Cape Town came alive on February 10^th for the Red Carpet Fashion Show at the Camps Bay Rotunda. Some seriously talented South African designers were on display for the Heat magazine sponsored show. Craig Port, Stefania Morland, Jagadi Haute Couture, Beach Cult and Malcolm Kluk all showcased their latest trends in an assortment of designs that were “beautifully whimsical while still etched into the darker, intense, and rooted qualities of true African design” (http://www.whatsonincapetown.com/post/review-red-carpet-fashion-show-2012/).

We hope you remember how L’Uomo Vogue released its first issue focusing on African style back in November 2008 (following Vogue Italia’s super successful “Black Issue”). The AFWNY team was very happy to find out that the magazine is planning a second one for the spring. Editor Franca Sozzani revealed the news to Styleite.com that the next edition will drop in May or June and that this time coverage will go beyond African fashion.“It will be about the presidents, it will be about the people, but in a very positive way. I don’t want to say in a glamorous way, but I wanted to show the best side, but only the good side,” Sozzani said. “There are a lot of talents, a lot of talented people in art, in music, in cinema and everywhere. So I really wanted to push that side.” No other details have been set as the issue is still in the initial stages, but tell us: Are you looking forward to the new issue? We are!

B Michael of the brand b Michael America is known for his classy, sophisticated, and timeless designs. With a career studded with celebrity clients, b, as he prefers to be addressed, has dressed African-American Hollywood royalty for years. For him, it’s not just about designing for the big names or the fame it brings, but about dressing powerful women who have a purpose and an agenda. The recent death of Whitney Houston deeply saddened him, and in honor of her, during his show on Wednesday he paid tribute to her, showcasing the silhouettes b created for her as “I Will Always Love You” played in the background.

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In retrospect of NYWF 2012, the African designers who attended the event planned their attack and nailed it this week. Choosing the venue for a show is crucial, because it is the “perfect punctuation for a collections’ style statement” (huffingtonpost.com). For example, Mimi Plange chose a venue that was as luxurious as her pieces in the line, a private residence in The Setai on Fifth. Twins Idyl and Ayaan Mohallim had a line full of bright, feminine dresses, and they were perfectly at home at  the Top of the Garden. The number of African designers grew from a trickle to a flood this year at New York Fashion Week, and the designers are representative of a new generation who are mapping their way through the fashion industry.

Tanzanian new and upcoming designer Francisca Francis Shirima is one who always adds an African flair to her works. Growing up with fashion in mind because her mother was a tailor and her father was always interested in style, Shirima always wanted to be a designer. Her style includes all that embodies the modern African woman: she is strong, bold, full of life and full of character. Shirima participated in the Swahili Fashion Week mid last year, which she called a “training ground” for herself. She got a lot of ideas from the shows and has 10 new designs that she can see herself selling in the near future.  Perhaps we’ll see Shirima and her designs on display at AFWNY sometime in the coming years!

Style isn’t just for the runways. Some of the attire worn by those hanging around the shows are even stealing attention away from the catwalk! Fashionistas attending New York Fashion Week are up-to-par with their style this week, and bringing pops of color, furs, and hot accessories along with them! And why do we care about this if we’re all about Africa Fashion Week? Because African prints are what’s grabbing everybody’s attention off the runway. Tribal prints, bulky jewelry, and statement heels are dominating the “look” this week, and they’re here to stay. Becoming embedded into our wardrobe as staple pieces rather than special-occasion-only’s. Overall, Fashion Week is a time for both onlookers and designers to make their mark, and everybody’s on their A-Game this week. 

There are some things that are always perceived as a hot, trendy topic.  That’s right, the mother of all fashion shows, New York Fashion Week, has begun! The worlds most prestigious and successful designers take to the catwalk to premiere their Fall/Winter 2012 Collections from the 9^th – 16^th of February 2012, and we have African Fashion Designers representing the continent gracefully!

We would like to bring to your attention the following designers: BCBG Max Azria, Mataano, Herve Leger by Max Azria, Kastle Designs and Treasure Chest, Mimi Plange, Korto Momolu, and Telfar. Some of them have a worldwide known name in the fashion industry, and some just started their path as fashion gurus. Our team wishes successful collection display to all of them. Good luck and show the world the beauty of fashion fabrics, prints and inspired trends and colors that let every woman feel confident and look sexy at the same time. 

Team Adiree is hard at work planning for 2012′s AFWNY production. As we’re in the office for long hours we like to stop and take a break, remembering what it is we’re working towards. YouTube mainly becomes our way of bypassing a tid bit of time, and we can’t help but fall in love all over again with the production process of AFWNY. Take a look!

Producer of AFWNY, Adiat Disu, is currently in Johannesburg, South Africa at the African American & South African Women’s Entrepreneurs Empowerment Forum (AASAWEEF) as a guest speaker. The purpose of this forum is to encourage and build positive relationships between women in business in South Africa and the United States. AASAWEEF intends to be an opportunity to create alliances so that women in their communities throughout the world can benefit. Adiat will be speaking mostly about her developments as a professional, as President of Adirée and the producer of African Fashion Week. This means of course that she’ll be speaking about her passion—about the business of luxury, beauty and fashion—to women from around the globe.