By Mahbuba
It was 6pm, an hour after the scheduled arrival time, and in typical African style, a number of seats for the nearly sold out show were empty. Regardless, the event was going to start….
In case ya dunno, I contribute to this amazing blog called Teakisi – which I love because it offers a space for African women to speak up. Trust me to take that that to my full advantage and use the privilege to low-key bash African men (I’m joking)….
I stumbled upon the most amazing picture of cooked plantain and I just had to know who had made it. It belonged to Sophie Musoki, a Ugandan food blogger.
Sophie is the content creator behind a little gem on the internet called A Kitchen In Uganda (AKIU)….
When I’m not creating content for my site, I contribute to Teakisi, a blogzine for African women. I have a feeling you might laugh or relate to this last article I wrote for them….
“Hi, my name is Joie, I was looking at your profile and I wanted to ask a question. Your confidence is so strikingly wonderful, how do you get past that little voice in your head and the voices of others? People saying how much prettier you’d be if you lost weight and stuff? I’ve struggled with my weight and body image my entire life. I see people like you and I am so inspired and ready to take that leap of faith where I wear whatever I want and then I look up and feel that sinking feeling.
I also would love to know how you got into the modeling industry, I’ve had people tell me I should do it but my parents say that I need to lose weight first… even though plus models exist…. how did you get to where you are?”
…
Super Model Grace Bol
The Alpha woman exudes a confidence that follows her everywhere she goes. Don’t get it twisted, a boss isn’t always an Alpha woman; an Alpha woman, however, is always a boss!…
Happy New Year Fabbies!!! I guess you can say that Back to school = Back on schedule = Time allocated to creating blog content….
I call my blog “My Happy Place.” Watching something I started as a hobby grow into a brand that I’m proud of has truly been the most exciting bit for me this year. It’s always humbling when I meet new friends who tell me they love my content and keep up with my posts….
You probably already know that I like my accessories African. These particular ones are quite special because they are handmade made with love from the women that are a part of “Beauty of Rwanda”….
Fall of Signature Essence (FOSE) held its annual Africa Fashion Week Houston (AFWH) event over the weekend and I got to witness it front row.
A number of events were held throughout the week however, I only caught up with them right in time to see a few designers showcase their work on the runway.
The fashion show event was held at Houston’s Ayva Centre and kicked off with cocktails in the lounge right before we were lead into the glamorously decorated multiple runway exposé.
It wasn’t long before the show kicked of so I’m going to jump right into it. Most of the looks were ready-to wear, although a few designers attempted to throw in something fancy and only wearable for the daring.
Many of the works had impressive finishes although I wish African designers would not confine themselves to using only Ankara fabric…there, I said it.
Okay, I won’t complain much because I had a front row seat however, I will write a few pointers and hopefully FOSE organizers will read this and fix it.
Besides the fact that there were two runways, and some looks could go by without you noticing until it was too late, and some annoying attendees who wouldn’t seat their asses in one place, and the runway that was only a few inches wide, and the unnecessarily loud music that was competing with the looks, it was a decent show.
Here’s the thing, I don’t consider fashion shows to be entertainment, I look at them as showcases where I need little to no distraction to see the look, vibe with it and get my shot.
Africans however, have this thing where if they feel like they’ve dressed extra, they make it a point to walk around one million times just so everyone can see said outfit. (Guys, this is what Facebook is for). The worst part is when they would try to walk around during the show, Oh. My. God!!!
One more thing, usually the main idea of having a runway show is to put your art out there. That’s why at major fashion events like NYFW, you have fashion editors, celebrities and bloggers sit front row. These are the people who are going to create buzz about the event (not your grandma and nieces). And in true relative fashion, they left before the event ended, so there was this empty seating space at some point…not good for press guys.
I will sign off on a positive note though. I absolutely loved that the designers were vibing with the popular ‘mixed-print’ trend that is major with ankara fabrics now.
Will I be attending AFWH next year?…Ummmmmm…let’s see how I feel in a year’s time lol.
Check out the pics…
Let me know how you feel about these looks, I like connecting with my readers on twitter.
Enjoy the week…Buba.
