by Rachel Ogbu//

The annual Fashion Africa Conference took place last month at the Chelsea Old Town Hall, King’s Rd, Chelsea, London.

This year’s conference highlighted the scope of opportunities across the continent bringing together industry leaders from across Africa and the world.

It has become clear that power and value of opening up African Fashion to global markets is paramount to the economic development of the continent. The reason London, UK was chosen as the venue is that it’s been at the forefront of fashion for many years and is the ideal hub to bring together capacity builders who will change perceptions of African Fashion.

Speakers included Simone Cipriani of Ethical Fashion Initiative, Laduma Ngxokolo of Maxhoa, Tamsin Lejuene of Ethical Fashion Forum, Orsola Castro of Fashion Revolution Day, Inge Wallace of Fashion For Good (on behalf of the C & A Foundation), and Lance Clark with Dulma Clark of Soul of Africa, and more.

“I started Fashion Africa Conference with a vision in 2011 to bring the international market together to discuss the present situation in Africa’s textile industry and most importantly to go forward and do business and trade in Africa,” says founder Jacqueline Shaw, who is the author of the coffee table book Fashion Africa and Founding Director of the social enterprise and sourcing agency, Africa Fashion Guide. “Our events now 6 years old is a testimony of this vision. We had speakers fly in from Paris, Canada, Ethiopia, Geneva with delegates signed up from The British Council to Nike, to Fatface, New African Woman to London College of Fashion.

“With the support of event sponsors C&A Foundation, Mantisworld, Proudly made in Africa, Hatch Africa, Soul of Africa, Karma Cola and Brand South Africa, we were able to successfully execute our first ever two-day event with awesome panels, keynote sessions, workshops and breakout sessions and the added bonus of being on Kings Road in the historically listed building of Chelsea Town Hall just set the scene of grandeur and the professional seriousness that we raise with these events.”

Fashion Africa Conference will continue a 12-month city tour for Fashion Africa Voices, with intimate events focused on small business enterprise taking it on the road to Hamburg, Paris, Amsterdam, Nairobi, Addis, Amsterdam and to bring any interested delegate to Ghana, Kenya or Ethiopia on their new project, Fashion Africa Sourcing Trips.

Photo credit Abi Oshodi of AO_Photography