In 2010, Hub of Africa Fashion Week, the first of its kind in Ethiopia, in a fashion-thrilled style was introduced to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The pioneers of the fashion week, Linda Murithi & Mahlet Teklemariam have not looked back, since.
Murithi and Teklemariam founded Hub of Africa Fashion Week recognizing the need in East Africa, more significantly in Ethiopia. During our chat with the founders of HAFW, Murithi tells us, “We realized that there were fashion weeks in West Africa – in Ghana and Nigeria, as well as in South Africa; and within East Africa, Swahili Fashion Week which takes place in Dar es Salaam, but not enough in East Africa.” It seems, with those platforms already taking place, the founders, Tekelmariam in particular, wanted to see something happen in Ethiopia. “Mahlet proposed the idea; I wanted to do something that would add value to the African fashion scene, not that the others don’t but there is an industry gap we realized that needs to be filled. We wanted to see the business of fashion happen in Africa; and Addis-Ababa, Africa’s diplomatic hub was the ideal place to do so,” says Murithi.
With such an ambitious vision, the Hub of Africa Fashion Week was born with the aim of bringing together and connecting designers, manufacturers, textile suppliers, buyers, and photographers; with big hopes of contributing to the rising fashion industry in Africa.
In its third year, the Hub of Africa Fashion Week – the “Editorial Edition” – is bigger, more impressive and ready to take on and infuse excitement to Addis-Ababa’s already emergent fashion landscape. It appears there is a particular reason the founders chose to name this event the “Editorial Edition”; they’re looking to expose their venture, and over the long haul make a bigger impact globally. “We realized that while we have been making great introductions and connections with production houses and suppliers, we’re still not really making an impact worldwide,” Murithi explains, “We want to have our designers next to Burberry, Chanel, Dolce and Gabbana, etc. We want features in major international magazines. We have had a few African designers such as Ozwald Boeteng and Mimi Plange featured internationally, but we have more talented designers to showcase. We realize how many of the “international brands” draw inspiration from Africa, so let’s imagine what the African exposure would be like.”
With aspirations of bringing the dynamic works of the African designers to the forefront, the founders have invited international “tastemakers” to the “Editorial Edition” Fashion Week. “We invite them to experience a country full of culture and history. Showcase brilliant African designers pushing to grow their brands within the booming economy in the continent. We want to see buyers walking away with orders and editors excited to see African designs that appeal to the international market. We also want to make sure the designers realize that we are their pillars and platform. But most of all, we want the editors and buyers to be excited about the flourishing African fashion market,” Murithi announces.
The Hub of Africa Editorial Edition Fashion week, presented by Clairvoyant Marketing Agency PLC and In The Bag will be held: October 23-25, 2014, in the Hub of Africa – Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
You can get further information on the Editorial Edition Fashion Week and learn more about the participating designers, here.