| AFRICA FASHION WEEK LONDON MEET THE DESIGNERS (part 1) |
| New designers & exhibitors sign up for AFWL2022 |
| After 2 years of Covid lockdowns, Africa Fashion Week London is delighted to welcome our national and overseas designers back to London. Featuring new practices, recycling and sustainability ethics and a return to heritage fabrics and textiles, AFWL2022 is shaping up to be a historic outing with some outstanding designers. A large many of them are using their platforms as social conscious enterprises. As usual, we have some beloved creatives returning to our catwalks and exhibition halls, like Mary Martin London and Soboye. |
 Hertunba Hertunba is a sustainable fashion and lifestyle brand delivering classy, ready-to-wear clothes for ambitious women.Understanding that every woman’s body is different, they also produce custom and regular sizes to ensure that every piece fits its owner perfectly.Every year, 13 million tons of textiles go to waste. 95% of these textiles can be reused or recycled. Hertunba reduces landfill waste by up-cycling waste generated during production, 90% of our excesses become either a form of wearable art or hand-crafted interior decor art pieces such as rugs and throw pillows.Also, 10% of all their net profit goes to a project that provides adult education for less privileged Nigerian women. They believe that to protect the girl child, her mother must be empowered with education.A beautiful ethic to live by – protect the earth and support women.https://www.instagram.com/hertunba/ |
 Toomey & Koko Toomey & Koko is a London-based brand that embraces difference. Their distinctive prints are bold, colourful and full of life – and they’re committed to impactful easy-to-wear outfits.Their designs are brought to life in vivid Adire fabrics, which use a resist-dyeing technique involving indigo and other natural dyes to create bold, eye-catching patterns.They carefully sourced Adire textiles and are passionate about incorporating traditional techniques into truly modern designs. https://www.instagram.com/toomeyandkoko/ |
 Ade Bakare One of Nigeria’s most celebrated designers, Ade Bakare is showcasing his latest collection at AFWL2022. The “Ayinla” collection has been inspired by Adire cloth and the film Ayinla.Adire originated in Abeokuta in the southwestern part of Nigeria and is unique for its water which has a high alkaline content and is ideal for adire production.Adire means tie-and-dye in the Yoruba dialect and has been produced there for decades. Historically, people came from different parts of Africa to buy this beautiful cloth which uses indigo dye to give it its rich navy blue patina to trade in rich fabrics but gradually due to colonialism and borders that sprang up dividing these regions the trade declined. However, it was still being used and gradually became a staple textile used – especially for funerals.Ade Bakare Couture started using adire in 2006, after being captivated by the cloth and started experimenting with the process on silks to give it a richer feel and look. it is now a mainstay of annual collections.With more research on the different patterns, Ade Bakare Couture started to introduce some old patterns which were popular in the 1940s and 1950s such as the ‘ilari’ (comb), ‘ila’ (lines), ‘ododo’ (flowers) and a modern ‘cocoa’ featured in the image above.https://www.instagram.com/adebakarecouture/ |
 Knits&Bobs.KLR An advocate in the 3 “Rs” – Reduce, Reuse & Recycle – this independent self-confessed knitting addict and brand creates limited run, unique and genderless pieces using natural and recycled fibres. After being taught by her grandmother and dabbling with knitting throughout childhood, Kireen fell in love with the amazing art and knits pretty much everywhere she goes – on the street, in parks, on doorsteps! We call it guerilla knitting! She is an advocate of the slow fashion movement with an aim to create affordable handmade fashion accessories, using natural sustainable materials from suppliers that align with the fairer treatment of workers who are integral to its production. It’s time to modernise your wardrobe with ethical and sustainable slow fashion. Each piece is a unique hand-knitted item crafted using her own patterns and made using the finest quality natural fibres, like merino and alpaca wool as well as cotton, hemp and bamboo.https://www.instagram.com/shopknitsandbobs.klr/ |
 Aquarius B Aquarius B is a fashion brand inspired by vibrant African textile patterns and prints.They offer high-quality, exclusive products that are ethically sourced and produced in Ghana & London. All products are 100% handcrafted with pride by individual Artisans.As part of their effort to give back, they currently use a portion of our sales in sponsoring one child in Ghana and aim to sponsor more as the brand grows.https://www.instagram.com/aquariusb_official/ |
| Friday 7 and Saturday 8 October 2022Freemasons’ Hall 60 Great Queen Street London WC2B 5AZGeneral Admission: 12-6pmTickets available here Digital PresentationsExhibition Shopping HallsFashion Business Talks ForumWorkshop ClassesHair & BeautyCatwalk Showcases |
AFWL2022: Meet the Designers & Exhibitors.
