Design Fashion Africa: Six finalists arrive boot camp, as show kicks off tomorrow

Six fashion designers have been shortlisted for the Design Fashion Africa’s (DFA) maiden show billed for October 3 – 5, 2019 in Lagos.

The young designers who were part of the DFA online design challenge had their entries reviewed by a panel of celebrity judges and will now join the DFA Fashion Academy where they will receive training from some of Africa’s best designers.

Daily Trust reports that the Design Fashion Africa was launched on September 3, with the goal of showcasing many young and upcoming fashion designers to the rest of the world and to enable them commercialize their craft.

Following a launch teaser video and an official announcement, the organizing team received over 1,000 entries from across Nigeria.

While there was some public voting for best designs, a panel had to sit through and vet all the entries to pick the very best designs from the lot, narrowing all applications to less than 1%, our reporter learnt.

According to the organisers, the selected six young designers will undergo a three-day Bootcamp which will feature a fashion academy on the first day, a marketplace on the second and round up with a live fashion show on the final day.

The fashion academy will feature training from some of the best in the fashion business in Africa led by Mai Atafo.

The marketplace and live runway show are more focused on the primary goal of the DFA initiative which is to showcase these designers to everyone, the organisers said.

“Each finalist will get the opportunity to have their outfits on the runway along with other established designers from across Africa.

“The marketplace will be a sales point for other designers with unique outfit designs and fashion accessories to drive sales to guests at the event.

“Design Fashion Africa opens on the 3rd of October and will come to an end with the live fashion show at Eko Hotels on the 5th of October,” they added.