Since Lagos Fashion Week’s inception in 2011, the platform has shown commitment to scouting talents and providing support for talents through the platform’s Fashion Focus programme (formerly known as Young Designer of The Year).
As the talent-scouting arm of Lagos Fashion Week, Fashion Focus expanded its reach to designers beyond Nigeria as part of an ongoing vision to facilitate more opportunities for pan African collaboration to thrive within the ecosystem.
Following a successful call for application, a series of interviews with the applicants were conducted at Heineken Lagos Fashion Week 2018 by the Fashion Focus Africa 2018 Panel – Mazzi Odu (Fashion Editor and Writer), Liam Freeman (Conde Nast International), Nisha Kanabar (Industrie Africa), Rukky Ladoja (Grey Projects) and Londe Thompson (Fashion Focus). The top five finalists were selected based on an assessment criterion that focused on the applicants’ creative and commercial vision.
The 2019/20 Fashion Focus Africa finalists that were selected are:
Linda Mukangoga – Haute Baso, Rwanda
Mohammed Jafaru Larry – Larry Jay, Ghana
Katungulu Mwendwa – Katungulu Mwendwa, Kenya
Amali Curtis – ILI, Nigeria
Ilse-Naolila Teixeira – Naolila, Angola
The selected finalists will receive the following:
- Business development support
- Creative development support
- Opportunity to apply for Fashion Focus Fund 2020 in collaboration with FETS Wallet
- Showcasing opportunity at Heineken Lagos Fashion Week 2019 (Subject to approval by the Fashion Focus Committee)
- Opportunity to develop your samples and produce a capsule collection at the NEPC Human Capital Development Centre
These five finalists join past programme beneficiaries, Ejiro Amos Tafiri, Gozel Green, Iamisigo, Kenneth Ize, Maxivive, Meena, Orange Culture, Sisiano, Emmy Kasbit and more, as the 2018/2019 Fashion Focus Fund recipient.
Fashion Focus is a program that is dedicated to the growth and promotion of emerging talent in the fashion industry. Fashion Focus presents unique opportunities for emerging talents to harness their skills through business development workshops, creative workshops, and mentorships. This year-long opportunity provides young designers with the tools they need to facilitate innovation, growth and commercial success.
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