African fashion market hits $31bn – Europe

The founder, Africa Fashion Week London/Nigeria Ronke Ademiluyi says that the annual turnover from African fashion in Europe is about $31 billion.

Ademiluyi, who disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Lagos said that African designers are very creative which made their work to stand out.

Cue in audio

“The African fashion industry has according to the Euro monitor is worth $31 billion, annually and it is still growing.
“A lot of big brands like the Swedish IKIA are doing a flagship collection of African furniture and require many African designers to work with them.
“So for me, I think it’s a new revolution of African fashion it’s not going anywhere, it’s here to stay, our colours are vibrant and bold and everybody loves them so it’s a worldwide revolution.
“The first year we had 53 designers from across Africa and 4, 500 visitors, and it’s been growing every year, it’s the biggest platform in the UK and Europe that promotes African fashion.
“Every year we have about 20, 000 visitors who attend we have designers from various African countries, South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, Senegal, from all over the world.
“They come and they experience the latest fashion out of Africa.’’

Cue out audio

She said that the recently concluded 2017 Africa Fashion Week, Nigeria “The Iconic Catwalk Show”, was a boost for Nigerian prints, fashion display and iconic sites to the world.

NAN reports that the 2017 fashion week had in attendance over 10 fashion designers from Nigeria, Cameroon and Zimbabwe who presented models that showcased their creativeness in catwalks.Some of the designers included Vonnie Couture, Yikodeen (footwear), Valery Royal (Cameroon), Nyaradzai (Zimbabwe) and Telvin Nwafor.

The highlight was the cultural show by Lixi Cardow, a fashion designer who displayed designs made from ABC fabrics (local Ankara) in various styles.