”.
NOMADE
Nomade’s is a clothing brand that mixes many cultural and traditional influences from all over the world (or Africa). In association with local artists NOMADE’S fabrics are created using old world styles. These forgotten if not almost extinct techniques are used to create distinct modern trendy and unique pieces.
Mariam Diop at nomadesbrand@gmail.com or by phone at +221 77 115 83 93 (Senegal) +336 13 97 49 71 (France) Instagram : @nomades_brand
AAUGUST
AAugust is an upcoming brand that was created by Emalda Mbulo and Suwilanji Katuka who have both recently graduated in Fashion and Textiles. The combinations of African print, textile techniques, and fine tailoring have been a part of their inspiration; giving them the insight to work with both men and women’s wear. “Born in Zambia and relocating to England at a young age gave us a chance to embrace our culture in everything we do|. Their brand is currently based in the UK. ‘Our brand philosophy is “Fashion is born of instinct; it’s how you want the world to view you”… Emalda Mbulo and Suwilanji Katuka.
The designers that will be showcasing on day one of the event also includes AWA CONATEH and LE EKHAYA.
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Africa Fashion Week London is a celebration of African designs, talents and diverse ethnic influences that contribute to fashion in the UK, Europe, and internationally. Since debuting in 2011, this inspirational event has gone from strength to strength; championing new and emerging designers who are inspired by the rich culture of Africa and incorporate this heritage into their contemporary design.
Laviye makes beautiful women’s shoes with African print fabric, and we’re actually loving them out the moment. From beautiful high heeled sandals to Pumps, Stilettos, Ankle Strap Heels and much more. Apart from making ankara shoes for women, the African designer brand also makes different kinds of women attires such as dresses, jackets, blazers, skirts, trousers and much more. They also make women and mens accessories such as jewellery, handbags and clutch bags, bowties and neckties. Check out some of their ankara shoes below.
