Adding Authenticity & Culture : Africa Goes Global On New York’s Fashion Calendar
ADIREE Communications along with its primary sponsors will perform a ‘facelift’ to the New York Fashion Week calendar, with the debut of their newest activation, under the Africa Fashion Week brand called New York Fashion Week [Africa] on Friday, September 11th. The goal: integrating Africa’s design brands with the global fashion industry, promoting discussion, sales, and presenting narrative driven platforms that speak to authenticity, sustainability, and culture.
If you’re familiar with this year’s New York Fashion Week dates you’ll know that September 10th -17th will be very busy days. Adiree through New York Fashion Week [Africa] on September 11th, gives global and culture-driven fashion lovers a new way of feeding their cravings for new designs, boasting diverse beauty and lifestyle sponsors such as Dr. Miracles, Agadir Internationals, Fantasia Hair, and Nuvino Wines.
For the first time in their production history, they’ve included Africa Fashion Week’s production to the CFDA, adding fresh new names to the calendar and taking up the challenge of giving New York a diverse selection of designers.
New York Fashion Week: Africa is one of the many events that plans to work the catwalk with emerging global designers of diversity. Africa’s emerging designers will showcase their Spring / Summer 2016 collection.
According to past New York Fashion Week productions, less than 5% of people of color are featured on the New York Fashion Week Calendar. As fashion lovers, we crave authentic pieces that are distinct and one of a kind. We would go to amazing lengths far and wide just to make sure the woman or man next to us isn’t sporting the same exact outfit! New York Fashion Week: Africa becomes our gateway to a world we’ve never experienced. The exposure of African brands presented through this platform allows them to leave their imprint in America. And of course an imprint on the new pieces in our closets.
The event consists of three different parts: The Luxury Africa Conference, The Runway Showcase and finally Prints and Mixers; a network mingling event. This year seven designer brands will take up the challenge at New York Fashion Week; Africa: Asikere Afana, Dahil Republic of Couture, House of Mucha, Onyii & CO., Osei-Duro, Sakia Lek and Yefikir Designs. While this may be the first year that New York Fashion Week Africa joins the CFDA calendar the are veterans to the biggest social event in New York City. Adiree has hosted the event under Africa Fashion Week for 5 years providing emerging designers the opportunity to celebrate and rub shoulders with brand and retails in the Global Fashion Industry. In fact 75% of their designers currently have shops in 9 Sub-Saharan countries. This goes to show that there is a desire for diverse African brands to be woven in the fabric that is the Global Fashion Industry. Although we will satisfy our fashion cravings with these designs, it will never be enough. We know ourselves. We will constantly crave the most authentic designs we can get our hands on. Adiree will take their platform further in satisfying us with exactly what we need through their online market Luxoic (www.shop.communications.adiree.com) . The name of the boutique was birthed by fusing the words luxury and mosaic, and like its name, this high end online boutique will feature layers of story-telling designs based on it’s own definitions of luxury: sustainability, culture, heritage, and authenticity. Like mosaics, every piece of clothing is a different shade of color that makes up the bigger narrative of Africa.
“Fashion is always better in color,”- says Adiat Disu, Director of Adiree.
Check out the diverse list of pan-african designers in this year’s New York Fashion Week: Africa and head over to their online store www.shop.Adiree.com soon to shop global looks. Below is a list of featured designers and a complete schedule of events for New York Fashion Week: Africa.
Designers :
Asikere Afana (Jamaica/ Ghana),
Dahil Republic of Couture (Kenya/ US)
Onyii & CO. (Nigeria/US)
Osei-Duro (Ghana/ LA),
Yefikir Designs (Ethiopia)
General Schedule :
1. Luxury Africa Conference | 5:30 P. M – 6:30 PM
2. Showcase | 8:30 PM – 9 :30 PM
3. Mixer | 10:30 PM – 11:30
For more information visit www.AfricaFashionWeek.com/Schedule
To register as media and/or attend activations : http://bit.ly/NYFWAfricaRegister