Skip to main content

AFI’s Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Joburg to unlock the city’s fashion potential


AFI’s Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Joburg to unlock the city’s fashion potential

From 7-9 March, African Fashion International (AFI), in partnership with Mercedes-Benz, will host the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Joburg (MBFWJ) at Mary Fitzgerald Square in Newtown Cultural Precinct with two other shows on off-site venues to be confirmed. This will reinforce Johannesburg as a world-class African city that serves as the global market’s gateway into the continent.

AFI seeks to further echo fashion as big business with a host of potential in South Africa by attrracting the city’s talented and successful designers. The line-up of designers this season, which includes the likes of David Tlale, Thula Sindi, Suzaan Heyns and Fabiani, is testament to AFI’s commitment to excellence in presenting the best in creative innovation and commercial success.
In cementing Joburg’s role as a fashion capital, AFI is excited by its partnership with the City of Joburg. “Partnering with AFI to host these leading fashion events puts Joburg on a global platform as a fashion industry leader, along with cities like Berlin, New York and London,” says Ruby Mathang, MMC for Economic Development at the City of Johannesburg. “These showcases of excellence in fashion design provide unprecedented opportunities to communicate a strong message that Joburg is well and truly open for global fashion design businesses, providing a unique lifestyle destination for fashion tourists and buyers.”
By taking MBFWJ 2013 to Newtown – a modern, aspirational capital of art, fashion and design – AFI aims to support the city’s young and aspirational entrepreneurs. This event will help AFI engage with young up-and-comers by facilitating a skills exchange using AFI properties, specifically the AFI FastrackTM and AFI Next Generation initiatives. Moreover, holding this prestigious event in Newton will see a flood of urban trendsetters into the area, promoting it as a secure, attractive and commercially viable place to network.
In 2013 AFI plans to concentrate on growing fashion as a contributor to South Africa’s economy. In doing this, AFI is partnering with the Gauteng Growth and Development Agency on two development initiatives:
·         AFI Fastrack™ - The national graduate fashion platform offered by AFI which offers emerging young designers the chance to gain exposure with fashion week through seminars, workshops and career advice.
·         AFI The Next Generation – A platform which offers graduates from the AFI Fastrack™ programme an opportunity to elevate their fashion businesses through continued growth opportunities like the recent mentoring programme.
AFI Executive Chairperson, Dr. Precious Moloi-Motsepe says, “My heart-felt belief, underpinned by research and market understanding, is that Africa holds the promise of a positive future for the production and consumption of luxury goods and fashion. Joburg, as more than Africa’s leading international business and networking hub, holds the key to this promise. The city is a world-class fashion and shopping destination and cultural centre and its designers are shining stars whose futures in the global market look increasingly bright.”
South Africa and the continent as a whole can offer new and exciting development to the international market. It all begins with the 2013 AFI Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Joburg and the development programmes which follow. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ready, set, let’s go: Delta gives customers more ways to reclaim the joy of travel

Global airline’s people-first approach continues with landmark moves that boost loyalty rewards, simplify travel and reignite the experience Delta customers can now look forward to industry-first loyalty rewards, digital tools that make it simple and seamless to satisfy travel requirements, more seats to more destinations, and new and classic onboard refreshment options. Consumer confidence and deman d for travel are growing as COVID-19 vaccinations accelerate, and Delta is welcoming customers back with new travel experiences – all while enhancing the Delta CareStandard health and safety commitment the airline has become known for during the pandemic. Delta is launching new digital resources to make travel planning easier, including an interactive map that is searchable by price and destination type; offering SkyMiles Members the ability to earn up to 75 percent more toward Medallion Status on most ticket types, including Award Travel, in a first for the industry; reintroducing ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Sensational list of artists from 12 countries announced for 2013 Cape Town International Jazz Festival

Sensational list of artists from 12 countries announced for 2013 Cape Town International Jazz Festival Three-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, New York Times best-selling poet and critically acclaimed actress Jill Scott (USA) joins the bill for this year’s annual Cape Town International Jazz Festival (CTIJF) as one of the headline acts. Scott, who had to withdraw from the festival last year due to filming commitments, joins nearly 40 other world-class acts from 12 countries for a line-up of diverse live-music from traditional jazz to funk, pop, soul and more. This year’s stellar event takes place in Cape Town on Friday 5 th and Saturday 6 th April at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC). Speaking in Johannesburg, Rashid Lombard, Festival Director and espAfrika CEO said: “Jazz and popular music luminaries from every continent will be represented at this year’s event in keeping with the CTIJF’s ever-growing standing as one of the world’s ma...
Post a Comment
Read more

Air Seychelles to launch Lagos-Dar es Salaam flights

Air Seychelles, the national airline of the Republic of Seychelles, has announced the inauguration of twice-weekly flights from Lagos to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The statement by the company said the service, commencing on December 2, 2014, would mark the next stage of growth in the airline’s regional strategy. The statement said that the Tanzanian capital would become the third destination in Air Seychelles’ Indian Ocean and African network, after Mauritius and Johannesburg. It added that the route would be operated using a two-class Airbus A320 aircraft with 16 Business Class and 120 Economy Class seats. The Chief Executive Officer, Air Seychelles, Mr. Manoj Papa, said, “We continue to build strength and depth in our global network, and the addition of Dar es Salaam, one of Africa’s fastest-growing business and tourism destinations, will enhance traffic flow to the Seychelles and beyond, fulfilling our mandate to be a key economic enabler for the Seychelles, supporting tourism a...
Post a Comment
Read more