Local Designer Off to NY Fashion Week

Addis Fortune (Addis Ababa)

Workineh Zewdie

4 April 2011

A charismatic designer, Fikirte Addis, who is the owner of Yefeker Design, will be participating in the prestigious New York Fashion Week (NY Week), scheduled to take place in July 2011.

Fikirte won the opportunity to showcase her works for NY Week after winning the “Origin Africa: Fibre to Fashion 2011” clothing design competition, held on March 18, 2011, in Mauritius.

The competition, an initiative of USAID, was part of a two-day symposium and designer show that brought together designers, manufacturers, and buyers at the symposium.

Items on the agenda of the symposium included eco-friendliness, manufacturing practices, product development, as well as integrating designing and marketing.

“I am very happy and excited at the prospect of participating in the New York Fashion Week,” Fikirte told Fortune.

New York Fashion Week, one of the most glamorous events in the fashion industry, is held twice a year. Thousands of attendees, including designers, celebrities, journalists, manufacturers, and buyers are expected to gather for the event. The event is a showcase most professionals dream of attending.

Fikirte is prepared to come up with additional colourful designs to reveal Ethiopia’s magnificent traditional clothes to the world at this event, she told Fortune.

Designers from Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Malawi, Zambia, Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria, Madagascar, Seychelles, and Mauritius participated in the competition.

The eight designs presented by Fikirte at the fashion show were made from handmade traditional Ethiopian fabrics.

The judges were four professionals from the textile and fashion industries, including Chad Schofield, an American apparel buyer; Caroline Sack Kendem, chairperson of Ken Atlantic; Jack Kipling, head of the Export Council for the Clothing Industry of South Africa; and Karalynn Sprouse, vice president of Magic International, the world’s largest apparel trade show.

The designers were judged on the creativity of their designs and harmonious use of materials, according to organisers of Origin Africa.

Participants had to show designs for both men and women. Different buyers from the United States (US), Europe, and South Africa attended the show.

Ethiopia’s traditional clothing styles were incorporated and mixed with modern styles in all Fikirte’s designs.

The clothes she presented were all from handmade cotton, and combined comfort and style, the designer said during a press conference. Her success would hopefully attract famous international designers to the country, she said.

“It is important for me not to lose the connection I have with my culture, giving it a modern twist and bringing it into the international fashion arena,” Fikirte told Fortune. She received many offers from buyers who saw her work at the show in Mauritius, she claimed.

Her products are available in some European countries, although in small quantities. The successes she achieved in Mauritius may bring new opportunities to expand her international reach. However, the local market is the major consumer of her work, which includes wedding designs and others traditional clothes.

The competition and accompanying symposium were also attended by Kassaye Mekuria, president of the Ethiopian Textile and Garment Manufacturers Association (ETGAMA), and one of the board members of the African Cotton and Textile Industries Association (ACTIA).

Fikirte’s success will help the country’s garment and textile industry to grow by attracting foreign designers and textile professional to Ethiopia, Kassaye said at a press conference on Tuesday, March 29, 2011.

“It is time for the Ethiopian cotton and textile sector to flourish,” he said. “ETGAMA is ready to render any technical or other assistance to designers in the country to make them commercially oriented.”

USAID organised the symposium in support of Africa’s cotton and textile sector to enter the global market, according to Tewodros Wosenyele, marketing coordinator of AGOA Plus Ethiopia, a USAID funded project.

Officials of USAID and ETGAMA confirmed that they are jointly organising a special Integrating Design and Marketing workshop in Addis Abeba for July 6, 2011.

AllAfrica – All the Time