In the 50th edition of Portugal Fashion, the CANEX (Creative African Nexus) Presents Africa at Portugal Fashion project brought 20 African designers to Porto, who presented their collections in a fashion show format (five designers on the main runway and three young designers in Bloom), and also in a showroom. After the successful launch of […]
In the 50th edition of Portugal Fashion, the CANEX (Creative African Nexus) Presents Africa at Portugal Fashion project brought 20 African designers to Porto, who presented their collections in a fashion show format (five designers on the main runway and three young designers in Bloom), and also in a showroom. After the successful launch of the project, in October 2021, the partnership between ANJE and Afreximbank, an African investment bank, continued with an enhanced experience, including an industrial roadmap, a workshop programme with national and international buyers, networking sessions and also the start of a mentoring programme involving specialized support from national and foreign experts in areas such as sales, marketing and business expansion support.
Designers from about 14 countries of the African continent (including Namibia, Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Cameroon, Burundi, among others) and the diaspora (including the Caribbean region, with a designer coming from St. Vincent & Grenadines) expanded Portugal Fashion’s calendar, bringing different dynamics to the event, always with the main objective of its internationalization. Among the names that were presented in this edition, on the Portugal Fashion and Bloom platforms, were brands whose creative potential and path stood out to an international panel of judges, with passages through houses such as Givenchy, Lanvin, among others, and presences in international events, such as Pitti Uomo.
Resulting from a three-year agreement, the CANEX Presents Africa @ Portugal Fashion project provides a platform for the development of emerging fashion designers, supporting the transfer of skills through mentoring by industry experts, while offering market access opportunities to boost production, sales and distribution. The program aims to equip participants with the skills that will enable them to create financially sustainable businesses with potential for scale, as well as support go-to-market and internationalization strategies.
In articulation with its industrial partners, namely ATP – the Portuguese Textile and Clothing Association, ANJE is also developing a memorandum of understanding for the development of investments associated with industrial development.
DESIGNERS BLOOM PLATFORM:
THE LADYMAKER (@the_ladymaker)
The brand was born in 2015 by the hands of Ifeyinwa Azubike. The goal was clear – to enforce the dream of creating and exploring codes about successful women and how they choose to live and present themselves. She graduated from Instituto di Moda Burgo (Lagos Campus) with a degree in Modeling after a decade-long career as a lawyer, specializing in Infrastructure Finance.
The collection she presented at the Bloom platform on March 16 interprets the sense of resilience, purpose and possibility that women feel as they emerge from the great uncertainty of these past years.
ABIOLA OLUSOLA (@abiolaolusolaofficial)
Nigerian fashion designer born in Ibadan into a family of engineers and scientists. She graduated from the University of Lagos in 2010 and then from the Marangoni Institute, Paris, in 2015 where she studied Fashion Design. She interned at Givenchy and Lanvin. Her menswear postgraduate collection was selected to be part of a group exhibition at Pitti Uomo, and in Paris.
Her collection on the Bloom platform was inspired by 80s cinema, mixing vintage Yoruba sensibility (relating to the Kwan language – official language of Nigeria): the tie dye, flowing fabrics contrasted by architectural structure and cuts.
JUDY SANDERSON (@judysandersonofficial)
Her collection was inspired by the South African Zulu. “Wathint’ abafazi, wathint’ imbokodo” – “If you hit a woman, hit a stone,” symbolises how the strength and courage that women possessed at the time (under apartheid law), and continue to possess to this day, decades after their initial opposition to a government that blatantly oppressed them. She presented her collection on the Bloom platform on March 16.
DESIGNERS PORTUGAL FASHION PLATFORM:
PETA ODINI (@petaodini)
Born and raised in the multi-island nation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the fashion designer and marketing professional specialises in contemporary menswear. In 2008, Odini moved to London to graduate in Fashion, first completing her basic studies at the London College of Fashion and then continuing on to Ravensbourne. The menswear collection she presented at Portugal Fashion on March 17, is inspired by the Caribbean strong colors and new Slow Boat signature patterns. Oversized and contemporary silhouettes, made in a mix of natural fabrics, namely cottons and linens.
KIKOROMEO (@kikoromeo)
It inherits a widely recognised brand for transforming fashion in Kenya and guiding many designers and artisans over the past two decades. KikoRomeo, meaning “Adam’s Pome” in Kiswahili, was founded by Ann McCreath in 1996. Her daughter, Iona McCreath assumed the role of Creative Director in 2018.
The collection was inspired by Swahili, from the east coast of Africa, accented with bold patterns. Handmade Kenyan patterns and fabrics, leather and digital prints inspired by traditional Swahili fabrics. She presented her work at Portugal Fashion on March 17.
BELLO EDU (@belloedu)
Her career in fashion was born out of necessity. She grew up in a city where it was hard to find a style aesthetic that she could identify with. «I needed to be different, I needed clothes that were straight to the point. No clutter», she explains.
This is how the Bello Edu brand was born. She showed her collection at Portugal Fashion on March 18, inspired by the playful but strong personality of the woman who emerged stronger, bolder, and happier.
KREYANN’ (@kreyann_officiel)
Passionate about fashion from an early age. She trained at the Paris school of fashion design, ESMOD, where after three years studying women’s prêt-à-porter and haute couture, she became a designer. Back in her native Cameroon, Anna opened an art studio/showroom specializing in tailor made items, which soon became a successful business with a strong and constantly growing clientele. Her collection “voyage”, which was presented at Portugal Fashion on March 18, is a tour of different worlds and cultures around the world.
APRIL&ALEX (@aprilalexshop)
Self-taught designer, inspired by her grandmother who owned a tailoring business in Lagos, Nigeria, and her mother who launched a womenswear ready-to-wear brand in Lagos in the late 1980s. Sustainability is at the forefront of April & Alex’s vision. The collection, presented at Portugal Fashion on March 19, displayed structural, dramatic and wearable pieces with exaggerated details – sleeves, hoods and shoulder pads.
The program had a blended format, mixing physical events with digital elements to enable links and partnerships. It was conceived to support a generation of talents, through a personalized approach, to enhance and support their individual development and recognition.
