Africa is bustling with creative talents and innovative spirits; all looking for platforms that’ll enable them to express themselves, granting them the needed jolt to a successful career launch. Design Fashion Africa, popularly called DFA, which is a reality TV show, has been one of the few platforms giving creatives across Africa, a chance at a wider reach and audience.
With its maiden edition kicking off in October 2019, the brand has created design challenges which ranged from DFA Wearable Art Challenge and DFA My Fashion Line, crowning winners upon winners such as Jubril Abubakar and former GTBank Fashion Weekend Challenge Winner, Viera Amber.
This year’s challenge, as almost any other global competition, took a slightly different turn. Thanks to the pandemic, brands had to do in-house restrategizing, thinking up ways to stay solvent and relevant through the period, while hitting a successful and sustainable benchmark. The DFA My Fashion Challenge requested young designers to upload a 2-minute video on their instagram account, introducing themselves and designs, with the hashtag #dfamyfashionline. Brands would then be vetted and selected accordingly, by a team of highly respectable fashion professionals who looked ardently for both creative and entrepreneurial spirits. The top 10 selected designers would be given a chance to showcase their collections on the runway, be mentored by leading Nigerian fashion professionals, and an opportunity to win the star prize of a $10,000 grant.
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This year’s challenge entry which was sponsored by Heineken kicked off on the 19th of August, through the 25th of August, 2021. The selection process was pretty intense because going by the hashtags on Instagram, a lot of pages brought their A-games, with high hopes of copping the stipulated prize. After going through each of the entries, the judges which included Adebayo Oke-Lawal, founder of Nigeria’s foremost androgynous label, Orangeculture, and fashion author, Godson Ukaegbu, released the profiles of the top 10 contestants in no particular order. Meet them;
Oshobor Dawn Peter
Tammytara Abaku
Reina’s Designs
Ohlanna bu Zikora
Okusi Ronke
Qinesty Couture
Chukwuemerie Udiahgebi Ugwoke
Bode Afolabi
Kojo Kusi
Mumbian Studio