#16: what if fashion makes money ?

L E T ’ S I M A G I N E T H E N E W A F R I C A !

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NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2015 #16

what if African Fashion

MAKES MONEY ? FOCUS ON

THE LEATHER KINGDOM

ALPHADI THE LEGEND CONTINUES

LOZA MALEOMBHO THE FASHION

REVOLUTIONARY

2 INSPIRE AFRIKA MAGAZINE / NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2015L’ABUS D’ALCOOL EST DANGEREUX POUR LA SANTÉ, À CONSOMMER AVEC MODÉRATION

©Thinkstock, CV-Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte RCS Reims 775 611 924 L’ABUS D’ALCOOL EST DANGEREUX POUR LA SANTÉ, À CONSOMMER AVEC MODÉRATION

©Thinkstock, CV-Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte RCS Reims 775 611 924

COVER: LOZA MALÉOMBHO, SS 2016 : ZAOULI COLLECTION

PHOTO CREDITS: KLASSY FILMS STUDIOS. MODEL : AMENAN TANO

3INSPIRE AFRIKA MAGAZINE / NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2015

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INSPIRE AFRIKA MAGAZINE - The 16th Issue - November - December 2015

CHIEF EDITORJOAN YOMBO

ASSISTANT CHIEF EDITORLOUIS GILBERT BISSEK

GRAPHIC DESIGNALISSA JAMES

EXECUTIVE DIRECTORCHRYS NYETAM

SALES MANAGERANITA BAKAL

PUBLISHING DIRECTORJOAN YOMBO

PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICERIVAN NYETAM

ENGLISH EDITOR CHRYS NYETAM

CULTURE EDITORSTELLA SANOGOH

TRANSLATIONRAKY TOURÉ

PARTNERSHIPS MANAGERS

AFRICAHYACINTHE ISSOMBO

AMERICAANITA BAKAL

EUROPEFRANCESCA NGAHANE

COVER: LOZA MALÉOMBHO, SS 2016 : ZAOULI COLLECTION

PHOTO CREDITS: KLASSY FILMS STUDIOS. MODEL : AMENAN TANO

INSPIRE AFRIKA Magazine is edited by ANINKA MEDIA GROUP

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4 INSPIRE AFRIKA MAGAZINE / NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2015

WHAT IF AFRICAN FASHION MAKES MONEY?

INSPIR’START UP // 28Loza Maleombho

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CONTENTS

CAREER // 20Alphadi

4 QUESTIONS TO // 42Valérie Ayena

EDITORIAL // 5NEWS // 6

TRENDS // 8Bloggers on fire

FAVORITE // 12 A.A.K.S : uplifting artisanal work

INSPIR’INTERVIEW // 16“We want African Brands in Stores”

CAREER // 20Alphadi, From Father to Son

DARE TO INSPIRE // 24An African knighted at Fashion Week

INSPIR’START UP // 28

Loza Maleombho emphasizes “zaouli”

INSPIR’ORGANIZATION // 32Eric Coly’s dream for young girls

INSPIR’ECO // 36When will be the African Giant awekening ?

THOUGHTS OF // 38Grace Kelly Azizet

4 QUESTIONS TO... // 42Valérie Ayena

FOCULTURE // 44Many contenders for the queen of Sheba

DARE TO INSPIRE // 24Katia Bumba


Can we really speak of a fashion industry in Africa? The question is currently on everyone’s lips. According to Grace Kelly Azizet, Director of the agency Wild Flowers1, the answer is more complex than one would think: the fashion industry is booming, but many ideas remain to be defined (p.28). Laura Eboa Songue, who controls the cluster Africa Fashion France, has a more definite opinion, «There still lacks decisive structural elements to speak of a real industry”.2 Considering that an industry is cha-racterized by quantity production, work organi-zation, diversification and accessibility of goods, one could indeed consider that the continent still has many cards to play. The professionals agree that to move to the next step, the challenge for African fashion is to become assertive interna-tionally and to meet global demand. But is local demand already met? Euromonitor International estimates the garment and footwear industry in Africa at $31 billion, while the African Develop-ment Bank measures the middle class on the continent to almost 370 million people. The un-tapped potential is enormous at the continent level alone. While thinking of dressing the World, shouldn’t the African continent consider a prio-rity to dress Africa? African Fashion is still quite inaccessible to Africans on the continent them-selves: little media exposure, few brands on the mainstream, and not enough training, to name

a few.

Brands that understand this have to innovate locally and then attract consumers and inves-tors globally. Innovating doesn’t

only mean creating technological solutions: it is more about finding disruptive ways to exploit the weaknesses of the continent, and transform them into opportunities.

Kisua or Made in Kigali for example, have under-stood this fact. That’s the reason of their suc-cess. The former chose to highlight the best designers of the continent by supporting these artists in terms of marketing costs and interna-tional exposure. In exchange, the chosen desi-gners co-produce, with Kisua, exclusive collec-tions. Meanwhile, the latter works exclusively with local tailors, and currently works with the Department of Commerce of Rwanda to create a fashion design center that will train nearly 3,000 tailors.Our entrepreneurs for this month have exactly the same aim: Bypass the current obstacles to successfully standardize the sector

Enjoy!

Joan YomboChief Editor

THINKWHAT IF AFRICAN FASHION MAKES MONEY?

1/ Consultancy in branding and communication 360° accompanying creators in their development in France and internationally. 2/ It would cost close to nothing for African fashion to dress the world - Le Monde.fr, October 2015.

DIFFERENTLY

EDITORIAL

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4 QUESTIONS TO // 42Valérie Ayena


Black Fashion Week Paris

African fashion designers take the capital of fashion hostage. From November 19 to 21, 2015, the Black Fashion Week will move to Paris in the Carreau du Temple. Organized by Adama Paris Fashion Events, this event that hosts over 1,000 people per day and over 10 designers, showcases the continent’s talents. The address for this event is at 4 rue Eugène Spuller. Book your tickets on http://www.blackfashionweekparis.com

1- “Ma Pause Digitale” puts the creators of local content in the spotlight – Cameroon

The 7th Forum «Ma Pause Digitale» (My digital break) will be held November 28, 2015 in the city of Douala. This confe-rence which aimed to place new technology at the center of development by creating a space for exchange between different stakeholders, intends to bring 25 speakers and over 300 participants. The theme of this year, «Digitalizing the Cameroonian technology ecosystem: the challenge of local content» is proof that digital entrepreneurs more than ever have a role to play. If you are interested in the digital market, do not miss this event.

2- The Voice arrives in Francophone Africa! - Ivory Coast

Do you sing? Have you always drea-med of having your album produced by one of the largest global production houses? If you think you have a beau-tiful voice, then go ahead. The Voice arrives on your screens and starting in 2016, it will be looking for the best voice of Francophone Africa. Broad-casted on the Pan African channel Vox

Africa, the show will join all the talents selected during auditions held in West Africa and Central Africa for 17 weeks. We look forward to seeing the show in June 2016.

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NEWS


4- Careers in Africa: Who is the best employer of the year? - South Africa

From November 20 to 22 2015, Johannesburg will host the summit recruitment Careers in Africa. Workshops, personalized coaching sessions, interviews and networking sessions will be at the rendezvous. In addition, the Africa HR Confe-rence will open this weekend rich in learning, and after which an award will be given to the best African employer of 2015. If you want to work in Africa, this event is for you. More information on www.careersinafrica.com/summits/johannesburg/

Find the African flavors with Moriba - Mali

If you have never tasted the products of the brand Moriba, this is the time to do so. On the occasion of the holiday season, the brand launches its new ginger liquor: a transparent and bright beverage with hints of amber which is drunk as a digestive and as an aperitif. Meanwhile its aphrodisiac reputation remains unconfirmed ... Explore the flavors of Moriba on www.moriba.fr

Wharton African Business Forum

The 23rd edition of the Wharton African Business Forum will be held from November 13 to 14, 2015. The evolution of financial services, the integration of agriculture and the creation of sustainable social enter-prises are three of the twelve topics to be discussed. The speakers are among the best that the African continent has to offer and they include Saran Kaba Jones, founder of Face Africa, and Hakeem Belo-Osagie, chairman of Etisalat Nigeria, just to name a few. Find more information on www.wabf2015.whartonafrica.com

Nicolas Feuillatte invites you to discover D’Luscious

With the approach of the holiday season, the Nicolas Feuillatte champagne brand invites us to discover the new vintage: D’Lus-cious. Made in Champagne ( a French region ), the freshness and sweetness of this beverage charm and titillate your taste buds. A genuine experience of tasting! The bottle of D’Luscious is distinguished by its warm brown color that evokes the in-tensity of taste. D’Luscious is the epitome of finesse and elegance. The champagne comes in two special editions: D’Luscious Gold and D’Luscious Rosé.

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TRENDS //

ATTACK OF THE BLOGGERSBy Leyla Ismaily

Gone are the days when fashion and lifestyle lovers have to wait for the month-ly copy of Vogue, African Woman, or True Love to keep abreast of the latest fashion trends. These days the power that magazine editors once had is being lost to powerful fashion and lifestyle bloggers who push traditional barriers to the limit. This is in tandem with the rise of digital marketing that is currently sweeping the continent – the effect has been so severe that designers have begun to integrate how clothes look on Instagram and WordPress into their designs. So who exactly are these individuals powerful enough to impact the growing African fashion culture? Here is our top 10

Facebook: 710,513 Likes

Instagram: 328,000 Followers

Twitter: 21,700 Followers

Folake Kuye Hontoon, the blogger behind, StylePantry makes you feel extremely ina-dequate but in a motivational way. She challenges you to look good and as a re-sult feel good. As a wife and a mother of 3, she somehow manages to find time to look flawless yet fun. This unique quality was noticed by Demestiks, the brand in New York, which has featured on her blog numerous times.

Photo Credits: StylePantry.com

1/ STYLEPANTRY

- NIGERIA -


2/ SHIRLEY’S WARDROBE - GHANA

4/ THIS IS ESS – KENYA

Facebook: 101,507 likes



Run by Fatou N’Diaye, BlackBeautyBag is the representation of Afri-can fashion and style, according to her. In terms of African fashion bloggers she sets the trend; BlackBeautyBag is the one that inter-national leading brands such as L’Oreal and Kookai decided to collaborate with. Despite her international fame and success she still remains relatable openly promoting and featuring urban African online shops such as Moonlook and Inyu.

Photo Credits : Huffington Post




Sharon Mundia, the face behind ThisIsEss makes you believe that you have no excuse to not follow your dreams. She has turned her passion for fashion into a full-fledged business funding her travels to exotic locations –such as Mauritius and Istanbul – wearing top notch African designers such as Katungulu Mwendwa, Wambui Mukenyi, Otenge, and Kung’ara. The fact that she remains vulne-rable on her blog; exposing her struggles and insecurities makes her that much more relatable. Photo Credits: ThisIsEss.com




In the blogosphere Shirley B Eniang is definitely a force to be reckoned with. She is triple threat bringing vlogging, effortlessly beautiful photos and writing posts that are light, bubbly yet insightful. She currently lives in London but has roots in Nigeria and Ghana. On top of this, she is definitely not afraid to feature with big brands such as Banana Republic, Zara, TopShop, River Island among so many others.

Photo Credits : Shirley’s Wardrobe

3/ BLACKBEAUTYBAG – SENEGAL & MALI


5/ I SEE A DIFFERENT YOU - SOUTH AFRICA

7/ LOVEFOLA - NIGERIA




This dynamic fashion and photography blog from South Africa does not shy away from their African-ness. Run by twins Justice and Innocent Mukheli and childhood friend Vuyo Mpantsha, who are known for their blog being a blend of part fashion part documentation in its presentation. This year, they have officially become Nikon ambassadors and have been featured on a TEDx talk where they laid bare their passion for photography and fashion solidifying the extent of quality they produce.

Photos Credits: http://iseeadifferentyou.tumblr.com


Instagram: 31,200Followers

Yasmina Olfi is a woman from Morrocco who is in a deep loving relationship with all beautiful things.

Besides fashion this encompasses food, nature and décor. Her flare for taking and posing for

beautiful pictures is undeniable.

Photo Credits: http://www.fashionmintea.com

Facebook: 316 Likes



LoveFola is known on the internet by many names. Officially she goes by Folusade Adeoso, but she is most popularly recognized as the “Queen of Head Wraps.” Her blog takes you on a floral, artistic colourful journey where she showcases her fashion sense on the streets of New York. Fola-sade’s work has have been featured in Bust Magazine, Vogue It, Curb Appeal, Okay Africa, Afropunk, and Essence Magazine. The blog also serves as an online store for her own brand of accessories and wax print jewellery; 1953 The Collections.

Photo Credits: Huffington Post

6/ FASHIONMINTEA - MOROCCO


8) THE CURVY AND CURLY CLOSET - SENEGAL -

9/ TEETEE IS WITH ME – SOUTH AFRICA

10/ LOUX THE VINTAGE GURU - ZAMBIA -

Facebook: 6771 Likes



Gaëlle-Vanessa Prudencio has become an inspiration for plus size fashion online. Her blog, The Curvy and Curly Closet documents her

personal style, what works best for women who love their curves. She has managed to cross borders and represents brands in both Africa and

Europe including Belya or Pauline and Julie among others.

Photos Creditst: thecurvyandcurlycloset.com


Instagram: 5096 Followers


Thithi Nteta is not your typical IT girl; she personifies intense class that is very uncommon with fashion bloggers while still being bold, and full of life. More than anything, she always remains authentic, not necessarily sticking to trends but constantly staying true to what she recognizes as stylish. Jameson Whiskey, Glamour Magazine, and Garner Skin Natural Water are only a few of the brands and magazines that have used her digital voice to increase their sales, while numerous people all over Africa visit her blog for inspiration


Lourens Gebhart is a man with style, who likes the vintage. Usually in jacket he represents male sophistication. We can call him perfect gentleman !

Photo Credits: Loux The Vintage Guru

Photos Credits: Teeteeiswithme.com


FAVORITE // GHANA

« HAVING GOOD BRANDING IS ESSENTIAL »

AKOSUA AFRIYIE-KUMI


Why and when did you decide to go back to Ghana?

Ghana is my home, a beautiful ex-panse of land. It’s also where my family lives and I am very fond of them. My main aim of studying in the UK was to broaden my mind in my field, gain a wealth of experience and finally come back to Ghana to support the creative art and design industry and build a luxury African brand.

You are the owner and the crea-tive director of A.A.K.S. Tell us more about the brand and its concept.

A.A.K.S is a luxury accessories brand that creates handcraf-ted quality bags in modern styles whilst maintaining the spirit of Africa through traditional methods of weaving with bright exube-rant colors. Our design philoso-phy prioritizes attention to detail, authenticity of technique and ethi-cal values to shape a truly unique product. Each collection silhouette tells a different story through detail, color and shape. At A.A.K.S, we maintain control over every stage of the design and production pro-cess to ensure that the end result is embedded with the spirit and soul worthy of the A.A.K.S’ brand.

Raffia seems to be the only ma-terial you use. Can you explain that choice? Is it easy to find it in Ghana? Do you see yourself evol-ving towards other materials in your upcoming collections?

Raffia proved to be the most diffi-cult fibre to find in Ghana. Serendi-pitously, after travelling throughout

the country in search of the elusive fibre, I found it on our family farm in Southern Ghana. It was being grown minimally and only sold to string bead vendors. I immediately knew this was the perfect mate-rial once I felt it! The softness and strength was key and then, when I started looking into its benefits I was completely sold on it. The fibres being organic, natural, re-newal and biodegradable was an inherent ethical value, which was attractive to me and very much in line with the vision and ethos I had for my brand.

Can you explain to our readers the sustainable production pro-cess of an AAKS bag from the raffia fiber to the final product?

The community that I work with to produce our bags uses a traditional weaving technique that has been passed down through generations

in the Ghana’s Northern Region to produce the main body of the bag. There are no machines used in the weaving process. Because the bags are handwoven by indivi-duals, each bag retains an inherent uniqueness and this is what our handcraft entails.

The weaving process starts by twis-ting the raw raffia fibres by hand af-ter they have been ecologically har-vested. After twisting about 10,000 strands, we gather the raffia and prepare a dye bath. The dye bath consists of natural and a few che-mical dyes mixed into boiling water; sometimes even natural tree bark is used in the bath to create good color intensity. It takes approxima-tely 10 - 30 minutes to dye each strand depending on the color we want to achieve; the dyed raffia is dried in the direct sun. To create the base shape of each bag, weavers maneuver the strands between their fingertips, skillfully handling the raffia until the bags take shape.

The woven body is then transpor-ted back to my studio, a 12 hours drive away in Kumasi, Ghana for fi-nishing. This is where the sewing of linings (usually cotton or linen with drawstring closures), hand stitching of buckles and leather handles fi-nalize the bag. After a final quality control, the bags are then ready for postage to stores such as Anthro-pologie USA and clients worldwide.

To be concrete, how does A.A.K.S affect the lives of rural women in Ghana?

By creating our bags in the com-munity and working with rural wo-men and men we impact the lives of our weavers greatly by providing

‘At A.A.K.S, we maintain control over every stage of the design and pro-duction process to en-

sure that the end result is embedded with the spirit

and soul worthy of the A.A.K.S’ brand.’

Everyone who sees an A.A.K.S bag instantly falls in love with its authenticity and its aesthetic. What Akosua Afriyie-Kumi does with her products is magic: she manages to transform tradition into luxury. Her bags are both extremely contemporary, and very traditional. This fashion accessories designer graduated with a BA honors in Fashion from Kingston University in London. Then she embarked on a journey to Ghana (her homeland), to start her own fashion business. A.A.K.S, the name of her brand, simply means Akosua Afriyie-Kumi and Siblings….


employment to the local commu-nity. We ensure the continuity of weaving as an art technique that can be passed down to the youn-ger generation and encourage it to be valued as a major income earner for many in the cooperative.

Each bag is handcrafted, how do you maintain the quality of the product and how do you avoid mistakes?We maintain product quality and uniformity by using drawings and measuring tapes. Most weavers can’t read or write so there are bound to be a lot of mistakes when producing products by hand. But this is the beauty of hand made products where each piece is dif-ferent. It gives the bags that extra edge and customers around the world appreciate having a bag that no one else has, due to a slight change in size or color.

A.A.K.S is a young brand, but your products are available basi-cally worldwide (USA, Canada, France, Kenya, Ghana, Germany, UK, South Africa). How did you overcome the distribution issues faced by young brands?»It was and still is a tough journey as a new brand in the accessories market to be stocked by prestigious stores such as Anthropologie, Re-formation, KISUA, etc., in a short space of time. But through social media and identifying with stores which sits directly in my brand ethos, I was able to contact them easily via email and many were very excited about my products too, which worked to my favour! If I could give one piece of advice, I would say that having good bran-ding is essential.

You are evolving in a very com-petitive industry. That being said,

how do you set your brand apart from the competition in terms of marketing & communication strategy?We aim directly at our target mar-ket through stories on our social media, websites and also personal contacts. Telling our story of make, showcasing our behind the scenes processes and letting customers know who made their unique A.A.K.S bag that they are wearing today forms an integral part of our business. Through social media our brand is truly highlighted and reaches the right consumer who can be anywhere in the world.

How do you see A.A.K.S in 10 years?I see A.A.K.S being in major stores worldwide and possibly having our own stand-alone store in a major city.

Interviewed by Joan Yombo

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INSPIR’INTERVIEW // UGANDA

Here it is! We’ve always wanted to interview an African entrepreneur based in Germany. Why? Think about it. We don’t know many things about African presence in this country. Who for example can name 10 African designers or brands based in Germany? Beatrice Oola can. Born and raised in Germany and originally from Uganda, she founded Africa Fashion Day Berlin in 2012. She started thinking about that project in 2009-2010, while she was in Uganda for quite a long period. She exchanged with designers, musicians, and filmmakers on the ground and realised there was a wave coming: African Culture, especially fashion, was beginning to cross borders…

BEATRICE OOLA

AFRICAN FASHION DAY BERLIN: “WE WANT AFRICAN BRANDS IN STORES! ”

Africa Fashion Day Berlin 2015 Edition



1/ Creator of Maxhosa by Laduma : http://www.maxhosa.co.za

Inspire Afrika: Is AFDB your first project?Beatrice Oola: Yes, AFDB is my first entrepreneurial project. Initially, I’m coming from the production field. I worked for film production companies as a production designer, and after that, I also worked as a stylist. So l have got all this creative experience, but working in pro-duction helped me organize and canalize that creativity.AFDB was a way to do so-mething where I had skills. But I also wanted to bring people together and create a kind of feeling.As I see it, people are some-times not aware about their identity (who they are, where they really belong to, etc.) when they are having for example a white German father and an Afri-can mother, or when parents are separated.Therefore, I believe everyone needs space, a stage where they can find people who have the same mind-set than them.

What is the aim of AFDB?

The aim is simple: giving African designers access to the fashion industry and allowing them to get the opportunities to sell their products. We want to make sure every designer makes real business and builds a solid network of buyers, stores, or re-tailers. At the end of the day, we want African brands in stores.

This is exactly what we need. Because we see those desi-gners in Fashion weeks, but we never know where to buy their products….

Yes! And I’m facing it every day in Germany. But I also realised that the process to achieve that goal is not easy: You can have

a really good product, but you need to have the trust of the buyer. If you are participating on an exhibition one season and you are not there the next sea-son for example, it’s bad for bu-siness: the buyer will think your business model is not stable.Even if their market is located on the continent, it’s also impor-tant for African designers to sell abroad. But making this move is hard. That is why we are looking for opportunities for them and the first step for us was to get cooperation with the PREMIUM International Trade Show, one of Europe largest fashion fair. So designers can show their collec-tions during 3 days.On this same fashion fair, you have international brands like Hugo Boss, Victoria Beckham, Karl Lagerfeld, which are pre-senting their new collection. So this is where you can real-ly talk with buyers, exchange ideas, get advices, etc.

Is there really a place for Afri-can Fashion Brands in the German market?

Definitely! I see the way German Fashion industry is changing. It’s becoming more global. Last year, the South African designer Laduma Ngxokolo1 won the PREMIUM Berlin’s Young Talent prize. This showed me that there is interest in African Fashion. If we had more stores here in Hamburg, people would buy African Fashion. There is defini-tely a clientele.

However, it’s important to men-tion that the quality of the pro-duct is the main issue in order to get the attention of buyers and to become a global brand. If the product is not 100% well done, you can’t sell. It also depends on the type of product: in my opi-nion, accessories, shoes, bags and jewellery are an easier way to enter the market. Clothes are more complicated.

We see a lot of creativity in Africa. That is a fact. But some designers cannot ensure a lar-ger market demand yet. The production is still at the arti-sanal level…

You are right. There are big chal-lenges that surround the fashion industry on the continent. But I think governments need to ex-ploit that creativity and that po-tential we have: Making laws or creating a framework that would make it easier for designers to conduct business. They have to come up with budgets for this creative industry.I think it might be interesting to find out which country can produce what and to connect those countries to ensure effec-tive cooperation. Ethiopia for example is the kingdom of lea-ther, while Ivory Coast is a great producer of cotton. Something has to be done with that!The Second hand market is also an issue governments need to handle. Regulating this market means creating new jobs. Local designers will be able to pro-duce and sell more.But I believe there is potential. I see great concepts every day. Take Kisua, for example, the online shop: this is an innovative way of making sure this fashion industry would work. We need to connect and promote these kind of ideas so people are aware of

‘Forget about the beauti-ful picture of the beautiful product. What happens

before and after the design of any fashion product is

HUGE.’

BEATRICE OOLA


them here in Europe.We can see that ideas are coming up and the structure of the industry is getting better. We have fashion actors on the continent and they are playing a big role. Things are mo-ving. Slowly, but they are moving.

It’s funny you mentioned Kisua, I actually have a quote from Sa-muel Mensah, the founder, and I would like to have your opinion about it: « The foundation of any fashion brand of course is the creative. The product has to be desirable. But to be honest, while that’s

very important, it’s only about 20%of what we do. The other 80% is finance, product manage-ment, logistics, and supply chain management...»

Oh definitely! The main thing, as he said, is coordinating, organizing, controlling the production, mana-ging, and doing research.… There is actually a lot of administrative work behind a brand. Forget about the beautiful picture of the beautiful product. What happens before and after the design of any fashion pro-duct is HUGE.

The truth is, African designers need to be educated. They need to know how to make money out of their creation and how to do real bu-siness.While working with designers, I

‘People here in Germa-ny tell me: “When we are travelling to some African countries, we

don’t see so many people wearing African

Fashion. Why?” It is confusing for them’

Beatrice Oola (third from the left) surrounded by designers and bloggers



realised some of them don’t know what an order sheet is. This pa-per is important for any designer. If you not have an order sheet, how can you do business? In the same idea, some designers don’t have lookbooks and don’t know the difference between a look-book and an edi-torial! It’s all about appearing in ma-gazines next to some cool cele-brities. But that does not put you in a store.

With AFDB, I’m also trying to play that “educatio-nal” role, and give those designers practical skills, through works-hops: Where you learn how to present your-self, how to pre-sent your brand, how to do proper research of the market and of the product, When to

organize press days, etc. Of course, when you have never done these steps and you have always being designing, you don’t have the right skills.

I will add that it is always good to have a mentor, or people who give you advice. To really sell, you need to understand the product and the consumer.

They are people who say that Fashion Weeks in Africa are useless because African people don’t wear African Fashion. What is your opinion about that?

Indeed. I experience it myself every time I go to Ugan-da. I notice that my cousins don’t really wear African brands.

To be honest, it is very sad. I think it has to do also with history. It seems like Made in Africa doesn’t count. Fashion has to come from Europe to be accepted.People here in Germany tell me: “When we are travel-ling to some African countries, we don’t see so many people wearing African Fashion. Why?” It is confusing for them: you try hard to promote all this creativity and all those amazing products, and at the same time, your own people are not wearing them!

However, regarding this topic, my feeling is that the younger generation is prouder of its origins, and more aware that Africa is rising, whereas it’s very difficult to change mentalities in the older generation.More campaigns are needed, to explain to people why it is important to buy our own products. I think about Diana Opoti’s campaign 100 days of African Fashion, which is a great example of how to promote local brands.

Let’s go back to AFDB? How did you get funds to launch it? Do you have any “financial tips” to share with our readers?

Hum…. (Pause). Finding money is a permanent chal-lenge. With the financial crisis, I realised that people are not willing to give their money anymore. Therefore, things are getting harder for young companies. That’s why we have to be creative to find money.When I came up with the idea of AFDB, I thought it would be easy to fund it because there were so many companies here in Germany who are doing business with Africa. But I figured out they were not interested in creative industries or in fashion at all. So far, I have been always lucky to meet the right people at the right time. Of course I invested my own money in the project, but I also reached out to the government. I managed to have a lot of support from them and from some companies for the first season _ because the project was brand new _, but it all stopped the next year.I also found some rich investors who were interested in the project and did small sponsorships. Hamburg is one of the richest cities of the country, so you can find that kind of people. But then again, you need to have a solid network.Finally, I was addressing institutions and foundations, especially in the continent. South Africa for example offers great packages for designers, making it possible for them to fly over abroad to upgrade their work.If you are a designer, you can always apply to Euro-pean and International programmes.But what is definitely helping the young generation to-day is the World Wide Web. It has to start there!

Beatrice Oola (third from the left) surrounded by designers and bloggers


ALPHADI : MONUMENTAL !

By Louis Gilbert BISSEK

The elixir of youth does exist! 30 years of career and not a wrinkle.

Alphadi is one of the precursors of African fashion - as Chris Seydou and Pathé’O - who paved the way for young designers.

We don’t talk about Alphadi, we experience him. We contemplate his work as we would listen to a classic jazz created to generate a perpetual enchantment, and to accompany our days and nights.

Seidnaly Sidahmed, which is his real name, is an icon of African culture, as iconic as the mythical ‘fez’ which he never separates from.

He has multiple nicknames: «Prince of the Desert», «Magician of the Desert» - for his noble Tuareg and Berber ancestry and his birth in Timbuktu in Mali - or «African Yves Saint Laurent». Nevertheless, he remains human through the ages, an ambas-sador of the African style and fashion, to which he is viscerally associated.

«Every day is a beautiful day in Africa.»

CAREER // NIGER


Crédits : Stéphane Tourné


Heavy-dutyOne would forget that he began his professional life with university education in Tourism and Marketing in Paris before joining the Nigerian public service as director of the Tourism Ministry.But it was not taking into account his passion for fashion and creation. Taking a chance in 1983, he forwent a high official career to devote himself exclusively to fashion and create the eponymous brand in 1985. A challenge! However, the comfort and the prestige that comes with such a comfortable social position was certain, especially in a country of 17.6 million inhabitants that is considered one of the poorest on the planet and which the World Bank estimates the GDP per capita to be at 403.4$. Yet this plunge into the abyss was only the logical consequence of an assiduous attendance to fashion shows and an academic training at the Chardon Savard Workshop during his studies in Paris.In 1987, the French Federation of Couture and Ready to Wear awarded him his first prize in Paris: the Oscar for Best African stylist. This was the beginning of a great career.30 years later, what is still motivating this tireless creator?The many achievements, accolades and honorary titles he has accumulated over the years are most notably: being received by President Obama’s Entrepreneurship Summit in Washington in 2010 to represent Niger and being crowned Artist for Peace by UNESCO in 2015. His ambition is his will to see Africans wear local jewelry and clothes. This determination led him to be consecrated as one of the most ardent promoters of African fashion. It is for this purpose that Alphadi founded in 1994 the African Federation of Couture (CAF), which he still presides today. As such, he educates investors and African policy makers on the importance of the Fashion and Textiles sector as a vector of economic, social and cultural development. «My fight has always been to give a chance to the African culture to be known and to grow. This way our culture should permanently replace our way of reaching out» he insists.In 2004 Alphadi showcased his Haute Couture designs in Paris, at the GALLIERA museum with some pieces engraved in silver plates by Tuareg artisans. One of his splendid coats was even offered to the museum and it is now part of its collection.

FIMA: a dream, a visionFor this idealistic designer: «Every day is a beautiful day in Africa.»Alphadi is a guarantee of quality in the globalized world of fashion. The brand dresses the sophisticated of Africa - including

several First Ladies1 - and presents clothing, jewelry, accessories, leather goods and fragrances2 in five boutiques worldwide. His collections are street-wear and haute couture and they mobilize 200 employees. He maintains prestigious partnerships with brands such as Wrangler for Alphadi Jeans since 1999. These collections are all seeking one thing: «to reflect the soul of Africa» as the creator likes to put it, by incorporating fabrics made from Ugandan trees or details inspired by the Songhai, Zarma, Bororo, Hausa and Tuareg people.Alphadi is not only a visionary or a registered trademark, but also a laboratory of solutions for Africa and the fashion industry, which creates jobs, stimulates and refines the industry know-how. So his clothes are manufactured in seven workshops located in Niger, Mali, Ivory Coast and Morocco.Undeniably the International Festival of African Fashion (FIMA) is his seminal work. Fashion Week event

launched in 1998 and held every two years, FIMA is in its 10th edition this November 2015, with 2,000 participants and 1,400 jobs created at each event.This festival, a pioneer in Africa, aims to encourage new talents and offer them economic opportunities and visibility. It is also an opportunity to show to the world the diversity, originality and richness of African cultures. Moreover, it was driven by the desire to open up an area plagued by the Tuareg rebellion, bringing life and tourism in the desert Tiguidit, World Heritage of

1/ Hinda Déby Itno (Chad), Djene Kaba Condé (Guinea-Conakry), and Danielle Mitterand (France), wear or have worn his clothes 2/ Perfume AIR

Alphadi and his son . Credits : CORALIE RABADAN


UNESCO. The event helped build an 80km road from Agadez to the site and implement an electrical network.Its first edition was a major hit: 26 prestigious designers including Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Lacroix, Kenzo, Thierry Mugler, Paco Rabanne, Trussardi, Pathé’O ; 300 Haute Couture models; 110 renowned models including Katoucha, Satya Oblet, Alek Wek, Anna Getaneh; and five African heads of state all participated and were installed in 1500 equiped tents. Alphadi realized one of his dreams: to bring together African designers alongside the greatest Western artists.20 years later, the enthusiasm does not disappear. For the 2015 edition, 350 designers submitted their candidature for the «young designers contest» competing for an availability of ten seats only. The lucky winners will be fully supported in Niger during the festival and the Nigerian singer Yemi Alade will be present.Since its first edition, FIMA, which has become a tool of infrastructural, economical, touristic and social development of Niger, has inspired other events where Alphadi does not hesitate to give advice to the initiators. Such events include the International African Fashion Fair of Dakar (SIRA Vision) of the stylist Colle Sow Ardo or the Black Fashion week of Adama Ndiaye.

For posterityDespite all his achievements, Alphadi has found time to have a family of six, and better still he is training his oldest son – Moulaye Seidnaly – to follow in his footsteps. As enterprising as his father, the young man of 28 years believes in Africa. Responsible for the development of the brand Alphadi and general coordinator of the FIMA events since 2012, this pure product of Paris’ universities sees wide.He established a communications agency project that has already taken shape: African Prestige. The ambition is three-dimensional. First, it provides communications advice, events, PR3 and digital support to fashion designers who want to establish their brand. Then it assists them in the marketing and distribution of products. It will later evolve into a media platform dedicated to art, fashion and culture on the continent. Indeed, he imagined this structure after realizing that being an entrepreneur in the fashion industry demands time since the ROI4 is not immediate. As he puts it: «In entrepreneurship, we must think differently. Especially when we are not operating in the fossil fuel and raw materials sectors that are extremely lucrative in the short term”.Furthermore, Moulaye Seidnaly is aware that vocational training is a major factor in the growth of the continent. In this he joins Alphadi who tirelessly repeats: «Fashion and culture are the industries that can raise Africa to the ranks of prosperous nations».In this logic, Alphadi has carved out a tailored project: to build the School of Fashion and Arts (ESMA) in Niamey. The idea is to train new African designers to the economy of fashion, fashion design, management and diploma courses for «little hands». In doing so, the Pan-African academy will help students to practice their trade in their home countries, to contribute to local economies by opening shops, making products and creating jobs. The first classes began with fifty students to gradually reach 200 students and more. The sponsor of this school is the prestigious embroiderer Francois Lesage.The project already has national support (the Niger government sold 3000m² of land) and international support as well (the African Union, the European Union and the French and Luxembourg Cooperation were also requested to take part. Alphadi has even worked with the Atelier Chardon Savard to design the programs.ESMA will probably benefit of a popular plebiscite with Moulaye’s first. After all, did Confucius not say: «When Father and Son agree, the family flourishes»?The house Alphadi has good days coming ahead in its future...

«Fashion and culture are the industries that can raise Africa to the ranks of

prosperous nations».

3/ Public Relations 4/ Return on investment

DARE TO INSPIRE // DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

Katia BUMBAThe Queen Bee

By Louis Gilbert BISSEK

Dress: Imperial bee, Imperial bee, Collection «festival de Cannes»

by Kate Bee; Shoes: Louboutin

Miss BumbaHowever, Katia Bumba does not let any of it show.»I am all yours», she says. Behind her pretty, courteous and affable appearance lies a business woman with a passion for fashion and enough persuasive power to convince the model Noémie Lenoir to be the face of her new concept store: Aloha Paris. At 25, Katia Bumba is not at her first try. Two years earlier, having barely graduated with a marketing and communications diploma from IPAG Business School in Paris, she launched a store dedicated to women ready-to-wear luxury items, with her older sister Nathalie. Located on the street Faubourg Saint Honoré, in Paris’s chic 8th Arrondissement, Aloha Paris offers clothes, shoes and designer handbags from designers around the world, in limited editions. She decided not to have an academic background solely focused on fashion, in order to be as polyvalent as possible. «Business school allowed me to reorient myself more than a fashion school would have» she says pragmatically. In her former academy, she was co-president and co-

founder of the association «IPAG’MOD for charity». Professionally she went from commercial assistant for the Haute Couture brand Alexander Mc Queen in London to public relations specialist for the Spanish jeweller Elena Canter. She was also a community manager for the French fashion and lifestyle magazine for women, Be Magazine, in Paris. As a real Globe-trotter, Katia Bumba has never seen the borders of France as a limit to her learning, and she gave herself the means to master French, English, Spanish, Lingala1 as well as basic Mandarin.

I’m ... Kate Bee Kate Bee is to Katia Bumba, what Sasha Fierce2 is to Beyonce Knowles: the artistic personification of her alter ego. «Kate is the English version of my first name and Bee is the first letter of my last name. Kate Bee is the way I want to picture a woman: feminine, confident, hard working and comfortable with her own body.», she admits that she inspired herself from Beyonce aka Queen Bee’s feminine discourse. It is no coincidence that the logo of the brand is a bee. The success of the launch and the busy calendar of

«There is an entire world between paper and reality!» suddenly exclaimed Katia Bumba after 45 min of conversation. This was followed by hysterical laughter and which was recurring between the five members of the interview. 45 min earlier - on September 24th, at 7:00 pm - under a stormy sky, at the beginning of the Parisian fall, it is with a sparkle in her eyes, a large smile and open arms that she welcomed us in her apartment, even though we were late. It was our first meeting. «I was waiting for you guys!» she said without losing her joyous mood, «unfortunately, we will have to hurry because I have an appointment in an hour and a half». More relaxed than nervous, she picks up her phone and whispers a few words to announce a late arrival to her next meeting. The pressure is now upon us.If you are picturing the everyday life of an entrepreneur on which the sun never sets, you are entirely right. The timeline is what is more specific. A few days before the start of the annual Paris Fashion Week in October, every second counts for this young designer. Her long days are getting even longer. It is hard to bypass the pressure when on October 3rd, the latest collection of her new brand - Kate Bee - will be presented on worldwide television broadcast from a luxurious establishment of the Champs Elysées - the Hotel California - directly after the Elie SAAB show. «Kate Bee» now swims with the big fishes.

INSPIRE AFRIKA MAGAZINE / NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2015 25

1/ Bantou language spoken in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Congo an in a small part of the Central African Republic. 2/ « I’m…Sacha Fierce » is the 3rd Album of Beyonce Carter Knowles


«Kate Bee» predicts a promising future. Indeed, 20 out of the 27 pieces of the first collection showcased at the «Paris Fashion Week» will be presented at the Designer contest in Nice on November 19th and at the Galeries Lafayette Show Room in December. Katia Bumba wants to go even further. She follows the African continent and its numerous «Fashion Weeks» closely - for instance, the new «Brazza Fashion Night». Her interest goes even further because her sister and business partner is the director of a clothing boutique in the Republic of Congo and because she believes that: «Africa is the future of humanity «. As a self-taught stylist, it is with a lot of self-assurance and imagination that Katia designed the first items of her Kate Bee collection: «Festival de Cannes», for which, helped by a confirmed stylist, she found inspiration from

the red carpet of the eminent Cannes Festival. For the dress fabrics, instead of using stereotypical African fabrics such as wax, she opted for noble fabrics like silk crepe and satin, mixed with muslin or Swarovski strass and beads: «I’ve chosen not to use wax in my creations. It is sometime misused. Many people forget that Wax is not completely African. A number of people wear it without ever having set foot in Africa.» With a mix of a light-heartedness and conviction, she evaluates the progress made and the remaining progress and confesses: «My entrepreneurial secrets are: take risks, be courageous, have self-esteem and trust your associates. When I look back at the business plans I had as a student, they seem so far away and unrealistic... You know, there is an entire world between paper and reality!»

Hysterical laughter by all...

« Kate Bee is the way I want to picture a woman : feminine, confident, hard wor-

king and comfortable with her own body »

Dress: Hervé Léger; Shoes: Louboutin

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INSPIR’START UP // CENTRAFRICAN REPUBLIC

LOZA MALEOMBHO

Interviewed by Louis Gilbert BISSEK

«My desire is to help artisans expand their activities.»

Loza Malembho, Spring/Summer 2016: Zaouli Collection


Inspire Afrika : How did you find the idea to launch your brand? Loza Maleombho : I started the brand when I was still in New York. What motivated me was to be able to ex-ploit traditional textile resources and make them accessible on an interna-tional level. I did many internships with stylists in New York to learn the craft and understand how the production and development of a brand worked. Once I felt ready, I started working on my own brand.

I.A : Why did you use the name Loza Maleombho for your brand?L.M : I chose to name it Loza Maleom-bho because it is an uncommon name that reflects my African origins. I inhe-rited this name from my father who is from Central Africa. It was a tribute to my family and it was a way to talk about my personal traditions in an artistic manner, while mixing it with my work.

I.A : You created your brand in 2009, in the United States and relocated to Ivory Coast in 2012. How did the move go? L.M : On an administrative level, eve-rything takes more time in a country like Ivory Coast. On an artistic point of view, the move was very rapid. Thanks to material resources, inspiration came rapidly. Financially, it was difficult at first but it ended up working out.

I.A : What type of qualifications were required to build your team? Was it

hard to find them? A lot of tailors do ready-to-wear crea-tion. It is something that you notice right away. However, these tailors are not necessarily qualified to meet interna-tional standards, with specific finishing and sizes, because their work is made-to-measure and especially because it

is artisanal work and therefore in low quantity. It was difficult at first to train them to create patterns that met big quantities and sizes. Since producing in large quantities is a new concept for them, a switch in skills and mentality was the challenge.

I.A : You are also famous for your sandals. How long does it take you to produce a pair? How do you de-cide on the number of sandals to make per year? L.M : Per week, I make from 100 to 200 pairs. There is a lot that can hap-pen on the African scene that impacts the production time frame (weddings, baptisms etc.).The African Market is not always steady. In a month, we can make 500 or 600 pairs and not

make any the following month. It is not always constant. Everything depends on the demand. At first I was wor-king on a pre-order basis but we have evolved and now make a certain num-ber of sandals and put them out into the market.

I.A : What are your favorite fabrics? L.M : I use a lot of the Ghanaian Kita fabric. It is a very colourful fabric, with a lot of patterns, weaved in an artisanal manner. It is made from natural cotton, therefore it is 100% cotton. I also use a lot of Baoulé fabric; made in Ivory Coast with a different weaving than the Kita fabric; as well as hessian and fa-brics that go well with light cotton such as silk or organza.

I.A : What impact do you think you have on the local artisans of your region? L.M : can’t talk about a big impact yet because I believe that I can still go much further, but I wish to help artisans expand their activities. I work with shoes makers, jewelers, and fabric makers. I think that in the long run the impact will be more important.

I.A : In what countries do your online products sell best and what are the restrictions and/or advantages that you’ve met there? L.M : For now, I mostly sell in Nigeria, South Africa and in the United States. I would say that they are my biggest

You may have seen her outfits or famous sandals on the chic neighborhoods of Lagos, Cape Town or New York. Ever since Solange Knowles publicized her - on her blog saintheron.com - fashionistas from all over the world adopted her style. Originally from Ivory Coast and Central Africa - from an Ivorian mother and a Central African father - born in Brazil and raised in the United States, LOZA MALEOMBHO, 30 years old, finds her inspiration from African cultural heritage. It is no coincidence that she chose to relocate her eponymous brand to Ivory Coast in 2012 - a country with about sixty ethnic groups - after its creation in the United States in 2009, in order to valorize the African cultural wealth on the international scene. She created a 2.0 fashion where the digital tool is one of her best allies, whether with her online e-shop or the me-diatisation of marketing and its accomplishments. However, this Vogue Talent 20151 contestant is well grounded. LOZA MALEOMBHO hired up to fifteen independent Ivorian tailors, before opting for the services of four permanent employees. Her dream is to train African tailors and to raise their expertise to international standards, in order to bring light to their talent. If you want to buy an original and audacious outfit or a pair of Spartan sandals for the next hype party of the most exclu-sive club of your town, there is a lot to bet that you will find your happiness amongst the 200 to 300 annual outfits and 500 to 600 monthly sandals that Loza Maleombho produces.What if the new bohemian chic style was African? Meeting with the woman who is creating a revolution.

1/ She was named in the 11 emergent stylists of 2015, for the Vogue Talents contest organised by Vogue Italia.

‘ I have the biggest advan-tage in the United States be-cause of AGOA that enables Africans to export their pro-

ducts to America without paying taxes.’


1/ African Growth and Opportunity Act adopted in May 2000, it supports African country’s economy by easing their access to the american market if they follow liberal economic principal.

clients. I have the biggest advantage in the United States because of AGOA1 that enables Africans to export their products to America without paying taxes.

I.A : What are the advantages and disadvantages of having an E-shop? L.M : The advantage is that the pro-cess is very fast. The client is at home and clicks on a button. From there, the money transfer and the order are instantaneous and this allows me to organise a very fast delivery. It is a lot easier to manage. It allows us to save money on the rent of a shop and on manpower. The inconvenience comes from the fact that the client cannot try the product in advance. There is a re-turn policy on the product that can be an inconvenient. I’ve rarely been faced

with such problems, but when it does happen, I allow clients to re-send the product and/or to do an exchange.

I.A : How did the contests in which you participated help you? Do you think that it is the best strategy to gain credibility and fame? L.M : It was a way for me to present my collections. The first African fashion week in which I participated was the Lagos one, following which I received the prize of “emergent stylist of the year». It gave me a lot of visibility in Africa and in the diaspora. Strategically, it is not the fact of winning a contest that gives a brand credibility. It all lays in the brand’s image. If the brand is coherent, qualitative and present on social media, it will have an advantage. Social media gives young independent

brands a chance to launch. In order to properly launch a brand, an emphasis should be put on social media.

I.A : What is your advice for those that want to start in your field? L.M : The first thing is to be coura-geous. You really need to have a pre-cise idea of what you want to do. You also have to be sure that this is really what you want to do. When you create a clothing line, it is necessary to make sure that the brand image is coherent throughout all seasons. Everything that is visual and branding related has to be linked to the brand’s image. It is not about simply creating an outfit and sel-ling it. There is a whole team behind it. The product has to be of quality and follow international standards. These are the most important points.

Loza Maleombho


INSPIR’ORGANIZATION // SENEGAL

ERIC COLY : « I KNOW IT IS POSSIBLE »

Hi Éric, could you introduce yourself to the magazine’s readers? I am Éric Coly, a young social entrepre-neur originally from Senegal. After 11 years of working in finance1, I realised that I was not happy and that nothing was pushing me to wake up every morning. I decided to provoke my own destiny, and to go towards what I really loved. It was not easy at first because I had to leave an excellent

job. I decided to launch a platform that would connect fashion and education of young girls, two topics that are dear to my heart.

Why fashion?I was strongly influenced by my mo-ther, who sensitized me to her passion: fashion, at a very young age. I was her clothing assistant when she would get ready for galas or parties. I think that I

was lucky in that sense. In my opinion, fashion is an excellent way to display the artwork of the girls that we help out.

“Le Dessein”. This is an interesting name for an association. Can you explain it? Also, what does “Luh deh – san » mean?«Le dessein» means the object or the project. This truly represents the mind-set in which I was at the time. In addi-

Did you know this: Women represent 2/3 of the illiterate population of the world (774 million in total); more than 65 million young girls aged between 6 and 12 don’t go to school in developing countries; once she becomes active, a woman rein-vests an average of 90% of her revenue in her family’s spending, against 30 to 35% only for a man. Éric Coly did not need to see these numbers to understand that education is a major challenge for young African girls. By creating the ethnic clothing line « Le Dessein » - distributed in Los Angeles - he set on an ambitious bet: contribute to girls’ education, through fashion and art. The bet is bound to be successful because in 3 years, « Le Dessein » has enabled 30 young girls to attend school.

1/ Éric used to work in an investment bank


tion, this name has a double meaning that further illustrates the association: « Dessein » is pronounced the same as the French word « Dessin » which means drawing. It therefore represents a project but also girls drawing the pat-terns of the collections that we create. « Luh-deh-san » is just a way to help English speakers pronounce the name of the asso-ciation.

How did you reach a point where you managed to connect fashion and young girls’ education? Those two areas seem far from each other... The original idea when I created the organization was to help young girls un-derstand that they have value. I wanted to help them regain self-confidence. Once these girls be-come aware of their value, girls in the same situation will realise that they have value too. It is a contagious illness! (Laughs ...)Today, I am proud to say that many women across the world wear clothes in which I have participated. I would like for these young girls to be able to say the same thing. Besides the money that they can make, they are able to see the value of their work.

How does manufacturing take place for a collection?The fabrication process varies from 6 months to a year. The clothes pro-duction starts at the same time as the drawing workshops destined to girls. The girls then submit their drawings and several are selected to be part of the new collection. The drawings are

integrated to the clothes. At this point, we do an arbitration between the styles of the drawings and the outfits. We carefully select the adequate sizes, shapes, colors etc. Once the produc-tion is over, the collection is showcased through different fashion shows, mostly

in the United States.

How does it work on site for the girls? Do they all know how to draw? Are they paid for their drawings? The girls have a drawing teacher. They dedicate between one and two weeks to learning how to draw properly and they are coached to be able to propose their clothing creations. You can ima-gine that the clothes wouldn’t sell well if the drawings weren’t accomplished. 25% of the benefits made out of the clothing sale are redistributed to the

organisations with which we partner in Liberia1 and Haiti. They are in charge of allocating the gains to schools and making sure that each girl can use a part of it.

Why did you chose Liberia to build your organization? There are so many countries in Africa. Also, we would have expected for you to choose Senegal first. To be honest, I met my main partner at a party, by coincidence. The connexion was instan-taneous. We started tal-king and I realised that she had a foundation in Liberia that enabled access to education for young girls. It was the right time and I met a person that had already dedicated her life to the cause of girls’ educa-tion. The choice of Libe-ria was completely inci-dental. By 2016, I aspire to go back to Senegal, to get

closer to other organization.

So in conclusion, what is « Le Dessein »: a clothing line? An association? Le Dessein is a brand car-ried by an association. One could not exist without the other.

What is it that inspires you on a daily basis? I come from a forward looking family in terms of women’s rights. My grandmo-ther was the first midwife of her town and she went to university in 1921. My mother, did pharmacy studies and my two sisters are lawyers who graduated from a Master of Public Health in Lon-don. I see the potential of women on a daily basis. I see what they are capable of. I know that there is still a long way to go, but I know it is possible.


‘Today, I am proud to say that many women across the world wear clothes in which I have participated. I would like for

these young girls to be able to say the same thing. Besides the money that they can make, they are able to see the value of their work.’

2/ In Liberia it is the association More Than Me Academy


INSPIR’ECO

In 2015, the global fashion industry represents 500 billion dollars. Yet the African market only represents 31 Billion dollars. The continent’s share of this market is called to grow despite itself; Diesel and Tommy Hilfiger, are not the only ones who want to work with Ethiopia. Moreover, the figures show that there is a real opportunity in this industry. Some 20 years ago, companies such as Woodin or Pathé’O - created and managed respectively in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire - were emerging on the continent and attracting consumers of the high society. This is no longer the case today, even if more and more people want to wear and represent the «Made in Africa». Nevertheless, some countries have decided to hold their own game, even if the road is still long.

Ghana - Collier Fringe with benefits Christie Bown

TEXTILE: WHEN WILL BE THE AFRICAN GIANT

AWAKENING?


South Africa needs to confirm its leadership

The clothing industry, textile, leather and footwear account for 8% of the GDP of South Africa. Unfortunately, this sector is in decline: it employed 80,000 people in 2013 against 181,000 in 2002. However, activities could resume, knowing that 25-30% of clothing sold in South Africa are manufactured within the country. In addition, government investment through the ‘Clothing and Textile Competitiveness Programme’ - which aims to create significant growth in the sector - is a real boost to the industry.

Nigeria is betting on education and financing

Last August the Bank of Industry of Nigeria opened a fund of 4.5 million euros (1 billion Naira) to support businesses run by women and operating in the area of fashion and textile. Each of them have the opportunity to borrow up to 22,000euros (5million Naira) to develop their business. But Nigeria also has education dynamics: 450 students graduate every year out of Yaba College of Technology Fashion School. They are trained to make the fashion industry profitable through several trades. In addition, Nigeria is known for the quality of its prints and its ancestral knowledge on tanning. It supplies many European luxury brands such as Fendi, Hermes and Bottega Veneta.

Ethiopia: The next queen of Leather Ethiopia wants to establish itself as the global leader in of leather production. . In 2012, the ex-portation of leather represented $123 million, equating to 73% of exports. But Ethiopia does not count only on export of leather. This country provides more than 160,000 pieces per month to H & M, the world number 2 Textile and plans to produce four times more pieces in 5 years. The 4th country in Sub-Saharan Africa judging by its growth and the 2nd most populous country on the continent - with 94.1 million inhabitants - is also the country where annual incomes rarely exceed $400/year. If the country is successful in attracting more multinationals, it will undoubte-dly create more jobs, and in the long-term increase the income of its population.

Ghana: The big “loser”

African countries are often subject to sudden changes. In Ghana, the textile industry loses 69 million euros (300 Ghanaian Cedis Billion) each year. This country, which had 40 compa-nies dedicated to textile and garment accessories only 20 years ago, has only four textile facto-ries today. Several countries, such as Cameroon or Ivory Coast have seen their textile industry also die. The question arises: Is the awakening soon to come by?

Chrys Nyetam

Nigeria - Collection TKO Madam de Zashadu

Source for figures : The World Bank


THOUGHTS OF ... // GABON

Can we really speak of «brands» or a fashion industry in Africa?

Azizet Grace Kelly, founder of Wildflowers – a strategy and communications agency for creators - finds it difficult to answer this question with a simple yes or no. The fashion industry is booming, and many ideas remain to be defined. Here is the opinion of the professional who knows the African fashion industry inside out.

GRACE KELLY AZIZET


Define «Made in Africa»

One of the objectives of Wildflowers is to sensitize the African youth to develop pride in consuming African products. A study we conducted on the «Made in Africa» (in collaboration with Afrikrea), reveals that for 64% of afropolitans, the «Made in Africa» is defined by the fact that the creator is African. While for our agency, the term is used when the products are manufactured in Africa. Those who think the same way as we do represent only 54% of the people we interviewed.

Let’s talk about the concept of «brand» in the African context

It is always complicated when one evokes the idea of «Made in Africa» to mention the idea of «brand». The fashion industry is booming. Therefore, there are several «tribes» as we call them in our agency:First we have entrepreneurs whose working base is African crafts. They are found in the distribution channels such as private sales or trading platforms specialized line. These artisans will sublimate the «Made in Africa» by using the wax, and also by offering products that are not really differentiating. They have no outlets or own website to present their universe. Unfortunately, this category represents about 80% of African fashion market according to our study. With these artisans, we call on the price and even the loss leader. Inevitably, they generate the volume, but in terms of structure and visibility, we have no strong brand that pops out. The brand Nana Wax - created by Maureen Ayité - stands out, even if it is evolving towards the premium category.Secondly, we have African-hipsters who will soon become established brands because they work on their branding. Their designs have a clear visual identity and signature. Their target is defined and their visibility is growing because they create a unique universe, particularly through a website and a presence on social networks. Laurence Airlines and Château Rouge, even if they are not on the same niche, belong to this tribe.The leaders of this sector are designers who are in a high-end segment or luxury. Their brands are gaining more and more structure as they

grow and develop, their products are increasingly differentiating: seeing them, you immediately know what brand to associate. In this category I see brands such as Duro Olowi or Zashadu or Madibo.

«Africans do not consume enough the Made in Africa»

Africans from the Diaspora feel as if they have constantly worn foreign brands and today the Afro optimism

that drives them would like for them to claim and value their culture through the prism of the textile, food or the press. It is for this reason that more and more people within the African diaspora consume «Made in Africa».On the continent, particularly in Central Africa, Africans are interested in Western brands because they are familiar with their logos and visual identities. Now, more and more people from the diaspora come back to the continent and bring a certain awareness by offering local initiatives. This changes the game. Therefore, two groups now exist on the continent: the Africans who reclaim the «Made in Africa» and those who are less receptive to this trend, because they already consume local products and feel no need to value Africa: they live there. For the latter category, Africa does not represent the emergence and growth we hear about constantly. Their reality is different. They are in economic misery which implies that they do not feel the need to promote it at their level.

Good students of the continent in terms of structuring the fashion industry...

Countries that lead the way are Nigeria and South Africa, who have

always been proud of their culture. Francophone African countries are a bit behind. In Central Africa, there is no strong initiative that allows a show of cultural pride that is recognized and idealized internationally. At the end, the cultural issue is very sensitive. The designers, sculptors and all those who exercise a profession related to art in general, are not considered. To structure the fashion industry in these countries there will be a need to create an ecosystem capable of offering impactful initiatives and encourage all actors to follow the same dynamic. Moreover, these initiatives should be visible. And like it or not, our diaspora has a role to play in this regard.

Let’s look at the Fashion Week events on the mainland...

There exist more and more of those. Take the example of South Africa. The African Fashion International is an organization of nearly 5 Fashion Weeks, which demonstrates extremely high quality. In some cases, there are on average two Fashion Weeks by country. In Brazzaville, for example, we have the Brazza Fashion Week and the Congo Fashion Week. In Gabon there is the Libreville Fashion Week and Port-Gentil Fashion Week.It should be noted that all these Fashion Weeks are not the same. There is always a leadership problem and ego in our countries so much that instead of coming together to have more visibility, each organizer prefers to organize their Fashion Week in their little corner. But the legendary Fashion Weeks (New York, London, Milan, Paris) are structured around a federation or a Council, with a reference city. This city centralizes all the events with a mission to accompany all creators in order to attract a maximum of buyers and journalists. These strategies have allowed for a greater impact on the industry and have ensured that they develop internationally.In Francophone Africa, Fashion Weeks are numerous, more or less visible, but are lacking in quality. Very often the teams organizing the events are not properly informed and will not be trained properly.. These are not genuine Fashion Week events. Rather they are just parades, events without clear and specific objectives, without

GRACE KELLY AZIZET

Un sac de la marque africaine Zashadu


development dynamics and without vision. The organizers tend to think that only they can do everything; whereas alone you cannot do everything.

... About the relevance of African Fashion Week events organized abroad.

At first, I found the concept too communal, and some buyers dislike this communal side, especially in France. For them, if an African brand wants to be presented, it must be registered in the calendar of regular collections, it does call to the French federation ready-to-wear and it asks to be added in the program shows so that buyers come to discover it. Although African designers have at heart to make fashion and create pieces that seem desirable, they do not know that we must go knock on the door of the federation to integrate this calendar. A creator, who wanted to be presented at the Paris Fashion Week in September 2015, would have had to present his spring-summer collection 2016 for example.In general, the creator must know the volume of production, its cost, and must be prepared to make concessions on its final price. If it is not accompanied and advised it may simply not meet buyers. I found also that there was a militant African side that did not correspond to the fashion industry. But my perspective has changed since. Those who create these fashion weeks abroad do not have an excellent knowledge of the industry, but they still want to promote African fashion through these events. This is what the Black Fashion Week event and the group Adire in New York are doing. They are not necessarily very structured _because these people do not know how to appeal to buyers _ but it is interesting because it allows designers to have visibility, to start to communicate and prepare to meet the press. Many will ignore webzines and bloggers, but they are important players: they know the target of these creators, study it and communicate with them every day. However, the fact that there are several events in this way allowed the fashion industry to realize that something was happening in Africa.

About African modeling agencies

There is an incredible lack of modeling agencies in Africa while we have enormous potential. It is true that the world of modeling is highly codified. To structure this sector, we need people who have worked and who will serve as referents to those who wish to enter this sector. Elite group is rather well established in Africa and is often a good local partner at events. However, I feel that there is often a problem with representatives of those agencies whose training is not adapted to the realities of the continent. They do not know or do not seek to sufficiently forward their initiative, and do not give weight to their action. On Brazza

Fashion Night for example, we had to resort to a wild casting to find models. We had no choice because there was no modeling agency able to provide a homogeneous book whose models could be representative of the image we wanted to give to the event.

About retail

The issue of retail is quite particular in Africa. On one side there are strategy consulting firms (McKinsey, EY, etc.) who say that Africa is the new retail market and that many things will be done in the coming years. Specifically, there are indeed markets such as Nigeria, which are in phase

of maturation with many shopping centers, and concept stores that are created. Take for example Alara store which is the first concept store 100% made in Africa, and is a typical example of what will be the retail of tomorrow in Africa: a shop with young African designers and Western luxury brands who wish to meet young African consumers. Morocco and increasingly Ghana, are in the same category as Nigeria. Angola and Mozambique are in line to become actors of retail. South Africa meanwhile already has a mature market. Then there are the incredible potential markets like Gabon, Rwanda and Ethiopia. But the retail sector is still idle; there are still no key outlets where creators

can distribute. In these markets, the creations of shopping centers are still in talks or in the creation phase. Take the example of ABC Mall of Libreville, which is beginning to have shops. Unfortunately they are not yet visible and do not offer a bid Made in Africa. So, the creators will not be aware that these stores exist and we cannot structure the industry.Unfortunately in Africa, people do not meet to do business. This is a problem of vision and structure and things will change only when a pedagogy will be implemented.

Interview by Chrys Nyetam

Zashadu’s bags


Valérie AyenaPicture by Mirjana Photography Dubai

4 QUESTIONS TO... // CAMEROUN


Valérie Ayena

Inspire Afrika: Hi Valérie! Winning the Miss Cameroon contest has enabled you to compete for Miss World. Do you think that your modelling career has benefited from your participation in this international contest? Valérie AYENA: We have to keep in mind that the Miss Ca-meroon contest has nothing to do with modeling. Regar-ding my career as an international model, I think that I could have made it with or without participating in Miss World. What is crucial in this field is to be at the right place at the right time. I don’t want to sound pretentious, but my agent thinks that if I had not done the break in 2013 to participate in Miss Cameroon, I could have ended up on important in-ternational runways. Miss Cameroon was therefore a sepa-rate experience to that of modeling. My contract as Miss Cameroon prohibited me from working on other campaigns because I represented the country’s image. I.A: What activities did you un-dertake after Miss Cameroon? How is your modeling career going?

V.A: The transition was hard at first. I had to start auditioning again and do physical exercise to meet the criteria of the modeling world. During my Miss Cameroon mandate, I was criticized for being too skinny. When I went back to mode-ling, I wasn’t meeting the criteria anymore. I participated in the MadeOfblack campaign and then I got an opportunity in the Emirates, where I currently live due to my agency, MMG events Dubai. Besides my modeling career, I still take part in charitable actions that I had started when I was ambas-sador for the association OCOS (One Child One Smile) - based in Cameroon - , that fights for access to education for orphan children. I take the opportunity of appearing in your magazine to raise awareness to that cause and I invite your readers to follow our Facebook page and Instagram account. I was also asked to organise a Fashion Week in Chad, but for now it is still at the creation stage, it will de-pend on the sponsors that we are able to get.

IA: What are the difficulties that you faced as a black model in the international scene and how did you over-come them so far?

VA: The fashion world is a very closed industry to pene-trate, even if it seems open to everybody. Being black makes things even harder. When we audition, the recruiters consistently try to put us in specific categories. You have to have a Naomi Campbell or Grace Jones-like profile: I spare you the other categories… I remember participating in an audition where I was told that my skin was not black but Cappuccino color. The people that did my audition, placed me in a different category that the girl with a very dark skin to whom they most often turn to. It is complicated because even if the world is changing, what is considered beautiful remains the same. If I take my own example, Valerie, a black woman with a big nose, I don’t fit into a certain beauty criteria. However, I am optimis-tic and personally, I still manage to have a career, take care of my family and enjoy myself.

IA: What advice would you give to young girls that want to become models but do not have the chance to participate in inter-national or national beauty contests like yourself? VA: I say it once again: a mode-

ling career has nothing to do with being a beauty pageant winner. A girl from any neighborhood in Cameroon could be the next big model. People have to understand that it is a very difficult job. You don’t choose to become a model, you are born a model by having the natural physical dispositions that allow to do this job. It is necessary to have good hips and chest measurements and to be tall. There can be some exceptions but it is rare. You have to be in good physical condition, be able to stand for a long time, have capabilities to walk in heals and most importantly believe in yourself. People who wish to become models have to cultivate their potential, take their courage in hands and knock on agency doors. If they do not find the opportunity to be discove-red, the internet can be a way to get in touch with several agencies around the world. You have to find somebody that believes in you.

Interviewed by Ivan Nyetam

‘What is crucial in this field is to be at the right place at the right time’

After her breakthrough in 2011, Valérie Ayena got her first contract as a model in South Africa all the while being a communications student at the Superior Management Institute of Cameroon. Two years later, she became the first Cameroonian Miss to participate in the prestigious Miss World contest. In 2014, she was selected by the brand Guinness for the « MadeofBlack » campaign. The young Valérie Ayena, « Made of Confidence » did not stop there. Today, she is a professional African model that was able to clear a path in a very codified world. Far from runways and all that glitters, Valérie confided in us, answering our 4 questions.


FOCULTURE // ETHIOPIA

ETHIOPIAN LEATHER : MANY CONTENDERS FOR THE QUEEN OF SHEBA

Picture Credit www.Maikimiko.com


1/ Source : leséchos.fr

Numerous brands are now rushing towards Ethiopian leather. The most famous examples are Diesel, Calvin Klein, Delta Plus, Wrangler and Tommy Hilfiger. They dash to-wards employees that ask for salaries ten times cheaper than their Asian counterparts. They turn away from the potential scandals of Bangladeshi fac-tories’ working conditions that could tarnish their image. In addition, with the undeniable growth of African countries, it is economically intelligent to have a footprint there. Indeed, according to OECD estima-tions, African economic growth should reach 5% by 2016. Today, you can effortlessly find Made in Ethiopia labels on big brands around the world.

Transformation equals raw materials!

Investors from Turkey, Saudi Arabia, China, England as well as Ethiopia itself have targe-ted the country to set up their textile and leather factories. In less than a decade, the country has given birth to more than a hundred factories. Another advantage is the fact that the Ethiopian livestock is one of the biggest in Africa. Accor-ding to the UN, the country had

a count of 72 million heads in 2014. The Ethiopian govern-ment also offers exportation fiscal advantages. What more can you ask for?

The other side of the dream…

Even if Ethiopia is aspiring to become a leader in the leather industry, the road is still long before it can outshine a country like Bangladesh. In 2013, Ethio-pia had 120 textile companies, responsible for 100 million dol-lars of exports. While Bangla-desh had 5000 companies that exported more than 20 billion dollars1. Foreign investors denounce the lack of produc-tivity and the absenteeism of Ethiopian workers, as well as the long delivery periods due to bad road quality. The World Bank applauds the choice of textile as an economic driving force, but it deplores the enor-mous bureaucratic barriers that the country faces. With its 97 million inhabitants and its 45 hectares of agricul-tural resources, Ethiopia, has many assets that will doubt-lessly transform it into a place to conquer in the future.

By announcing its desire to work with Ethiopian leather providers in 2013, H&M placed Queen of Sheba’s country under the spotlight. Instantaneously, contenders star-ted arriving from the entire world, in search of the most competitive production prices, and the famous low cost manpower. Bye bye China and Bangladesh, hello Addis Ababa!

By Stella Sanogoh

Picture Credit www.Maikimiko.com


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#16: what if fashion makes money ?

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