TROPICS MAGAZINE AFRICA FASHION WEEK LONDON

Special Issue (AFWL)

ABOUT THE SHOW

DESIGNERS

INTERVIEWS

TROPICS REPORTAGE

AFRICA FASHION WEEK LONDON (AFWL) TEAM

Ronke Ademiluyi

Krystle Epum

THE DESIGNERS, THE PHOTOGRAPHERS,

THE MAKEUP ARTISTS, THE HAIRSTYLISTS

&

TROPICS MAGAZINE TEAM

Valerie Sosso Moukouelle (UK)

Des Richards (UK)

Venicia Guinot (South Africa)

ABOUT THE SHOW

Africa Fashion Week London (AFWL) is an annual event involving two days of free fashion festivity, an extravagant fusion of African culture, fashion, style and music. Celebrating London's unique and diverse culture heritage, topped with flamboyant mixing of Western and African culture through fashion.

AFWL is an event for all, with hourly cat walks shows involving designers using African prints, textiles and fabrics from most African countries. Its vision is for it to become the biggest multicultural fashion showcasing event in London. Your one stop shop for all kinds of African labels. We are expecting numerous VIP guests from different African countries, with exhibitors from UK and Africa, top international African fashion designers, emerging African designers and non African designers who use a lot of African prints/patterns in their work. Furthermore, we will also be showcasing a lot of African models.

AFWL

RAYO COLLECTION

Photos: Dr. Richards

AFWL

Chancie-St✯le

Photos: Dr. Richards

AFWL Chancie-Bebegrafiti

Photos: Dr. Richards

Feel The Vibe from AFWL

Photo: Dr. Richards

AFWL HIGHLIGHTS

‘HOUSE OF ADJEIWAAH’ AFWL INTERVIEW

London has jus hosted for the first time an event showcasing African inspired fashion. The event known as Africa Fashion Week London (AFWL) 2011, took place on the 5th and 6th August at the Gibson Hall, 13

Bishops gate London EC2N. AFWL is now officially the biggest platform ever dedicated to African inspired fashion in Europe.

It has showcased UK and non UK based fashion designers. The Revelation shows within AFWL have given new and emerging fashion designers the opportunity to showcase to the UK and international press, buyers and stockists of high street and independent stores.

This years designers were invited to an interview with TROPICS MAGAZINE, one of the media partner of the event, represented by our London based journalist, Valerie SOSSO MOUKOUELLE. The selected designers presented their collections with her and told us everything about their brand and this event's impact to their businesses.

(Greetings)...how are you feeling right now?

I am fine by the grace of God and feel excited for the next chapter in my journey. What are the benefits of showing at Africa Fashion Week London

This was an opportunity for me to take my brand to a wider audience and also introduce myself as a designer to some of the influential members of the Fashion industry. The benefits was the experience of how to deal with a professional Runway show and understand the difference between producing clothes for buyers to showcasing at a Fashion show.

What’s your fashion history?

My history as far as fashion goes is that I begun designing at the age of ten , eleven and my skills developed once I studied Art GCSE but I did not pursue this to a further or higher education level. I choose to pursue Law but continued to design for myself and others as a hobby, until this year I decided to establish my very own clothing line after creating a 32 piece collection.

Did you get the chance to work alongside anybody in the industry during your studies/humble beginnings?

As I begun by studying Law I have not worked alongside many others in the Fashion Industry I am still a novice but I will get there by his grace.

What inspires you, both for this collection and generally?

I was inspired for this collection by the urge to show that African Print can be versatile, Glamorous, fun, sexy but also elegant. Also the idea of showing different types of style which can cater for various body shapes as I interpret beauty as not confined to one single look. Generally I am inspired by what’s currently around me, for example I was on a train and the arrow signs on the doors actually inspired the sharp, spike edge detail for a skirt I designed.

Tell us more about the collection you chose to showcase this year at the AFWL? Why did you choose the cuts/techniques that you worked with? I have one collection that is broken down in to 5 multiple collections, the aim of this is to create a variety of looks in order to reach out to numerous preferences. “Mini Me” is a mixture of cocktail dresses and two pieces for the confident women. “Runway” is a bit edgier and is for that individual who likes to stand out and put their own stamp on things. “Timeless” has a simplistic feel to it and consists of maxi dresses to simple pencil type outfits

the cuts for this type of outfit will always remain in trend. The cuts and techniques used were all to produce one of a kind style which is wearable.

How does the color palette came up into your mind – what's the theme behind it? I like the use of a lot of bold bright colours because I think they lift up your mood and also in order for me to provide a strong style statement the colour has to be right. When I design in my head I already know what type of colour I want for each outfit. For this collection the theme for the colour pallet was a mixture of rainbow shades to feature every colour possible to flatter diverse skin tones.

What did you like about Africa Fashion Week London (AFWL)?

It was a historic event and I felt honoured to be part of the first ever show of this calibre; it is an opportunity for emerging and international designers to showcase their latest collections. The attendance of Fashion press, buyers and influential designers will allow designers to be featured in various magazines and fashion blogs. In addition it helps to attract orders for the forthcoming season. But what I enjoyed the most is meeting Mr Adebayo Jones and the brief advice he gave me was priceless.

Which fashion designers do you look to for inspiration?

I look at a lot of the Pioneers of the fashion industry, my all time favourite has to be John Paul Gaultier he is a magnificent artist and revolutionist I also love Elli Saab, zuhair murad, Adebayo Jones. The more current designers that I have a lot of respect for are Anita Quansah London and I’ve just discovered the phenomenal Mia Nisbet.

Do you think your collection received positive attention at AFWL?

I was very happy with the response to my work at AFWL, from the moment I came off stage I was approached by various press and photographers to do interviews and take pictures. The feedback was definitely positive and some people asking why I didn’t show more as they really liked my use of colour and shape. Which I think as a designer this helps you to feel encouraged and understand that your on the right track, but I am not going to be complacent this has given me the drive to work harder and better on my next collection

What do the next few months hold for you? I have a lot of Fashion shows, interviews and magazine photo shoots which I am very excited about because I enjoy the whole styling phase and telling a story through picture. But most importantly to me is to find time and work on my next collection as I have half of it already in my mind which I need to transfer on to paper.

Written by Venicia Guinot

Reporter: Valerie SOSSO MOUKOUELLE (UK)

TROPICS MAGAZINE

‘CHANCIE ST✯LE’ AFWL INTERVIEW

The Congolese fashion designer Marie-Chance Gallimoni is the founder

and head designer of Chancie-St✯le. She has successfully completed two

collections that has had the opportunity to grace the catwalk across various shows in the UK since 2009. This includes Fashion4Africa in the March 2010 and Nigeria's 50th independent day celebration at Alexandra Palace in Oct 2010. Marie-Chance aims to take her clothing line global, by creating a style of uniqueness which conveys her own culture inspirations of African prints into modern styles of young vibrant and elegant, ready to wear clothing, worn by all not just Africans. Marie-Chance aims to incorporate western influences and inspirations in her clothing line to create her own twist of style and trend, that speaks of boldness and character through specific colours, shapes and designs. Her passion is to bring her creative artistic ideas into reality.

My name is Valerie, I am interviewing you on behalf of Tropics Magazine for Africa Fashion Week London...how are you feeling right now Chancie?

I am so overwhelmed with joy, I am so happy, I feel proud and grateful for what just happened today,and ehm, I can finally say Well Done Chancie. I feel amazing. What are the benefits of showing at Africa Fashion Week London?

Wow there was a lot of benefits,number one,you don't see a lot of Congolese designers out there and,to actually represent Congo-Brazzaville it's amazing.You will hear a lot of Nigerians,Ghanaians,ehm,but not much of the Congo.So,I feel there are so many benefits,being here showcasing my designs,people can see what I do,people can enjoy what I do,people can share the passion that I have for fashion and wow it's,even coming to this

magazine,that's really really good,and just to be broadcasted and also to show my people that,there is a designer that is based in London,who is trying to find her way to go to the top and represent Congo-Brazzaville. What’s your fashion history Chancie? Chancie Style,that's the name of my clothing line and basically,what it means,Chancie is a nickname of,it's my nickname,my full name is Marie Chance Gallimoni.And,Chancie is a name that I just gave to myself.And,but then,where the style comes from,is everything that I am inspired of,everything that influences me,everything that I like.And,I use that to create something and make a style out of it,so basically Chancie Style is what I like.It's my style.

Did you get the chance to work alongside anybody in the industry during your studies/humble beginnings?

Hmmm not yet,but this is my aim,I aim to work with other designers,ehm and collaborate with other designers,internship with other designers just to see,just to know how other designers are working,where I can learn from them and just mend my own creation as well

What inspires you, both for this collection and generally?

Well,I was inspired by the silhouette of the woman,just looking a the shape of the woman and seeing how can I play with the garment.If you look at my collection,the designs are very shapy,squary,shapy,puffy and that was my aim.I wanted to do something sophisticated,and again sexy,but cute.Not too showing a lot of skin,covering.You can cover your skin and still look sophisticated,you can cover your skin and still look beautiful.And that was my aim.

Tell us more about the collection you chose to showcase this year at the AFWL? Why did you choose the cuts/techniques that you worked with?

I chose specific cuts to show the shape,the silhouette of the woman.I wanted to respect the proportion of the woman,keep the same shape,you know,just to keep the same shape of the woman there,really.

How does the color palette came up into your mind – what's the theme behind it? The theme behind it,my colour palette,well,I love colours number one,colours are one thing that I really really like.I did some research to find out what are the colours that are on this summer,and there are a lot of orange and peachy colours,greenish colours,so at the end of my research,I thought this will really be good to apply in my collection for the event.

What did you like about Africa Fashion Week London (AFWL)? What did I like about this,it's the people,they were so kind,especially in the backstage,the models in fact,they were so helpful,they were so amazing,and they just really encouraged me into getting the dress on,and also Shola himself,a really good passionate man,who really inspired me,and really helped me.He did help me a lot. Which fashion designers do you look to for inspiration? Well,at the moment the person who got my eye is Tina Atiemo...I don't know if you've heard of her.I really like her designs,she is one person I would really like to work with,voluntarily or internship with her.She is amazing.Yeah,that's the one African designer I would really love to work with.

Do you think your collection received positive attention at AFWL? Yes it did.Got some positive comments and through the applause from the audience I could feel people were appreciating my craft.

What do the next few months hold for you? The next few months,I am working on planning,on continuing doing other fashion shows,and working on my business. My website is already running,and business cards are already available (Me:Can we have one then?) CS:Yeah for sure.And, I am just focusing of going out there,advertising and making myself known to the public. Last question,for our audience,who is the brilliant lady behind the Chancie Style designs? Chancie is just what you see right now,a bit crazy sometimes.A very passionate person about everything that is arts.That's what I love,not only fashion,I love filming,music,all these things and I am from Congo-Brazzaville.I was born in Congo,left my homeland when I was ten years old,to Paris for one year,then I came here in year 2000,and I started here,but it was in 2008 that I figured out that fashion is what I would love to do.But yeah,it's been amazing,it's been a process,a good experience,full of ups and downs,and I continue to learn as days go by,I like doing things like these,fashion shows because it helps me to build my confidence,it helps my communication skills,and sometimes,it's difficult sometimes,because you might not even know what you are saying,whether you are saying the right thing,whether the audience will be receptive of your message.But,at the end of the day,you learn,this is who I am,a continuous learner.Through all the shows I learn,and you know,with God by my side,I absolutely believe he will never fail me.Because when God says this is where I put you,favour is there and he will take me there.So,my God is who I look up to in everything that I do. Thank you very much for your time, Tropics Magazine wishes every success in the future and we look forward to seeing you again soon. Thank you so much...nice to meet you.

Interview conducted by

Valerie SOSSO MOUKOUELLE (UK Correspondent)

‘FEE UHSSI’ AFWL DESIGNER INTERVIEW

This years designers were invited to an interview with TROPICS MAGAZINE, one of the media partner of the event, represented by our London based journalist, Valerie SOSSO MOUKOUELLE. The selected

designers presented their collections with her and told us everything about their brand and this event's impact to their businesses.

How are you feeling right now?

Emmm I am really happy,I just showed my collection at the first show,so,it

went really well,I am really pleased.I think people enjoyed it,so yeah I am very happy.

Thank you.Can you tell us a bit about you,who is Fee Uhssi? Fee Uhssi is my brand,my label,my clothing label,it's an ethical and multicural,I call it ethical and multicultural fashion because I am working by mixing African and European fabrics,shapes,colours,prints,inspiration and all my designs are ethically and fairtrade made,most of the fabrics that I use come from Africa,they are made of natural cotton, and naturally dyed there as well.And,some of them with natural fabrics like clear plants and,I am working alongside charities,so the people who are manufacturing my stuff in West Africa and in the UK are also linked to developing projects in Africa and UK.

What are the benefits of showing at Africa Fashion Week London? Emmm the benefit is to have the opportunity to be among the designers,the new,I would say upcoming talents from Africa,not only Africa, because obviously we are all linked to Africa though most of us grew up in Europe,some of us are mixed race,Afro-Carribeans,so it's all about showing the mixity and creativity in the new African Fashion. What’s your fashion history? I started designing when I was quite young,at the age of seventeen in Paris,I was born and raised in Paris,my dad is from Nigeria,it was just for myself really,then,ehm people started to love it,then I started designing for people and showing my stuff.I had a little break because I have been studying Information and Communication,but,couple of years ago I realised that fashion,design and textile were my passion,so,I went back to it. Did you get the chance to work alongside anybody in the industry during your studies/humble beginnings?

Yeah,I did,I had the opportunity to do different things,especially since I moved to London,I have been able to organise some shows to promote myself and other designers,and participate in other ones.I also like shows where we are mixing different form of arts,also TWIN Corporate Fashion where we mix fashion,music,arts and performance.

What inspires you, both for this collection and generally?Tell us more about the collection you chose to showcase this year at the AFWL? Why did you choose the cuts/techniques that you worked with? My main inspiration is out of wrapping actually,so emmm,my thing is to wrap,to create,to sculpt with the fabric,most my designs are actually multifunctional,reversible,so you can wear them in different ways.So,emm what I showed today was an overview of the different possibilities that you can create with the wrap.The collection is called Ede Aso which means day and night.The idea is to get one outfit that you wear during the day,and you turn in the night into another style,yeah,it's for women who are stylish,really on the go,busy and who still care about what they are wearing,and want to look and feel good.

How does the color palette came up into your mind – what's the theme behind it? The Theme and colour behind the fabric I use is nature really.I use colours that are linked in shades that you find in nature,and especially in Africa,because everytime I go to Africa I am always inspired by the colours,they are just amazing,I have got the opportunity to order and choose the fabrics and colours which incarnate nature,I have been working since the beginning of the year with a team in Mali to create and develop colours that are inspired from the nature theme. What did you like about Africa Fashion Week London (AFWL)? What I like is...it's the first Africa Fashion Week in Europe if I think,if I am not wrong.We are looking in having one in Paris as well,I know that they have created a facebook page already to support the creation of African Fashion Week in Paris.I think it's something that is really important for African fashion,and also to show the the world audience that we are not only doing traditional,but we do modern,contemporary fashion as well and we can be very competitive. Which fashion designers do you look to for inspiration?

Hmmm I am French and really I have to say that my main inspiration in terms of cuts are the big ones.I grew up admiring Chanel,Yves Saint Laurent,Galliano(it's not French,it's English but he works for Dior).All these ones,yeah but I love Vivienne Westwood also,because she is crazy like type,I like this type of craziness.Yeah I have got this inspiration,I love elegant cuts,ehmm I love style,so my big inspiration is from the French Fashion,Parisian Fashion especially,because I am from Paris.And,I try to mix it up with the African sense of elegance and African style.

Do you think your collection received positive attention at AFWL?

Yes I jsut think so because I have got some really good feedback,I am really overwhelmed,I am glad,yeah I think euh people did really enjoy my collection so,I am really really happy and pleased.

What do the next few months hold for you?

Ehmm in September,hopefully,we are launching Fee Uhssi website,with an online shop where all my designs will be available,I am also looking forward to launching the Out of Wrapping workshop soon,and I look up for Out of Wrapping dance and fashion shows as well.

Thank you so much for your time,we wish you every success in the future,and we look forward to working with you again in the future. Thank you very much.

Interview conducted by Valerie SOSSO MOUKOUELLE

*THE CLOSING NOTE*

The Gibson hall was on fire as models walked the runway donning the newest styles for 2011 of African elite designers. Crowds were dazzled at the premiere African directed show– on the 5th and 6th August 2011.

Photographers, fashionistas and industry leaders flocked to the event, which kicked off Africa Fashion Week London 2011. Fifty contestants with African roots presented their work during the shows which were hosted by the event organizers.

Dear readers of Tropics Magazine, thank you for your patience and support before and after the promotion of this event. Whether you have attended the AFWL or were abroad, we thought to bring you as much highlights as possible for you to feel the vibes our London Correspondent have unanimously described.

Before we close this note, we will like to congratulate the organizers for putting together a great event; the partners and sponsors for lending a helping hand to make this an unforgettable experience. Our biggest thanks go to Ronke Ademiluyi, AFWL CEO who has believed in us and has welcomed us in his official media partners list. Congratulations to the entire team; you guys have made Africa proud and we toast to the second edition of AFWL in 2012.

Until then, Stay Tropics!

Vénicia Guinot

Founder/redactor in Chief

www.tropicsmagazine.over-blog