The Parthenon Hall In Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, Hosted Swahili Fashion Week 2022, Showcasing Brilliant African Designers.
More than 50 fashion designers, mostly from Swahili-speaking countries and beyond, gathered in the port city of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, for the opening night of Swahili Fashion Week, Tanzania’s annual fashion event.
The international fashion industry and its clients showcased the skill and originality of fashion and accessory designers.
“Models like me have a great opportunity thanks to Swahili Fashion Week.
“Thank you for giving me the award tonight,” Rio said after receiving the prestigious award when the 15th Swahili Fashion Week and Awards 2022 took place over three days.
The winners of 29 fashion categories were voted on by the public and audit firms verified the results. Rio was one of the winners. “This is just the beginning of a long journey into the fashion industry for me. I look forward to participating in all national and international fashion shows and winning many more awards.”
Swahili Fashion Week is a great opportunity, especially for up-and-coming designers to showcase their work, said Mboko Uswege, a young fashion designer who attended the event for the first time.
Mustafa Hassanari, founder of Swahili Fashion Week, said the event’s aim is to inspire talented designers and use it as a springboard into the fashion industry.
According to Hasanari, “Celebrating the 15th Anniversary of Swahili Fashion Week” is the premier creative forum for designers presenting their collections to a global audience in Swahili-speaking countries and beyond.
Kedmon Mapana, executive director of the government-run National Arts Council, appealed to people to support the fashion sector. “To become an internationally renowned brand name, we need to cultivate local talent.”
In 2008, renowned Tanzanian pan-African designer Mustafa Hasanari founded and developed a platform known as Swahili Fashion Week.
The Swahili Fashion Week logo is an upside-down graphic representation of the African continent called Kipepeo (the Swahili name for the brightly colored butterfly).
Clean models add sheen to the ideals of ‘fashion is a business’ and ‘made in Africa’. The African representation resembles the face of an African woman wearing a distinctive headwrap.
The wings represent the direction of bringing the East African fashion industry to international markets.
Swahili Fashion Week
Content courtesy of Swahili Fashion Week and NFH
