Front Row: Africa Fashion Week Houston #AFWH

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…