Renato Palmi Appointed as Marketing and Project Director for Linea Fashion Academy

Congratulations to a friend of Ladybrille, Renato Palmi. Palmi a renowned fashion researcher,columnist for numerous fashion publications in SA, and author of "Inside-Out, South African Fashion Designers Sewing Success," is now Marketing and Project Director for the prestigious Durban based fashion institution, Linea Academy.

Kim Day, Director at the Academy tells us, "he shall be giving lectures to our students on the business or as he calls it the fashion-nomics of the industry as well as on social aspects of the industry such as ethical and fair trade within the apparel sector."

We know he will do a terrific job. Congrats Renato Palmi!

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TED Conference Introduces TED Fellows Program

Contact: Laura Galloway
Phone: +1 213.948.3100 or +1 212.260.3708
Email: laura@gallowaymediagroup.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TED CONFERENCE INTRODUCES TED FELLOWS PROGRAM
Fifty World-Changing Individuals to be Selected Annually for New, Prestigious Fellowship Program; 20 move to Senior Fellows Three-Year Program

Long Beach, California, February 2, 2009 -- Organizers of the TED Conference today announced the introduction of the TED Fellows program, a new international program designed to foster the spread of great ideas. Initially 50 individuals, selected for the world-changing potential of their work, will be invited to participate in the TED community each year. At the end of the year, 20 of these 50 will be selected to be TED Senior Fellows, participating in an extended three-year program will bring them to six consecutive conferences, along with additional benefits. The principal goal of the program is to empower the Fellows to effectively communicate their work to the TED community and to the world.

The TED Fellows program will focus on attracting applicants living or working in five parts of the globe: the Asia/Pacific region, Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America and the Middle East, with consideration given to applicants from the rest of the world. TED will seek remarkable thinkers and doers that have shown unusual accomplishment, exceptional courage, moral imagination and the potential to increase positive change in their respective fields. The program focuses on innovators in technology, entertainment, design, science, film, art, music, entrepreneurship and the NGO community, among other pursuits.

The program was inspired by the TEDAfrica 2007 conference in Arusha, Tanzania, in which 100 fellows participated in a first-of-its kind gathering that catalyzed a new generation of leaders -- all entrepreneurial, fluent in technology and vested in creating change on the continent. The Arusha fellows brought with them new perspectives, enormous energy, enthusiasm and, through their ovation-generating talks, catalyzed the launch of many initiatives with other attendees. Propelled by their energy, TED decided to develop the TED Fellows program.

“Because TEDAfrica’s success in 2007 was due in no small part to the boundless energy and remarkable ideas of our fellows, we decided to create a permanent program to bring more amazing leaders into the TED Community. TED will help them communicate their ‘ideas worth spreading’ to a much larger audience,” said Tom Rielly, TED Community Director, who is responsible for the program.

Each Fellow will attend the prestigious TED Conference in Long Beach or Oxford, where they will have the opportunity to speak before or during TED and spread their ideas online through TED.com. They will also receive exclusive communications training, a private social network and the opportunity to tell their ongoing stories on the new TED Fellows blog.

Each year, 50 Fellows will be selected to attend the TED (Long Beach) or TEDGlobal Conference (in Oxford, U.K.), approximately 25 at each location. TED Fellows will be awarded the opportunity to participate in the full spectrum of TED community offerings. An international selection committee representing the target regions will then choose the Senior Fellows. Three years from today, in addition to the 50 TED Fellows, there will be 60 concurrent TED Senior Fellows, with 20 joining each year, and 20 graduating to the Fellows alumni.

The first participants include

Erik Hersmann and Juliana Rotich, co-founders of Ushahidi.com, a website for citizen journalism covering crises such as the Kenyan post-election violence

Faisal Chohan, CEO of Cogilent Solutions and founder of BrightSpyre.com, the leading job portal in Pakistan

Juliana Machado Ferreira, Brazilian CSI: Wildlife biologist who uses genetic markers to track, interdict and convict illegal songbird traffickers

Sara Mayhew, Canadian mangaka (manga artist)

Patrick Awuah, founder and President of Asheshi University in Ghana, which specializes in economics and computer science

Bola Olabisi, founder and CEO of the Global Women Inventors and Innovators Network

Katrin Verclas, founder of Mobileactive.org, a global network using mobile technology for social good

Taghi Amirani, award-winning documentary filmmaker from Iran

Yatin Sethi, Indian design researcher and children’s education activist

Kyra Gaunt, professor, ethnomusicologist and recording artist

Karen Baptiste, post-doctoral fellow from Trinidad and Tobago working on environmental justice

Tin Ho Chow, former Singaporean military officer and RISD industrial design student organizing design conferences for social change

Gerry Douglas, founder of Malawi’s Baobab Health Partnership, which builds touch screen terminals that allow non-doctors to diagnose, treat and correctly prescribe drugs for people with HIV

Esther Chae, Korean American actor and writer whose solo performance As the Arrow Flies draws on her life growing up in Korea and tells the story of a North Korean spy and the FBI agent who pursues her

A complete list of the 2009 Long Beach TED Fellows can be found at www.ted.com/fellows/2009.

The program is supported initially by the Bezos family, the Harnisch Foundation, private donors and Nokia, with additional in-kind support from Kodak, Lightscribe and One.org. To support the program, email fellows@ted.com.
Details are available at www.ted.com/fellows. For more information, please contact Logan McClure at +1 212.346.9333 or via email at fellows@ted.com.

About TED
TED is an annual event where some of the world's leading thinkers and doers are invited to share what they are most passionate about. "TED" stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design — three broad subject areas that are, collectively, shaping our future. And in fact, the event is broader still, showcasing ideas that matter in any discipline. Attendees have called it "the ultimate brain spa" and "a four-day journey into the future." The diverse audience — CEOs, scientists, creatives, philanthropists — is almost as extraordinary as the speakers, who have included Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Jane Goodall, Frank Gehry, Paul Simon, Sir Richard Branson, Philippe Starck and Bono.

TED was first held in Monterey, California, in 1984. In 2001, Chris Anderson's Sapling Foundation acquired TED from its founder, Richard Saul Wurman. In recent years, TED has expanded to include an international conference, TEDGlobal; media initiatives, including TED Talks and TED.com; and the TED Prize. TED2009, "The Great Unveiling," will be held Feb. 3-7, 2009, in Long Beach, California, with a simulcast event in Palm Springs, California.
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Tennis Star Serena Willams Opens High School in Kenya

President elect Barack Obama's Kenya affiliation is helping Kenya a whole lot! Tennis celebrity star Serena Williams, yesterday, cut the ribbon in Kenya to open her secondary school, the Serena Williams Secondary School. The school is located in Matooni, South-east of the Kenyan capital Nairobi. Secondary schools in Africa are the equivalent of high schools in the States. The star cites the need for education in Kenya; and the fact that Barack Obama's father was afforded a chance for an education which ultimately led to the soon to be President, as her motivation. Wellllllll!

Photo credits Concrete Loop &/AFP

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African University of Science and Technology to Open in Abuja

Mark your calendars for July 2008 when in the state of Abuja, capital of Nigeria, West Africa, the doors open to admit the first set of students for the African University of Science and Technology [AUST].
"The African University of Science and Technology in Abuja (AUST – Abuja) was established by the Nelson Mandela Institution (NMI) in 2007 as the first of a Pan-African Network of Institutes of Science and Technology and Centers of Excellence located across the continent.AUST Abuja, a National Universities Commission (NUC) accredited university, intends to become a world class research oriented institution whose final objectives are to train and develop the next generation of African Scientists and Engineers and impact profoundly the continent’s development through science and technology applications. AUST is an independent, not for Profit University with a transparent governance system whose parent NMI is a private charity incorporated in the USA."

If you've ever thought about contributing to Africa, especially in science and technology, my very brilliant ladies and fellas, this is your opportunity! Of course we have a fashionable interest in encouraging you to be involved in science and technology. For starters, we sooooooo need our Fabric Scientists and honestly some serious Fashion Technology geeks and nerds.

Imagine a major boost and revitalization to Africa's Fashion Industry; partly because we now know the scientific breakdown/chemical composition of our numerous local authentic fabrics? How about a system where garments have labels with fiber composition and proper laundry of our 100% African garments? Imagine an Africa where science and technology experts team up with Africa's garment manufacturers and government agencies, among others, to create strong technological infrastructure that makes Africa competitive and able to meet global demands? Don't think too hard. It really can happen! If you love fashion + technology or just plain love science and technology; and you want to make a real difference starting with Africa's young brilliant minds, then you must get to gettin'! Get an application and apply today as a student or professor! Click here to visit AUST site.

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Ivy league Makes Room for Fashion

Isaw this story at Fashion Week Daily and could not help but chuckle. Yale University honors Malcom Harris by renaming the Sankofa Group Award in his name. In addition, the award is said to epitomize Mal Sirrah, Inc.'s tag line, fashion company owned by Harris, "with great personal luxury comes greater social responsibility." I'm loving it! Harris was key in the mobilization of the fashion industry for the "Designers for Darfur" event. That Yale would recognize and award Harris for his work got me thinking and chuckling about ivy league schools in Africa.

Is there a remote possibility that ivy league schools in Africa would even think about creating room for humanitarian awards for Africa's designers? Yup! Africa does have its own Ivy Leagues people. Anyway, Africans for the most part are very driven when it comes to education but it appears there is a one size fits all formula. Must every African educated person be a lawyer, doctor or engineer? There is and continues to be room for all kinds of genres of fashion professions i.e. fashion/print designer, buyers, fashion journalist, photographers, manufacturers and more. I can only imagine the fate that awaits the African child who, for example, tells his/her parents, "mom, dad. I don't want to be a doctor. I want to be a fashion designer. I can hear the loud and annoyed retort "Fashion what??!!!" It is kind of comical to visualize. Too much Nollywood movies for me.

You can get a PHD in fashion. It's how you want to play it. Follow your passison if that is what you want! What a day it will be if an Ivy League schools in Africa recognizes and extend an award to Africa's designers like Malcolm Harris who understand the need to balance fashion with humanitarianism and social consciousness. I think I will be chuckling, laughing and smiling that it finally happened, in Africa!

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Dame Vivienne Westwood Inspires Fashion's Future Minds

I spent my weekend meeting and interviewing Famed British Designer Dame Vivienne Westwood. She was honored at the San Francisco Academy of Art University. In attendance was also famed British designer Zandra Rhoades.

Westwood was witty, funny, gutsy and very down to heart. Westwood is credited for heralding the punk movement as early as the 50s and definitely in the 70s. By the 90s, Westwood had redefined her style. She maintained her avant garde edge but presented it in a sexy, refined and modernistic reconstruction of historic fashions such as corsets and crinolines; infusing what would be her signature style of British fabrics such as tweeds and tartans. From disheveled, extreme and rebellious looks that was synonymous with her socio-political stance, Westwood has transitioned to womanly yet non-conformist elegance.

The Academy's students through laughters and numerous questions to Westwood in later Q &A session showed they were delighted to hear her and her politically incorrect views on current fashions.“We are all being trained to be consumers. There is no choice at all. The dream of the business person is to sell one product forever and ever. [The] [result] is everyone looks so horrible, miserable, bored [and] stuffy,” lamented Westwood as to the current state of fashion and her determination to give women a viewpoint that goes “against the consumer” mentality with her designs.

The fact that Westwood was in San Francisco spending her time with students got me thinking about education and training for Africa's future fashion professionals.Although it is changing, albeit slowly, fashion is not exactly a career a young African is encouraged to embark on. Instead, degrees like law, medicine and engineering take an elite status with fashion maintaining the back of the bus seat. However, a part of that perceived myopic view on fashion has to do with the lack of training and education for Africa's future fashion professionals. In North America and Europe, students enjoy strong caliber fashion schools and are constantly exposed to key industry persons from designers to fashion moguls.

Fashion is BIG business. As such, students are taught and exposed to the very best in the industry. In Africa, South Africa's Fashion Industry as well as the design house of African Mosaique consisting of a few seasoned designers from mostly East Africa seem to the the few ones pushing a major training of future fashion professionals. I want to see and I encourage more African fashion industry professionals to take aspiring African fashion youths under their wings and train them.

Train them on Africa's fashion history, textiles,business, photography, journalism, interior design,marketing, public relations, protection of intellectual rights, e-commerce and internet use, fabric maufacturing and more. There is a problem when Chinese goods in Africa account for over 70% and American second hand clothing from charities like Salvation Army is big business, partly because Africa's poor cannot afford the cost of being clothed in thier own fabrics.

If a formal education is not available, students/youths should seek informal training in design houses in Africa and mentors who know and understand the business of fashion. Africa needs fashion education and entrepreneurial skills. The women who sell fabrics at the markets are just as important as the weavers in the villages. Mobilizing these groups of women and teaching them the business of fashion, is very important to improve and sustain an existing industry. Form organizations for there is power in numbers, develop fashion schools, lobby governmental entities such as The Ministry of Trade/Textile development to become actively involved in creating infrastructure, privatizing textile firms and more to help create a more independent continent. Raw materials to make clothes for Africans within Africa, the West or the East should come from Africa's textile mills or the local men and women who produce this, not imported from overseas into Africa.

Designers in Africa that are considered the Crème de la Crème in Africa's fashion industry need to really keep social responsibility at the forefront of their creative brains. Be the mentors, the role models and the advocate of change for fashions schools and competitive curriculums. What good is it if you are the only top designer and the rest of your country lacks even a basic working fashion industry? Some selflessness is required to get Africa's fashion industry ahead. In addition, designers, fashion schools and other industry professionals in the USA and Europe should consider some sort of pro bono work where they give hours of training, through technological mediums or other avenues, to train and teach fashion and the business of fashion to the future generations of Africa's brilliant fashion minds.




All photos by Bob Toy. Photo 1: The Academy's highly respected international fashion illustrator Gladys Perint Palmer presents one of her illustrations to Vivienne Westwood; Photo 2:Green chocolate filled mousse shoes were served as dessert as a homage to Westwood's reputable 9inch heel and 4inch platform shoes which had people talking when Supermodel Naomi Campbell fell on a London runway while showcasing Westwood's 'Anglomania' collection in 1994; Photo 3: Vivienne Westwood and Zandra Rhoades.

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