Tag: African Fashion

The program is launching a showcase for African designers in a bid to attract investors.

PARIS — The Ethical Fashion Initiative is coming to Paris next season, with events during Paris Fashion Week that it hopes will provide international visibility to African designers and attract investors.

The program, funded and managed by Simone Cipriani, is a flagship initiative of the International Trade Centre, a Geneva-based joint agency of the United Nations and World Trade Organization. What started out as a platform for connecting global lifestyle brands with artisans worldwide has expanded into an accelerator for African brands.

Now Cipriani is ready to take the EFI to the next level, beginning with a launch event on Oct. 30 and 31 in Paris that will include exhibitions, a concert, and round tables with designers Margaux Wong from Burundi and Lukhanyo Mdingi from South Africa, who was one of the joint winners of the Karl Lagerfeld Prize at this year’s LVMH Prize for Young Designers.

The event will be held at the 360 Paris Music Factory in the Goutte d’Or district of Paris, home to several designers who will be hosting workshop visits. The EFI has previously brought designers to events in Italy such as Vogue Fashion’s Night Out, Pitti Uomo, and Altaroma.

“We are going to Paris because it’s a progression,” Cipriani told WWD. “Paris is very open and very close to African fashion traditionally, and Paris has also a very active diaspora with a lot of good designers and with a lot of investors who can invest in these designers.”

Cipriani wants to transform the accelerator into a blended finance facility to mobilize investment from inside the African continent, but also from Europe. “Paris is the ideal place to do that,” he reasoned.

Some of the brands in the accelerator are already in discussions with facilities in Africa for investments ranging from 500,000 euros to 1.5 million euros, Cipriani reported. These typically impact investors or so-called “patient” investors, he added, noting the high cost of working capital financing in Sub-Saharan Africa.

For investors outside the African continent, there are potential returns that go beyond the required return for capital invested, Cipriani noted, citing the example of pluvial cotton grown in Burkina Faso, which has a lower impact on the environment.

“We have this whole value chain in Burkina Faso, where we make fabric out of organic cotton, where we make some garments, there are designers, and so on. So investing in these designers is also a way to get into a decarbonized supply chain, it’s also a way to get in a form of fashion which is consistent with the problems of COP26,” he said. “It’s an investment in ESG, more than a specific brand.”

Founded in 2009, the EFI offers a bridge between brands including Vivienne Westwood, Loewe, and Adidas, and some 10,000 artisans in countries including Burkina Faso, Mali, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, DRC, Haiti, and parts of central Asia, though its program in Afghanistan is currently on hold due to the political turmoil in the country.

For Cipriani, investing in fashion design is also a good way to build social capital in African countries, where creative businesses such as fashion, music, and modeling enjoy huge followings on social networks. Above all, he wants to launch a set of events at Paris Fashion Week that will present African brands as international, rather than niche, labels.

Content courtesy of WWD & Nairobi Fashion Hub 

The designer dressed the cast of hit films – The Matrix Reloaded, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Black Panther, and Bad Boys 2 London is considered one of the most iconic fashion capitals in the world, with some of the biggest fashion designers hailing from the UK.

From Alexander McQueen to Stella McCartney, high-end fashion is sewn into the fabric of city life but there are some designers who have blazed the trail and made their mark in spaces where Black people are rarely seen.

At the age of 28, a Muswell Hill-born designer decided to open up shop on Vigo Street at the end of the world-famous and prestigious Savile Row.

Ozwald Boateng became the youngest tailor to open a store on London’s sartorial street and went on to dress the likes of Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger, Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Paige, and stars of Sex and The City to name a few.

Born to Ghanaian parents, Ozwald used his mother’s sewing machine to design his first collection, but before pursuing fashion, the Londoner studied computing and eventually dropped out to enroll at Southgate College.

His career then took off in his 20s after successfully selling his clothing to a menswear store in Covent Garden, after dressing celebrities and musicians, Ozwald went on to open up a store on Portobello Road with his “Structured Classics”, which he created in line with classic Savile Row Tailoring.

In 1994, the Londoner achieved his first groundbreaking move by becoming the first tailor to hold a catwalk show during Paris Fashion Week as he said, “I knew that if I did a catwalk show in Paris as a tailor I could revolutionize tailoring”.

Months later, Ozwald added another first to his accolades by becoming the youngest tailor to set up shop on Vigo Street at the end of Savile Row, the epicenter of suit tailoring.

The sartorial genius incorporated color from his Ghanaian heritage fused with the distinct British tailoring and eventually opened his Headquarters in Savile Row and a flagship store in 2007.

The accolades for his work began to flood in as the tailor received the Award for Best Menswear Designer at the Trophées de la Mode in Paris and credits in Vanity Fair for “leading the way in British men’s tailoring”. In 2002, the fashion designer won Best Menswear Designer at the British Fashion Awards.

Ozwald’s success drew the attention of Hollywood A-listers and the tailor went on to dress the cast of films such as The Matrix Reloaded, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Black Panther, and Bad Boys 2.

Away from the camera, the 54-year-old dressed stars for red carpets included the likes of Will Smith, Jamie Foxx, and Daniel Day-Lewis, who wore a diamond cloth suit to the Oscars worth $150,000.

In 2003, Ozwald became Creative Director of menswear for high-end French Fashion House Givenchy as his influence continued to grow internationally.

Then in 2006 the world-class tailor was awarded an O.B.E by the Queen and named an “Officer of the Order of the British Empire” for his services to the fashion industry.

The days of sitting at his mother’s sewing machine were now far behind him as Ozwald continued to be decorated for his great achievements.

The Londoner received an Honorary Degree (Master Of Arts) from The University of Creative Arts as well as an honorary doctorate from the University of Arts London both for his contributions to the fashion industry.

But his recognition from academics wasn’t limited to the UK as the tailor was awarded Harvard University’s Veritas Award.

Not forgetting his roots, Ozwald has been involved in giving back to his origins in Ghana and the continent of Africa overall. In 2006, the designer held a historic show at the state banquet of the 9th annual African Union summit held in Accra, Ghana to recognize 200 years since the abolition of Slavery and the country’s independence from Britain.

Content courtesy of My London & Nairobi fashion hub