Queen Ronke Ademiluyi Ogunwusi, founder of Africa Fashion Week London and Nigeria has said that the newly introduced Africa Fashion Week Brazil holding at the Expo center in São Paulo, the most populous city in Brazil, in collaboration with the Brazilian Embassy, Lagos will boost cultural and economic ties between Africa and Brazil.
This edition of Africa Fashion Week which is scheduled to hold from 25th to 27th May 2023 organisers said also aims to creating a synergy in the fashion industry between Brazil and Africa, promote economic growth, boost cultural ties, as well as provide a platform for future co-operations.
Giving a brief overview of the AFW at the Consulate General of Brazil in Lagos during a press briefing to announce the event, Queen Ronke Ademiluyi Ogunwusi, said the Africa Fashion Week started in 2011 in London and was created as a platform to bridge the gap between Africa designers, black designers and the general public.
"When we started over a decade ago, there wasn't a platform that brought together African designers and the global audience. Most of the platforms were mainstream platforms and a lot of people then shy away from African fashion. So African fashion was considered then as more traditional. People were not proud to wear African fashion, especially in the diaspora.
"I grew up in London, I was born there. I knew we did not have that exposure to African fashion like we do now where we have amazing, phenomenon African designers both in Nigeria and abroad that are doing so many wonderful things with our textiles and our fabrics. There was an urgent need to create a platform that showcased the great creativity of African designers. This gave birth to Africa Fashion Week, London. In 2014, we created a sister brand called 'Africa Fashion Week, Nigeria," Ogunwusi explained.
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Ogunwusi said she has given birth to a new baby, Africa Fashion Week, Brazil and this will boost economic ties and deepen the presence of African fashion on a global map.
The Africa Fashion Week Brazil 2023, will feature a population of Nigerian and other African designers, and designers in the diaspora, who will not only showcase their creativity with their collections, but the event according to Olori Ronke will also see an exchange of cultural fashion.
"Their clothes tell stories about their culture. It's going to be like an exchange of culture, an educational platform, that exchanges, talks about our culture and preservation of our cultural heritage." She concluded.
Ministro André Veras Guimarães, the Consul General of Brazil said holding the Africa Fashion Week in Brazil is a great initiative that will be greatly harnessed for the good of both countries.
"We can go deeper after this Africa Fashion Week. We will offer scholarships. We can send people to study fashion in Brazil, and they will have immigrant status. They have a free scholarship, all they need to do is just apply, to be selected. Of course, there is a selection process but we can explore these educational paths. So I believe this partnership with Africa Fashion Week and Brazil with grow great fruits in the future", he noted.
