Swahili Fashion Week - East Africa's Biggest Fashion Event

East Africa's biggest fashion event, Swahili Fashion Week, was held last month in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, and was broadcast live to the rest of the world.
It was founded a couple of years ago by Tanzanian designer Mustafa Hassanali. Hassanali also showed his designs at the last Africa Fashion Week held in South Africa.

We spoke to Swahili Fashion Week's Amisa Juma about this years' event.

You can also learn more about it at their official site swahilifashionweek.com

What is Swahili Fashion Week, and what are its aims and objectives?

Swahili Fashion Week is a fast growing platform for fashion and accessory designers from Swahili speaking countries and the African continent to showcase their talent, market their creativity and network with clientele and the international fashion industry. This is all aimed at emphasizing to the region that fashion is an income generating creative industry, meanwhile promoting a "Made in Africa" concept.

Having initiated a dynamic and promising platform for the fashion industry in the region, Swahili Fashion Week is now geared towards being the most sought out after fashion platform in Africa for the international market, founded, created and conceptualised in year 2008 by Mustafa Hassanali

Who are some of the designers that participated in this years’ SFW?

Some of designers are:

Safron By Pooja from Tanzania

Kemi Kalikalikawe from Tanzania

Patricia Mbele from Kenya

Nambi Brenda from Uganda

Nadir Tati from  Angola

Mpho Kuaho from Botswana

Cathy Kamthong from Malawi

Wacelias Zacarias From Mozambique

Towani Clarke from Zambia

How is this fashion week different from the other fashion weeks throughout the continent? 

Swahili fashion week promotes things that are made from Africa and the main aim is to expand African designs as well promoting emerging designers and some extended designers whose designs are made in African style into Swahili speaking countries i.e. East and Central Africa

What do you think distinguishes East and Central African fashion design from designs in the rest of Africa and the world?

The taste of African materials like beads, Kanga, Vitenge , Bazee , Kente, Kaniki as well as Vinyago in drawings like Tingatinga.

For our readers who are not familiar with the African fashion industry, can you give your thoughts and opinions on the industry in Africa in general, and East and Central Africa in particular?

The fashion industry in Africa is growing as days goes by hence  there more designers emerging as days goes by and people are wearing African designers labels compared to former years moreover the awareness of Fashion is greater in comparison to the former years.

 Who are some of the designers and models that have become household names through showing at SFW?

There are lots of them but to mention a few these are;

Designers                                                                Models

Jamilla Vera Swai                                                  Victoria Nyangasa

Robi Morro                                                             Richard Melchiory

Zamda George                                                        Evanuru Isaack

Frankoo Design                                                      Neema Mbuya

Gabriel Mollel                                                        Om Joshi

The African fashion industry has only really taken off in the past few years.  How do you see the industry progressing and what role does SFW play in that?

Fashion Industry in Africa is growing every day as lots of African designers are coming out now days and showing out their creativity and talents.

Swahili Fashion Week is now the largest annual fashion platform in East and Central Africa, to date. The growth of SFW plays the role in developing the fashion industry in  Africa and the whole world. In its fourth year, Swahili Fashion Week will be celebrating Tanzania’s 50 years of Independence, by bringing together 50 designers from Tanzania, Its neighbouring countries and rest of the world in celebrating its “UHURU".

What do people attending SFW expect and look forward to?

People should expect much from SFW this year. This year SFW was the largest one, not only because we have a lot of designers from different countries in Eastern and Central Africa, but we are celebrating 50 years of Tanzanian Independence (“UHURU”). However they should expect a lot of new talents, African made commodities as we have a Shopping festival where designers will have the stands to sell their commodities and showcase their creativity. And much more, people should come and witness themselves

Besides for showcasing design talent, what other events took place at this years’ SFW?

·        Shopping festival, where people shop from what is being made in Africa.

·        Emerging designer Competition

·        First Fashion Award in central and Eastern Africa, called  Swahili Fashion Week Awards.

·        Designers Work shop