Hub of Africa’s Bumpy Fashion Week

On Thursday October 23, 2014, the third Hub of Africa Fashion Week (HAFW) opened up at the Galani Coffee House, a chic warehouse turned coffee shop near Gerji Mebrat Hail in Addis Abeba. The fashion show, which showcases various designers in one venue, is a three-day event that includes “two nights of fashion and one night of pure industry” said Linda Murithi, one half of HAFW’s founders.

Although the HAFW 2014 show took place, this week’s edition did not quite live up to the expectations raised by the success of previous events. Originally intended to showcase 14 African designers, this year’s show only included seven headliners: Kahindo Mateene (DRC), Abugida (Ethiopia), Katungulu Mwendwa (Kenya) Kepha Maina (Kenya), Mataano (Somalia), Rooi (Nigeria), Yohannes sisters (Ethiopia) and Ruald Rheeder (South Africa). The designers, although established in their respective countries, are less present globally, and use HAFW to break into the global market. The 2014 edition of HAFW, which was expected to help designers show international fashion journalists and buyers that African designers are capable of competing with their European counterparts, unfortunately came up a little short, mostly due to a lack of organization.

The HAFW fashion show launched in 2010, with six designers presenting during the initial show. According to sources, the intent this year was to showcase the work of 14 African design talents, but several were unable to show their creations because of disagreements between models and organizers, as well as due to other undisclosed problems. The shows on Thursday and Friday both started fashionably late. On the plus side, this allowed organizers some room to patch up apparent organizational issues, as two shows out of seven had to be cancelled on Thursday and six out of nine on Friday.

Although these kinds of issues are not uncommon in the industry, anonymous sources told Fortune that there should have been measures taken to prevent such mishaps. The sources also mentioned that they were disappointed by the overall organization and that they were unable to see all the designers, especially Mafi (Mahlet Afewerk), who was supposed to be the highlight of the event.

HAFW’s first event took place in 2010, followed by a second iteration in 2012, and leading to the third event, the “Editorial Edition”, this year. Organizers chose this name because they had invited several international fashion journalists to the event, stating in their press release that “editors and trendsetters, or in industry terms, the ‘taste makers’, are always looking for the best designers and brands to let the masses know what’s trending globally”.

The organizers say they want to ensure that business in the African Fashion Market is well represented, promoting Africa as a ‘Fashion forward continent’. Africa’s rich and diverse culture and history are well represented in African fashion design, according to the press release.

“We feel that with the right editors on board, we will be able to showcase the brands that are coming out of Africa,” organizers say.

The “taste makers” attending the event included various editors from Vogue Italia magazine, Style Cartel magazine, Coolhunting, a fashion website, New York Magazine, the BBC, and Fashion TV, according to the organizers.

The collections mostly appeared to feature African fabrics and prints incorporated into what could be everyday clothes. According to Natan Teklemariam, the creative art director for Hub of Africa, “The collections are practical and wearable, not just creative and beautiful.”

For most of the invited guests, the Abugida Collection by Ethiopian designer Hiwot Gashaw was the highlight that really stole the show and set the standard on the first day of the event.

Among the invited guests to HAFW 2014 are buyers which will act as mediators between African designers and retailers from Europe. One such buyer is a Berlin-based company called FA254, whose founder and CEO, Waridi Schrobsdorff, was also present at the event.

“The African fashion scene has come a long way. Designers now have the potential to create lines that will sell equally next to known European brands” says Waridi, a German national of Kenyan and Arab descent.

Waridi, who started out as a model, is now working in the fashion sector as a buyer. She established her company, FA254, in order to promote the works of African designers.

The HAFW event takes place every two years, and is meant to be an international platform for African designers. The founders and organizers of Hub of Africa, Linda Murithi and Mahlet Teklemariam, started this venture in African fashion because they believe that African designers deserve to compete in the global fashion industry.

“I am confident that most of the designers who got their start during the first HAFW in 2010 consider that event to be a pivotal factor in their subsequent success” Mahlet said.

When HAFW first started out, the event did not feature the buyers and “taste makers” that were present during this edition, although the show did create fruitful connections between those designers who were present. The first show was attended by international model Maya Haile, and also featured the renowned footwear brand Sole Rebels.

The 2012 event, which took place at the African Union as part of an expo called Origin Africa (an annual event organized by the African Cotton & Textile Industries Federation – ACTIF) – promoted an eco-fashion theme, with a stated goal of creating a system that can be supported indefinitely in terms of environmentalism and social responsibility.

Mafi, who for reasons she did not want to mention did not showcase at HAFW 2014, had also been a participant since the first event. “HAFW has created a very good platform for me and other designers, as there were no other comparable events in Ethiopia.”

Mafi is one of the few African designers who have broken into the international fashion scene, participating in such events as Africa Fashion Week held in New York in 2012. She was also a winner of Origin Africa 2012 award.

HAFW, which the founders believe will take place again in two years, is expected to encompass more African designers in the future, and hopes to represent all 54 African countries in a few years time.


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