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By Christy Anyanwu
Africa Fashion Week London (AFWL) and Black History and Lifestyle Awards (BHLA) are collaborating to have a fantastic show in London, United Kingdom, from October 27 to 29, 2023.
October, being Black History Month in London, these two brands have lined up a series of activities to mark the 13th year of Africa Fashion Week London and also hold the Black History and Lifestyle Awards.
Olori Ronke Ademiluyi Ogunwusi, founder of AFWL, pointed out that this year’s event is going to be massive, with the two brands coming together to further showcase Africa to the world in a greater perspective in this 13th year of the prestigious fashion show.
“I was privileged to attend the Black History and Lifestyle event in Nigeria last year and that was where the conversation started. She wanted to have an event in London celebrating Black History Month and we had an ongoing event already.
“We both decided that, rather than her doing her show independently, we could come together, bring our forces together, bring our energy and network opportunity to just showcase Africa to the world. In addition to that, we are launching our first UK trade expo this year. Why we decided to do that is that we’ve noticed that, over the years, fashion is beyond just showcasing designs on the runway. So, we are trying to showcase the entire value chain of the industry.” said Ogunwusi.
Initiator of BHLA, Ezi-Ada Folashade Balogun, founder of House of Sota, a prominent fashion house in Ikeja, Lagos, explained that the aim of the event was to do things in a unique way: “We are trying to change the narrative of this black slavery stint and showcase our heritage, our culture, and let people know that black-owned businesses have come to stay.
“House of Sota will be on the runway and on the exhibition ground to showcase our new collection, tagged, Ijinle. We would also have celebrities walk the runway wearing collections of different designers.”
