FASHION NEWS

2007 AUTUNM/WINTEREDITION

African fashion has just upped the ante, like seriously. Gone are thedays when fashionable meant dull animal prints and badly fitted attires.Today, designers of African origin no longer play it safe. From coutureto ready-to-wear, African designers are riding an exciting and colourfulwave of fashion, bringing together rich elegance, fun patterns, superbright colours and the creative use of fabrics. The fashion industry thatwas virtually non existent at a point in time is now booming and Africais becoming a major fashion hub, staging not one, but numerousfashion shows every year such as the Sanlam SA Fashion Week. Withdesigners creating effortlessly designed ensembles - dinner dresses,summer shorts, men’s suits, swimwear, accessories etc – it is littlewonder this industry is competing for head and shoulder status withthe best of them. Oh yes, we love African fashion. We also love the wayour African fashion designers are redefining the genre with theirunique collections and in this article we take a look at just a handful ofour favourite stars. This is fashion Africa!

BYKOFO BAPTIST

Colleen Eitzen

With four shops in Durban, Johannesburg and CapeTown, innovative South African fashion designer ColleenEitzen is very well known for her elegant collection. As achild Colleen Eitzen loved paper dolls and had a knackfor drawing. Today Eitzen is an established fashiondesigner and she says her customers are the driving forcebehind her work. “I love my customer and my image ofher and this is what drives (me) to make clothes,” saysEitzen. “Being in a retail environment really helps keepme in touch with my customer. At times I am steadfastlypragmatic and believe that my job is like any other, ‘justa job’, and at other times I am completely blown away bythe fact that I have such an amazing job. But I am alwayshappy to go out there and try my best, no matter what.”

Bezem and Mai Lan

Bezem and Mai Lan are two young fashion designers representingat least four cultures - Franco-Vietnamese; Russian and Togolese.Using ethnic materials, and bold colours, these self taughtdesigners create pieces that cover a rich mix of cultures inspired bytheir experiences and worldwide travels including visits to Russiaand various countries in Africa, Asia and South America. The duohave participated in various fashion shows and even managed toscoop a ‘fashion trophy’ in 2004 in a competition for young designerssupported by L’Oreal, Hermes, XulyBet, and Galeries Lafayettes.

FASHION

AFRICA

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FASHION NEWS

AUTUMN/WINTER EDITION2007

Onna Ehrlich

Born and raised in Nigeria, Onna Ehrlich is an artist and designer who draws inspiration fromher African roots in creating contemporary handbags. Her collections have become verypopular and are now a favourite of Hollywood royalties such as Mandy Moore, Cameron Diaz,Lindsay Lohan, Halle Berry, Eva Rihanna and many others.

Miko420 by

Onna Ehrlich

Rachael 1 by

Onna Ehrlich

Chinedesign

Born in the UK and raised in Nigeria,Dubai and Canada, Chinedu Ukabam,founder of Chinedesign, who’s also ahip-hop emcee/producer Eye + Eye,started Chinedesign by chance four yearsago when in October 2003 he producedpromotional T-shirts to support thelaunch of his new "Love.Life.Music"album. The T-shirts did very well; sellingover 300 units in Toronto alone andtoday, Chinedesign has expanded from just graphic T shirt's to skirts, dresses and jackets and are widely available inToronto, Vancouver and Nova Scotia.

Models wearing Chinedesign items.

Photo By Nation

Fumi by

Onna Ehrlich

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2007 AUTUMN/WINTER EDITION

FASHION NEWS

dorothyduncan

dorothyduncan is the brainchild of DorothyGhettuba and Mandy Duncan, two friends ofKenya/Guyana heritage who share a commonbusiness vision; a vision to sell a dare to liveattitude and lifestyle. According to thedesigners, their products “are designed forwomen of all ages, who already feel great onthe inside and want to look just as amazing onthe outside. dorothyduncan aims to servewomen who identify themselves as distinctive,daring, and inspired. We offer edgy, dressyfashion pieces that add flair and personality toan already existing wardrobe of basics.”

Fred Eboka

Nigeria’s own Fred Eboka is making noise in thefashion world with his Eboka Design Studio located inJohannesburg, South Africa. Eboka, well known for hiscreative take on ethnic elegance, is one of theindustry’s most sought after designers with a clientelelist that includes Grammy nominees, South Africanmusic awards winners and many internationalcelebrities.

Fred Eboka collection

picture credit Simon Deiner

designers

Dorothy Duncan

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