Nollywood actors Chico Banky and Angel Gabriel, with Nolubabalo Mcinga and Agu Tuvi James. Photo: Supplied
It was a dazzling show of African print and design at the launch of new fashion brand Afropolitan Casuals at the Ilifa Collective retail space at Mandela Square in Sandton, Johannesburg.
The brand is owned by Nigeran businessman Kenn Ayere, who also owns the fine dining Hombaze African Cuisine restaurant.
Ayere said: ” Afropolitan is a coinage of African and metropolitan. It’s about taking what people perceive to be African and making it modern, and then giving it to the world. I have a firm belief that Africa is the future; I believe we have the best to offer the world. Afropolitan Casuals boasts a variety of designers from across the continent, blending distinct ethnic fashion senses in a modern feel”, he said.
“We have flavours from different parts of the world, [which they then] spread out to the rest of the world. We cannot keep promoting and consuming what other people push down to us. We also have to take what is ours out there.”
Ken Ayere. Photo: Supplied
The models were a spectacle of African pride on the catwalk on Thursday night. City Press spoke to Afropolitan Casuals brand ambassador, filmmaker and businesswoman Nolubabalo Mcinga.
Nolubabalo Mcinga with Andrew Idi. Photo: Supplied
She said her association with audiences of the continent – through her humanitarian and philanthropist work – made her a good choice to represent the brand.
“I am a global businesswoman and I am associated with different countries. I source donations from a sound network of established business associates and commission the different humanitarian projects, which I strongly believe to be God’s work,” Mcinga said of her network.
Chico Banky and Nolubabalo Mcinga. Photo: Supplied
Seasoned actor Jet Novuka and Sonwabile Ndamase, the designer of the iconic Madiba shirt, were among the guests in attendance.
SA Traditional Music Awards CEO Zandile Nzimande, Sonwabile Ndamase and Nolubabalo Mcinga. Photo: Supplied
Jet Novuka and Nolubabalo Mcinga. Photo: Supplied
SA Traditional Music Awards CEO Zandile Nzimande, Sonwabile Ndamase and Nolubabalo Mcinga. Photo: Supplied
Jet Novuka and Nolubabalo Mcinga. Photo: Supplied
Nigerian gospel singer and actor Ugo Tuvi James, who was showcasing some of the brand’s menswear, said: “The sun is getting hotter, climate change is here. We need something that is light, that allows you to breathe, but that is also African. Something that brings out the royal inside of you,” – and that is the design philosophy of some of the designers.
Ugo Tuvi James. Photo: Supplied
James said that Afropolitan Casuals allows Africans to not only identify themselves by their country’s prints and patterns but also as collective representatives of the continent.
Courtesy: news24.com
