Beautiful Women of Africa
Natural Sistas
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Natural Sistas
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Ladybrille African Fashion News, #30
A weekly collection of fashion news related to/about Africa.
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- V&A wins top shopping centre award
- South Africa: Growth Means Diamonds Head for Asia
- Kwanzaa is not just another Christmas
- Chinese beauty wins Miss World
- Thread count
- South African designer Gavin Rajah creates one-of-a-kind doll to ...
- Moroccan Fashion Instigates Visual Enchantment
- Uganda: Local Fashion Designer Wins Medal in Niger
- Black Friday reality check
- PDATE 1-UK fashion retailer Topshop plans China stores in 2008
- HELSINGIN SANOMAT INTERNATIONAL EDITION - BUSINESS & FINANCE
- Kenyan fashion shows mere entertainment
- New faces at C Definition Fashion Agency
- Uganda is an Entrepreneur’s Canvass: Molding and Painting the ...
- Kenya: 'Catwalk Kenya' Puts Local Fashion Industry in the Spotlight
- African Fashion International announces Deon Redman as new ...
Have a brilliant day!
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Africa’s Handsome Trio Win Humanitarian Award in Paris
In 2006, three charismatic African men got together and decided to do their part to help make the world a better place. Matthew Mensah, Obaro Ibru and Femi Amure [United Nations WFP, Coordinator for Africa, Stop Hunger Division] chose fashion as the vehicle for change by launching "Catwalk the World Fashion for the Food" Campaign. The campaign is the first global United Nations campaign to be created and launched in Africa.
The campaign aimed at halving the world’s hungry children by 2015 is a high profile off shoot of “Walk the World” which is WFP’s annual world wide walk for Stop Child Hunger across all time zones.
Significant, is the method the trio have used in helping make the world a better place. They have "killed two birds with one stone" figuratively speaking by creating a high profile platform to showcase the largely ignored urban, explosive and very cosmpolitan African fashion industry and its designers to African and Western consumers. Indeed designers like Deola Sagoe, Kofi Ansah, Tina Atiemo, David Tlale, Stoned Cherrie are among the brilliant designers that have helped pull the elites and national and international media, under one roof, to donate and give visibility to a charitable cause.
On November 26th, 2007, in Paris, and exactly a year and a half since the launch of the first event in Lagos, Nigeria, the handsome trio with impeccable style sense and BIG hearts were honored for their humanitarian work in Paris at the 21st annual World Quality Commitment Awards.
Ladybrille salutes each one of you. What follows is a little synopsis/bio based on my observations of these individuals in Nigeria and/or Ghana and a video footage of the launch in Nigeria so you readers get to know more about them.
Meet the "Catwalk the World" Trio
Obaro Ibru can best be described as tall, dark and handsome with a commanding presence. He also happens to be the son of Nigeria's billionaire, Olorogun Michael Ibru, which in simple terms means, he is filthy rich. Nevertheless, Ibru is not fazed by the glamour and flamboyance that comes with his wealth. He appears to understand that you can not be truly fulfilled, regardless of your achievements and wealth status, unless you help the less fortunate around you.
As Chairman & Co-founder of the Catwalk the World fashion for Food Campaign, Ibru has been instrumental both hands on as well as providing financial resources to help the campaign grow and operate smoothly. Spending time with Obaro and Hirut Ibru [his wife seen in picture above], last year in Ghana, I was surprised with the intense energy, passion and work he put into getting the event to operate smoothly to the point where he worked himself to being quite sick. [Sorry to break the macho image Obaro :)]. Alongside Ibru, is his gorgeous Ethiopian wife Hirut Ibru who I also personally witnessed work quite hard on the logistics of getting a show like “Catwalk the World- Ghana" off the ground.
Mathew Mensah is funny, witty, passionate, intense and has a serious commitment to children across the globe and especially to the children of Africa. The half Ghanian/ [Danish]/French mix is the public relations guru behind the "Catwalk the World" campaign. [He is also the Founder and CEO of the Catwalk the World campaign]. From African celebrities like Actor Ramsey Noah, Actress Omotola Jalade-Ekehinde to America’s Damon Dash and London’s Ozwald Boateng, Mensah never stops asking and attracting celebrities and non-celebrities to be a part of the cause he feels so passionate about.
While I was in Ghana covering "Catwalk the World, Ghana," Mensah finally had a little down time , after the show, for a heart to heart about his intense passion for helping the less fortunate, especially children. Mensah told me a compelling story on how he was a promoter in London doing the big promotions when big names such as Usher, among other Hollywood and London’s celebs, performed in London. However, one day, it hit him, through the life experiences he was going through that a big part of his purpose on earth was about giving back and helping those that are less fortunate than he was, especially children. Since then, he has not stopped pushing and mobilizing people to help the world’s hungry children and particularly Africa’s. He has also been involved in peace campaigns in Sierra leone, Liberia and campaigns against AIDS in South Africa, among others.
Femi Amure is dynamic, intelligent and has a very sharp style sense. Not quite as tall as Ibru or Mensah, nevertheless, Amure's charisma and unique swagger commands attention when he walks into a room. Currently the United Nation's WFP Cordinator For Africa - Stop Hunger Division, Amure has been highly involved in the operations and logistics of pulling off "Catwalk the World" shows. He is highly interested in stragetgic alliances with “governments, organizations, communities, corporations, schools e.t.c. [a]cross the continent, with the objective of having events in every single country in Africa that are inclusive to all.” Like Ibru, Amure has also recruited his wife [seen above to Amure's right] who also works for the United Nation’s WFP to be a part of helping with the [campaign}.
CONGRATULATIONS FELLAS. Ladybrille salutes you!
To read more about the organization, click here
[In January, New Year's eve Catwalk the World will be doing a special event for orphans and other underpriviliged Children in Sierra Leone].
Meanwhile, for the USA readers, mark your calendars, come March 2008, "Catwalk the World" will be hosting a Charity event in Los Angeles, California
Monday, December 3, 2007
Is the Catwalk too White?
An "emergency summit" will take place next year in London to tackle the "blatant racism" that resides in the fashion industry, and in particular, the dearth of black models gracing the catwalks of international fashion shows.
Dee Doocey, former managing director of an international fashion company and now a British Liberal Democrat spokesperson who is organising the summit, believes that the fashion world "desperately needs to face underlying racism in the trade." According to a recent New York Times Magazine article, the industry is not interested in black models unless they are doing a "jungle theme, in a grass skirt holding a spear." Fashion insiders claim that there are now fewer black models seen on ramps and in fashion magazines than there were in the 1990s. This new debate has overshadowed the “Size Zero” furore, which questioned the promotion and relevance of extremely thin models.
Of the 101 shows and presentations held during the 2007 New York runway season, more than a third did not feature any black models. During the 2007 Paris Fashion Week, only one black model appeared, with only two on the programme at the Milan Fashion Week.
Is this an international scenario? "No, it's not," according to Lisa-Jane Owen, Director of a South African model agency, Models International. “There are many black models in South Africa; how many have made it internationally I cannot tell you, but within our context, there definitely is no ‘racism’ towards black models," said Owen. She said that the Durban Fashion Week features more Indian models than any other Fashion Week event in South Africa.
Owen did admit that some clients do look for "Western-looking black models." American model agent Bethann Hardison says: "Image-makers do not have an eye to define black beauty." A British editor for a women's supplement, Adenike Adenitire, concurs: "The black models you see here in the United Kingdom have features that are less ethnic, and more ‘anglicised’."
Historically, the wife of dressmaker Charles Worth, who is credited for introducing the concept of the fashion show, is considered the first fashion model. In 1852, Worth used his wife, Marie Vemet, as a mannequin to present his new creations to the French aristocracy in Paris. The status of models in society changed radically in 1924, when Jean Patou used American women to model his new line of clothing in the US so that the American market could identify more easily with his fashion creations.
French designer Christian Dior caused an outrage in the late 1950s when he used a new petite, dark model, Victorie, which symbolically reflected a shift in fashion consumerism for prêt-a-porte (ready-to-wear) garments. Dior wanted his model to represent his clientele so that they could easily relate to her and thereby respond positively to his creations. Which makes one wonder: would contemporary consumers identify more with white than with ethnic models, be they black, Asian or Hispanic?
In the past, lanky white models represented glamour and desire, and as two-legged economic drivers of consumable fashion, this image continues to dominate the industry. Today though, the traditional Western model is facing competition from Eastern European women who, according to one fashion observer, are “ultra-white, blond and skinny … there are not many dark-skinned Eastern European models."
Editors, designers, modeling agencies and consumers are blamed for the scarcity of black models on international catwalks and in fashion magazines. Supermodel Naomi Campbell says fashion magazines have "sidelined black beauty." The British edition of Vogue has not shown a black model on its cover since featuring Campbell herself in 2002. The Elite modeling agency, which discovered her, claims that the market dictates the usage of ethnic models.
Lisa-Jane Owen says that current industry trends do influence which models will be used, and white models are not always favoured. "The decision process at castings for photo-shoots and fashion shows results in many models of all races being rejected … this is an industry of rejection."
While the debate about the lack of black models in today's industry grows, during the dark days of apartheid, a few black South African models flourished internationally and locally. Nakedi Ribane took part in the 1978 London Collections. Pearl Jansen from the Cape Flats was the first runner-up in the 1970 Miss World Contest, while her white counterpart Jillian Jessup – South Africa had two entrants – came fifth.
Today, male and female black South African models are active on ramps and magazine covers far and wide. Perhaps the organisers of next year's “emergency summit” should look to South Africa as an exemplar of a fashion industry that celebrates the richness of race and gender, in a way that delights human beings everywhere.
Author: Renato Palmi
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Dee Doocey, former managing director of an international fashion company and now a British Liberal Democrat spokesperson who is organising the summit, believes that the fashion world "desperately needs to face underlying racism in the trade." According to a recent New York Times Magazine article, the industry is not interested in black models unless they are doing a "jungle theme, in a grass skirt holding a spear." Fashion insiders claim that there are now fewer black models seen on ramps and in fashion magazines than there were in the 1990s. This new debate has overshadowed the “Size Zero” furore, which questioned the promotion and relevance of extremely thin models.
Of the 101 shows and presentations held during the 2007 New York runway season, more than a third did not feature any black models. During the 2007 Paris Fashion Week, only one black model appeared, with only two on the programme at the Milan Fashion Week.
Is this an international scenario? "No, it's not," according to Lisa-Jane Owen, Director of a South African model agency, Models International. “There are many black models in South Africa; how many have made it internationally I cannot tell you, but within our context, there definitely is no ‘racism’ towards black models," said Owen. She said that the Durban Fashion Week features more Indian models than any other Fashion Week event in South Africa.
Owen did admit that some clients do look for "Western-looking black models." American model agent Bethann Hardison says: "Image-makers do not have an eye to define black beauty." A British editor for a women's supplement, Adenike Adenitire, concurs: "The black models you see here in the United Kingdom have features that are less ethnic, and more ‘anglicised’."
Historically, the wife of dressmaker Charles Worth, who is credited for introducing the concept of the fashion show, is considered the first fashion model. In 1852, Worth used his wife, Marie Vemet, as a mannequin to present his new creations to the French aristocracy in Paris. The status of models in society changed radically in 1924, when Jean Patou used American women to model his new line of clothing in the US so that the American market could identify more easily with his fashion creations.
French designer Christian Dior caused an outrage in the late 1950s when he used a new petite, dark model, Victorie, which symbolically reflected a shift in fashion consumerism for prêt-a-porte (ready-to-wear) garments. Dior wanted his model to represent his clientele so that they could easily relate to her and thereby respond positively to his creations. Which makes one wonder: would contemporary consumers identify more with white than with ethnic models, be they black, Asian or Hispanic?
In the past, lanky white models represented glamour and desire, and as two-legged economic drivers of consumable fashion, this image continues to dominate the industry. Today though, the traditional Western model is facing competition from Eastern European women who, according to one fashion observer, are “ultra-white, blond and skinny … there are not many dark-skinned Eastern European models."
Editors, designers, modeling agencies and consumers are blamed for the scarcity of black models on international catwalks and in fashion magazines. Supermodel Naomi Campbell says fashion magazines have "sidelined black beauty." The British edition of Vogue has not shown a black model on its cover since featuring Campbell herself in 2002. The Elite modeling agency, which discovered her, claims that the market dictates the usage of ethnic models.
Lisa-Jane Owen says that current industry trends do influence which models will be used, and white models are not always favoured. "The decision process at castings for photo-shoots and fashion shows results in many models of all races being rejected … this is an industry of rejection."
While the debate about the lack of black models in today's industry grows, during the dark days of apartheid, a few black South African models flourished internationally and locally. Nakedi Ribane took part in the 1978 London Collections. Pearl Jansen from the Cape Flats was the first runner-up in the 1970 Miss World Contest, while her white counterpart Jillian Jessup – South Africa had two entrants – came fifth.
Today, male and female black South African models are active on ramps and magazine covers far and wide. Perhaps the organisers of next year's “emergency summit” should look to South Africa as an exemplar of a fashion industry that celebrates the richness of race and gender, in a way that delights human beings everywhere.
Author: Renato Palmi
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Nkhensani: The Stoned Cherie's Success Story
We've talked about Nkhensani the designer behind the very successful label Stoned Cherie in the past. Below is a clip from the Times, South Africa, where she talks about how she conceived the Stoned Cherie idea, the brand's success, the challenges she finds in the business of fashion, the importance of having a strong business foundation and the pursuit of what can be quite an elusive "balance."
Brought to you by: The Times Multimedia
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Brought to you by: The Times Multimedia
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