–          Top 5 young African designers to watch in 2014

MAKI OH

 

Nigerian women swear designer Amaka Osakwe is the creative force behind Maki Oh whose design ethos is to challenge the prevailing notion of beauty. Aroused by a strong sense of African culture, the label stretched beyond physical beauty to a textured, layered and three dimensional aesthetic.

http://www.maki-oh.com/

 

 

LAURENCE AIRLINES

 

LaurenceAirline was founded in 2010 by Ivorian, Laurence Chauvin-Buthaud. The luxury brand celebrates the richness of African culture via its contemporary minimalist aesthetic of silhouettes and bold patterns, and it stands at the forefront of sustainable and ethical fashion.

http://laurenceairline.com/

 

 

MAFI MAFI –

 

Mafi is a fashion designer based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, who started her career at 16 as a model and musician, while simultaneously studying nursing. Mafi works exclusively with hand-woven fabrics made by women and creates clothing and accessories which are fresh and cutting-edge whilst at the same time very wearable.

http://www.mafimafi.com/

 

 

MODAHNIK –

Designer, Kahindo Mateene, is officially Congolese, but unofficially she is a true citizen of Africa: born in Uganda, schooled in Kenya and lived in Ethiopia, Niger, and

Nigeria. This is reflected in MODAHNIK’s socially conscious women’s wear line that fuses the designer’s vibrant African heritage with western design sensibilities consisting of feminine modern pieces.

http://modahnik.bigcartel.com/

 

 

 

SINDISO KHUMALO –

 

SINDISO KHUMALO is a women’s wear brand with a strong focus on contemporary textile design that believes that fashion can become an empowering agent by creating a positive economic activities in otherwise marginalized parts of the world.

http://www.sindisokhumalo.com/

 

 

 

 

 

–          Top 5 female African fashion designers

MAKI OH

Nigerian women swear designer Amaka Osakwe is the creative force behind Maki Oh whose design ethos is to challenge the prevailing notion of beauty. Aroused by a strong sense of African culture, the label stretched beyond physical beauty to a textured, layered and three dimensional aesthetic.

http://www.maki-oh.com/

 

JEWEL BY LISA –

 

Tanzanian-born Christine Mhando launched her ready-to-wear range the in 2007 and has since shown at New York and Lagos Fashion Week. The label is an amalgamation of the continents and cultures in which the designer was raised and has become recognised as an international African brand that modernises and transforms traditional illustrative East African textiles into stylish attire.

http://www.jewelbylisa.com/start/

 

TIFFANY AMBER – Folake Folarin-Coker

 

TIFFANY AMBER was launched by designer Folake Folarin-Coker launched in 1998, and it is considered to have revolutionised the fashion industry in Nigeria. Her vision is for Tiffany

Amber to be the first label to transcend the whole of Africa and to become the premier African lifestyle brand. Every collection shows the designer’s love for luxurious fabric and intricate embellishment from all over the world whilst at the same time instilling her African heritage to produce timeless, feminine and effortlessly stylish pieces.

http://www.tiffanyamberng.com/index.php

 

 

 

NKWO –

 

NKWO started with an obsession with dolls and a mother who taught her how to sew. The label now focuses on creating collections of women’s wear, jewellery and accessories that capture the African story, told with a 21st century slant and with a sense of the nomadic, inspired by the lives of the people of the desert and great plains. NKWO only makes one collection a year to avoid wasteful practices and ensure their brand is as eco-friendly as possible.

http://www.nkwo.co.uk/

ADELE DEJAK –

Adèle Dejak is a luxury fashion accessories brand designed and handmade in East Africa using reclaimed and recycled materials from Kenya, Uganda, Democratic Republic

of Congo and Rwanda, emphasising sustainability and engagement with the local communities. Inspired by African shapes, textures and traditional techniques, the cutting-edge pieces sit perfectly between artefact and high fashion statement designs.

http://adeledejak.com/

 

 

–          Top 5 male African fashion designers

ORANGE CULTURE –

Orange Culture is more than a line; it’s a movement. A movement for men and women who don’t allow clothes determine who they are. Their collections are inspired by an easy and colourful summer, for the fun loving guy filled with life. For those with a colourful disposition, the rocking pieces are suited to different fashionable summer experiences.

http://www.orange-culture.com/

 

 

AGI AND SAM –

Design duo Agi Mdumulla and Sam Cotton place a strong emphasis on entirely bespoke print and humour, believing that fashion should never be taken too seriously. They showed their graphic menswear collection at London Fashion Week 2011 and won the Emerging Talent Award – Menswear at the British Fashion Awards 2013.

http://agiandsam.com/

 

 

ADRIAN SAUVAGE –

Adrien Victor Sauvage is a British designer, director and photographer of Ghanaian descent. Sauvage has acquired a reputation for its understated luxury and no-nonsense approach to contemporary tailoring with an emphasis on a perfect cut and casual elegance. Originally specializing in contemporary tailoring, the brand has since diversified to offer made to measure, womenswear, casual separates and leather goods.

http://asauvage.com/

 

 

DURO OLOWU –

Since arriving on the London fashion scene in 2004, Nigerian-born Duro Olowu has impressed the right people with his vibrant mix of African prints, seventies tailoring, and unlikely color combos. A high-waisted patchwork boho dress—known as the “Duro”—put the brand on the fashion map, and became a cult item in 2005 after being discovered by American Vogue editor Sally Singer and Julie Gilhart of Barneys.

http://duroolowu.com/

 

MAXHOSA –

MaxHosa by Laduma was founded in 2010 to help preserve and celebrate traditional Xhosa aesthetics within a vibrant and dynamic ready-to-wear knitwear collection, created in premier South African mohair and merino wool from Port Elizabeth and Cape Town. Using traditional Xhosa beadwork motifs and patterns as inspiration, Laduma states his mission “was to create a modern Xhosa-inspired knitwear collection suitable for amakrwala (Xhosa

initiates).

http://africanknitwear.com/