Latasha Ngwube
21 June 2009
Johannesburg — Nigerian designers and models yesterday won four of the nine awards at the ARISE Africa Fashion Awards held inside the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The Nigerian designers, who received the awards at an impressive ceremony held to mark the end of eight days of glittering showcasing of world class clothes made by Africans from about 20 countries, include Tiffany Amber, Ituen Basi, and Eyola. Oluchi Onweagba-Hollandis from Nigeria also won the Model of the Year award.
Tiffany Amber won the Designer of the Year award alongside David Tlale of South Africa while Ituen Basi won the Award for Innovation, while Eyola won the Most Promising Designer award with Heni of South Africa.
Other winners are Christie Brown of Ghana ( Emerging Designer award), Maponya Mall of Soweto in South Africa (Fashion Business award), Anglo Gold and Susan Hayes of South Africa (Fashion Creative award), Kluk CDGT of South Africa (Africa Red Carpet Award) and Ajuma, a model from Kenya wjho won the Africa Fashion Week Model award.
The event was witnessed by fashionistas from across Africa, Europe and America, including former First Lady of France, Mrs. Cecilia Attias, who came with her new husband, Richard.
Attias, who is the president and founder of Cecilia Attias Foundation, in her keynote address at the event, said the role of women in developing the economy of nations is so significant that development planners and other organisations must focus on helping to empower the womenfolk.
She noted that all the issues which draw women back from fully participating in economic development must be focused on and that her Foundation was set up to address such issues.
She said her foundation was ready to collaborate with other NGOs across Africa to help the women overcome problems of underdevelopment.
Chairman and editor-in-chief of THISDAY newspapers and ARISE Magazine, the main sponsor of the ARISE Africa Fashion Show, Mr. Nduka Obaigbena, told the audience that the show and the awards were aimed at projecting Africa to the world through culture and to foster positive collaboration among Africans in this direction.
The main act of the award ceremony was the perfomance by popular musician, Robert Kelly, otherwise known as R.Kelly. His performance sent the audience on ecstatic mood as the young and old stood up dancing and singing along with him for the 30 minutes he was dishing out different numbers from his past albums.
Kelly, who will perform again next week in Suncity, South Africa under the auspices of ARISE magazine was later presented with the award of Special Friend of Africa by Obaigbena.
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