The Fashion Council of Namibia was approached by the Creative Industry Guide to research and pen an article for this year’s 2020 edition. The research article focuses on exploring the value of fashion as a socio-economic cultural expression of Namibia.

The Creative Industry Guide is a first for Africa, contextualizing the creative economy through featured industry insights from experts, including a comprehensive listing of creative companies, organizations, and professionals ranging from architecture to visual arts. The guide is an invaluable resource, showcasing the contribution and direction that creative vision is taking on the continent from across all disciplines. The creative industry refers to a range of economic activities, which are concerned with the generation or exploitation of knowledge and information.

From streetwear to high-end fashion couture, Africa is increasingly recognized as an emerging fashion market with a new generation of entrepreneurial designers cross-cutting the value chain to feature on the coveted runways and magazine covers of the world. The purchasing power of the growing middle class, both on the continent and globally, has increased the demand for high-quality, vibrant fabrics, adorned detailing, and craftsmanship steeped in African cultural expression. In an ever more connected world, African image-making and visual representation in popular culture have been proliferated through the technological advances in social media and e-commerce platforms. There is extraordinary energy for all things African underpinned by growing trends in sustainability and authenticity. The pressing question, therefore, is, what the Namibian context is in terms of positioning, opportunities, and challenges of fashion as a lucrative creative industry; given this mega potential and appeal. Read the full article here.

POC Fashion Designers who shaped Today’s Fashion Industry
Part 1

2020 was a difficult year for the fashion industry as it had to adapt to the New Normal by having to look into new innovative means to showcase collections and products. This new normal led to the first virtual digital fashion collection of the season by Anifa Mvuemba, who presented her label, Hanifa, in a groundbreaking digital 3D fashion show which was met with high praises on the 22nd of May 2020.

We also witnessed the BLACK LIVES MATTER movement around the world, especially in Los Angeles, New York, Paris, and New Zealand, which led to the fashion industry being called out for their ignorant and blatant racist behavior towards people of color and the lack of representation and coverage of POC in the fashion industry.

Anifa, a woman and a black fashion designer who is overlooked, and the lack of representation and the coverage of POC women in the Fashion Industry, led me to dig deep into the past  and educate myself on black women who have shaped and built the fashion industry.