Pomp And Glamour At Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week

Alek Wek, Emerging Designer of the Year Loin Cloth & Ashes (Anisa Mpungwe), and Dr Precious Moloi-Motsepe. Image AFI/Simon Deiner/sdr

Alek Wek, Emerging Designer of the Year Loin Cloth & Ashes (Anisa Mpungwe), and Dr Precious Moloi-Motsepe. Image AFI/Simon Deiner/sdr
Alek Wek, Emerging Designer of the Year Loin Cloth & Ashes (Anisa Mpungwe), and Dr Precious Moloi-Motsepe. Image AFI/Simon Deiner/sdr

African Fashion International (AFI) late last month hosted the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Africa (MBFW Africa) that started on 30 October and ended on 2 November 2013.

Featured designers represented some of the best of African collections from across the continent and the Diaspora.
Featured designers represented some of the best of African collections from across the continent and the Diaspora.

The collections of more than 30 top African designers from 15 countries were showcased in 20 runway shows in the City of Tshwane, the African Capital of Excellence.

Featured designers represented some of the best of African collections from across the continent and the Diaspora.

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Highlights included Taibo Bacar (Winner of the 2012 Designer of the Year – AFI Africa Fashion Awards) from Mozambique; Mille Collines from Rwanda; Mina Evans and Duaba Serwa from Ghana; Sheria Ngowi and Mustafa Hassanali from Tanzania; David Tlale, Marianne Fassler and Thula Sindi from South Africa.

This exceptional line-up is a testament to AFI’s commitment to excellence in presenting the best in creative innovation and commercial success.

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AFI Executive Chairperson, Dr. Precious Moloi-Motsepe says, “MBFW Africa is the pinnacle of African fashion: the platform is the gateway between African designers and the global fashion community to engage and promote our local industry. African designers have shown themselves to be world-class in their creativity and aesthetic, and MBFW Africa strives to heighten accessibility to new markets through regional and international exposure, creating a global desire for African-designed fashion. ”

Alek Wek at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Africa
Alek Wek at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Africa

During the Fashion Week, AFI also be presented a retail element: the Africa Fashion Trade Expo (AFTE). The AFTE offers designers the opportunity to engage in business-to-business networking with the media and buyers as well as business-to-consumer sales directly to the public. The finale show of AFI Fastrack™ 2013, AFI’s development initiative, was held on 26 October 2013, in Johannesburg.

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