Big Russian fashionista to set up school in Gabs
Maureen Odubeng | Friday August 23, 2019 14:01
The well-travelled influential personality in fashion circles around the world, is looking into working with local designers, both established and upcoming, to inculcate a spirit of pride and acceptance by the local market, in the products produced by Batswana designers.
Anufrieva, acknowledged that it is common for people of a certain country to trust products from other countries and shun or look down upon products made in their own country, which also applies to the fashion industry.
Now based in Italy, the Russian-born fashion guru said in the olden days people in Russia used to rely on international markets for their clothing, but things have changed tremendously as a lot of Russians buy clothing made by designers from Russia.
“It is possible for Botswana designers to grown the industry to appeal to both the local as well as the international markets,” she said.
She said Africa has a lot of remarkably talented designers who need to be mentored and nurtured to produce high quality products, which will appeal to both local and international markets, hence the need to establish a professional design school in Botswana.
She said while she cannot give a timeframe, in terms of when the school will be up and running, her intentions are to set up the school in the near foreseeable future.
“My plans are to set-up the design school as soon as possible, but I will still have a lot of research to do, and I will also have to find out what is needed for me to set-up a school of that caliber for example registration, accreditation and other requirements,” she said.
She said the school will be modelled after the Rome, Italy-based Academia Costume & Moda, an internationally recognised institution in the fashion world.
Founded in 1964 in Rome, Italy, the institution has been operating in the fields of culture, design, research, and craftsmanship linked to Fashion and Costume.
Anufrieva said she believes that for a country’s fashion industry to thrive, designers need to incorporate their culture when coming up with designs, such that when they mix it with designs inspired by fashion from other parts of the world, they still have a uniqueness that define their works.
“Botswana is a beautiful country, which has its own distinctive qualities, which local designers can use to come up with designs, which will stand out, and take Botswana’s fashion industry to greater heights,” she said.
One of the examples she gave was that Batswana designers can look into producing fashionable Safari wear, rather than have tourists buy Safari wear from countries, which do not boast of a variety of wildlife species, which attracts many different people from different parts of the world.
“Tourists can come and buy their Safari gears from Botswana rather than, buying them in other countries to go on Safaris in Botswana. Batswana designers need to make Safari fashionwear readily available” she said.
She noted that for her to be able to set-up the school, she would need support from Batswana.
Anufrieva, who has already set-up a Charity Foundation for orphans in Guinea Bissau said she is also looking into setting up a foundation for orphans and young people in Botswana.
Some of her Philanthropy work includes working with Non-Governmental Organistation to ensure the safety of Albinos. She said Albinos deserve to enjoy the same rights that all human beings enjoy, explaining that it is heart-breaking to hear about what Albinos endure in certain countries.
She said she is in the process of raising funds to start a school for Albinos in Guinea Bissau after realising that many of them do not go to school, owing to a number of different factors.
She added that while in Guinea Bissau, she discovered that Albinos there do not have access to skin care, which is vital for their health. Albinos are more susceptible to develop sores and skin cancer because their skin does not have protection against the damaging rays of the sun. She currently has 200 orphans and about 300 Albinos under her care.