Johannesburg will be turned into
Africa’s Fashion Capital from 29 October to 1 November when the city hosts the
continent’s premier annual trans-seasonal sartorial showcase, Mercedes-Benz
Fashion Week Africa (MBFWAfrica) 2014, at Melrose Arch.
With the eyes of the international
community focused on Johannesburg, under the theme “Our Heritage Reimagined”,
MBFWAfrica 2014 will feature stellar collections from over 30 leading
established and emerging African designers, culminating in the prestigious,
annual African Fashion Awards, which will acknowledge the Continent’s top
designers at a glittering ceremony on 2 November.
The African Fashion Trade Expo
2014 (the largest on the continent and a must-attend fashion business-calendar
event), meanwhile, will present Africa’s latest brands and trends while
providing invaluable networking opportunities to buyers, consumers, media and
other fashion followers for the duration of MBFWAfrica.
“This year’s MBFWAfrica will be
the best yet owing to African Fashion International’s (AFI’s) primary focus for
2015 – to provide more retail access for designers to consumers globally. What
better place to return to than Melrose Arch, one of the premier retail spaces
in Johannesburg, South Africa?” says AFI Spokesperson, Sizwe Nzimande.
As part of AFI’s commitment to
fostering creative independence amongst new talent in the African fashion and
design industry, MBFWAfrica 2014 will also see the conclusion of the AFI 2014
Fastrack™ programme, in which each of the winners will present a
much-anticipated capsule collection, before one of the young designer’s is
awarded the title of AFI Young Designer of the Year 2014 at the Africa Fashion
Awards.
Similarly, this year’s ELLE Rising
Star Design Award finalists will each present a unique and innovative
collection at MBFWAfrica before the esteemed panel of judges names one of them
the 2014 ELLE Rising Star.
“Industry and designer development
are the primary values that underpin all of AFI’s initiatives. The experience
and exposure that initiatives like AFI Fastrack™ and ELLE Rising Star afford
their participants is invaluable to their efforts to establish niches in the
industry, as is evident in the programme’s many success stories,” says AFI
Business Development Manager, Bella Cebekhulu.
Each year, Mercedes-Benz Fashion
Week Africa draws countless fashion entrepreneurs, buyers, industry
professionals, and local & international media to preview the looks that
will define the continent’s fashion in seasons to follow.
In 2014, the event will
definitively celebrate Africa’s place within the global fashion community,
showcasing designers – from Cameroon, Tanzania, South Africa, Rwanda, Nigeria,
Mozambique, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast, Kenya,
Ghana, Senegal, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Angola – as they re-imagine their
African identity in a globally relevant way.
Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Africa
2014: Melrose Arch Johannesburg, 29 October – 1 November 2014.
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