As Africa and especially Nigeria’s traditional textile gain traction across the world, African Fashion Week London (AFWL) 2024 will further amplify the prominence of African textile on its runway this year by showcasing Nigeria’s beloved Adire, royal regalia and other African textiles, amongst others.
“Our Adire is trending at the moment. Some fabrics that I wear are Adire, some people don’t even believe it is Adire. The traditional fabric that would be showcased at the AFWL this year is to talk more about the Adire and other African traditional fabrics.
“The showcase of the royal regalia is because I am a royal and I always try to infuse my royalty into anything we do in Africa Fashion Week because that is who we are,” Olori Ronke Ademiluyi-Ogunwusi, the founder AFWL and the Adire Odua brand with a base in Ile-Ife, Osun State said during a press conference at Eko Hotel to announce the 2024 AFWL.
According to Ademiluyi-Ogunwusi, “fashion in Africa is part of our DNA, it is our identity and we must bear it with so much pride and showcase it with pride as well. We will be having designers from other parts of Africa such as Botswana, Jamaica, Ghana, and South Africa. South Africa has been participating for 10 years now because they know the value it brings to their economy.
Ademiluyi-Ogunwusi who is also the wife of Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, the Ooni of Ife said the Ooni has been the core foundation of the AFWL and Africa Fashion Week, Nigeria, (AFWN), adding that when she came up with the idea, the Ooni was one of the first she called to see if it was an idea that could work.
“We brainstormed and we did a few events together and he has always been a part of it. He gives me ideas on how to take it forward and a lot of innovation.”
She said this year is the 14th edition in London and 10th edition in Nigeria and it is all about promoting the creative talent out of Africa.
She disclosed that prior to starting Africa Fashion Week London in 2011, there wasn’t a platform that showcased the talent of creative talent in Africa.
“If you look at the work that they do which includes the artisans, the creative and the designers; you’ll understand that there must be a platform that showcases them because for creativity to grow, there must be a platform that showcases them.
“When you create something, to enable it to become sustainable and outlive you, you must commercialise it. This is why we created AFWL and AFWN so that our creative and our own African designers would be able to have a platform to thrive that they call their own.
“This is what we have been doing for the past 14 years. Nigeria continues to be the fashion hub of Africa. If you see our last Ojude Oba festival and how the world embraced it, you’ll understand how big Nigeria is. Just looking at the colour and the vibrancy of the fashion, you would know we are the leading voice when it comes to fashion out of Africa,” the Ooni’s wife explained.
She said one of the shows at AFWL is going to be inspired by the Ojude Oba Festival as designers would create designs that were inspired by the looks and colours from the Ojude Oba festival and put it on the runway.
The AFWL is the premier international African fashion showcase platform that began in London in 2011 at the Gibson Hall to a rapturous ovation and that has over the years, showcased to the world thousands of brands of African heritage from around the globe to an impressive audience count.
The grand success of the mother brand, the AFWL, was what birthed the impressive daughter brand the AFWN with a base in Lagos, Nigeria.
The London dates for the AFWL 2024 are Friday & Saturday, October 11 & 12, 2024, at the Kensington and Chelsea Conference and Events Centre, Hornton Street.London, England.
The AFWN (Africa Fashion Week Nigeria) 2024 would be held between 7 & 9, December 2024, at the Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria. It promises to be 3 extraordinary days of fashion & style.
