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AFWA 2016- Celebrating African Fashion in Europe

The 3rd edition of Africa Fashion Week Amsterdam (AFWA) took place in August 2016. Thought designers, models, organisers and some of the media persons lodged at Corendon Vitality Hotel, the event itself took place at B. Amsterdam.

Day 1- Press Conference

The 4day event kicked off with a press conference where the organisers introduced the activities for the next 3days to the media and also introduced the designers who were on ground.

Day 2- Emerge Show

We arrived on the morning of this day, had breakfast and proceeded to catch the much-needed rest before the runway shows scheduled for 4pm.

The runway show kicked off with Black pearl, a fashion house owned by Diana Thambe, CEO and founder of AFWA. Her collection was inspired by 7 great Queens of Africa including Cleopatra VII and Queen Amina, .

Black Pearl at AFWA 2016

Black Pearl

Black Pearl

Black Pearl

Black Pearl

Black Pearl

Other designers who showcased their collection were Krachtvrouwen Oude Westen (the Netherlands), Van Eyong (Amsterdam), Doranels (France) and  TZL (Nigeria).

Kratchtvrouwen Oude Western

Kratchtvrouwen Oude Western

Kratchtvrouwen Oude Western

Kratchtvrouwen Oude Western

Kratchtvrouwen Oude Western

Kratchtvrouwen Oude Western

Van Eyong Amterdam

Van Eyong Amsterdam

Van Eyong Amsterdam

Van Eyong Amsterdam

Van Eyong Amsterdam

Van Eyong Amsterdam

Doranels

Doranels

Doranels

Doranels

Doranels

Doranels

 

 

 

 

Tozali

Tozali

Tozali

Tozali

Tozali

Tozali

We had musical performances from a dance group, Bessem and Evita. The organisers also rewarded 2 guests with a stay at Corendon Vitality Hotel and a dress made from Veba fabric.

Day 3- Men’s show

This day was dedicated to showcase designs for men. The designers who showcased brought out the very best on the runway. Their designs had a perfect blend of European as well as African designs and culture. Each one of them had a story behind their collection including Ethnik Mode who has his designs made in Ivory Coast but brought them to France and other European countries for sale. The proceeds he used to take care of the poor back home in Ivory Coast.

Ethnik mode

Ethnik mode

Ethnik mode

Ethnik mode

Other designers that showcased with equally amazing collections were Kwame Koranteng (UK/Ghana), Krachtvrouwen Oude Westen (the Netherlands) and Abrantie the Gentleman (Ghana).

Kwame Korateng

Kwame Korateng

Kwame Korateng

Kwame Korateng

Kratchtvrouwen Oude Western

Kratchtvrouwen Oude Western

Kratchtvrouwen Oude Western

Kratchtvrouwen Oude Western

Abrantie the gentleman

Abrantie the gentleman

Abrantie the gentleman

Abrantie the gentleman

There were performances from Evita and Unbreakable D and a guest also got to win a painting.

Day 4- Finale Show

The finale had some designers whose collections we had seen before come back. While some of them brought back what we had seen, the rest brought something new on the runway.

Abrantie the gentleman

Abrantie the gentleman

Kwame Korateng

Kwame Korateng

Kwame Korateng

Kwame Korateng

Black Pearl

Black Pearl

Black Pearl

Black Pearl

We also got to see some of the designers whom we haven’t seen before including FallProv, La Bella Pamela Creations, Sibel Karacam.

Fall Prov

Fall Prov

Fall Prov

Fall Prov

La Bella Pamela Creations

La Bella Pamela Creation

Sibel Karacam

Sibel Karacam

Sibel Karacam

African fashion is growing and has been fully embraced by the international community. Being in AAmsterdam gave us the opportunity to see how much love non-Africans have for the African design and even more is knowing that the Africans in diaspora have not forgotten their roots.

The next edition of AFWA is scheduled to hold in August 2017. For more information, click HERE.

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