Local fashion designers to shine at Forbes
Goitsemodimo Kaelo | Sunday April 17, 2022 06:00
Through the set-up, the African Fashion International (AFI) has partnered with Forbes Under 30 Summit to bring an authentic Africa-inspired Fashion Experience scheduled for April 27, 2022, which will shine light on African designers and their latest collections. For three days, from April 25-27, AFI’s showroom in Kasane will present the newest offerings from designers that will be available for delegates and guests to touch, feel and purchase. Headlining the showcase in Botswana is AFI’s showstopper, David Tlale who joins the runway since completing the Fashion Lab where he mentored three emerging designers.
According to a statement from AFI, the Fashion Experience and the Summit aim to leverage the biodiversity and natural appeal of Kasane to alter guests’ mindsets toward conscious capitalism and sustainable production. “For AFI, this shift involves a reimagined runway, without a ramp, to draw the intensity of natural light onto the showcase of sustainable collections. AFI is using its brand power to lure attention to ecological wonder in the Chobe District by hosting an eco-friendly show, in keeping with the Forbes theme of Sustainability,” stated AFI in their statement.
The theme for the showcase is: Innovate, Inspire and Explore, which promises a truly AFI African exhibition. AFI said as a no stranger in making bold moves in the African fashion landscape, it would combine technology, luxury, music, and retail to stage a dynamic African encounter. Founded in 2007, AFI developed its brand through owning and producing Fashion Weeks and has now evolved into an Industry Aggregator and Lifestyle Platform.
AFI has since added a retail focus through its concept store House of Nala and developed digital infrastructure for a one-stop-shop of the best of African luxury fashion and accessories.
AFI said it is leveraging this partnership with Forbes to discover, test and launch new tech-based novelties that would appeal to a global audience of rising leaders. “Africa’s young people will influence global trends. Their incredible talent and their collective authority as well as their innovative and entrepreneurial spirit will change the narrative of Africa, as well as creating new economies,” said Dr Precious Moloi-Motsepe, the Founder and Chief Executive of AFI.
Moloi-Motsepe said AFI’s showcase and the Summit will be an amalgamation of innovation, technology as well as focusing on our collective sustainable future. She said this would also be an opportunity for designers to become acquainted with the tastes and aspirations of a new generation, and for the entrepreneurs to be inspired by the out-of-the-box thinking of designers.
This runway extends AFI’s partnership with Forbes, which saw designer’s platform their collections at the Forbes 30/50 Summit held in Abu Dhabi.