Pitti Immagine is an important trade show on the fashion calender and this season will be happening from the 19-22 June 2012 in Firenze in Italy.

Pitti Immagine dedicates space to the new names on the international creative and economic scene from emerging nations to stimulate exchange and further mutual knowledge and understanding. This Pitti W edition’s guest nation will be Nigeria, in cooperation with Lagos Fashion and Design Week (LFDW), which have come forward in recent seasons with some of the most interesting concepts in fashion research.

The designers who will take part of this special project dedicated to Lagos Fashion and Design Week have been selected by Omoyemi Akerele. Lawyer at first, she then became pioneer of the most creative talents of the Nigerian fashion scene. Omoyemi – fashion consultant and former fashion editor of True Love Magazine – gave birth in 2010, as creative director, to Style House Files (SHF), a style platform and point of reference in African fashion, that spots emerging designers and support them with initiatives such as “BuyNigerian”.

The designers from Lagos Fashion and Design Week that will be in Florence:

Jewel By Lisa

Lisa Folawiyo launched Jewel by Lisa in 2005, the Nigerian brand which – thanks to the skills of expert craftspeople – has revolutionized Ankara fabric working with aesthetic codes of a rich ethnic tradition. Color is the key to the collections with strong contrasts in graphic and patchwork look prints that are embellished with embroidery, sequins and Swarovski crystals. A retro touch on contemporary silhouettes means a new vintage look in cocktail dresses, pants and minis. www.jewelbylisa.com

image – PITTI W – Jewel By Lisa

Anita Quansah

After graduating from Chelsea College of Art and Design and working with some of the biggest names in Fashion – Christian Lacroix, DKNY, Diane Von Furstenberg, Ischiko and Victoria Secret – Anita Quansah created her own jewelry label in London in 2006. Each piece is a work of art, an eclectic combination of extremely different parts: bits of vintage jewels, semiprecious stones, rare African beads and fabric. What we see is a new concept in jewels with a bohemian, tribal spirit informed by the designer’s Nigerian roots.

www.anitaquansahlondon.com

Bridget Awosika

Bridget/Bukky Awosika’s origins are Nigerian, but she was born in Washington D.C. After earning a degree in business management she went on to study fashion at the Parsons School of Design in New York and then moved to Nigeria. The Awosika woman is cosmopolitan and eclectic: her femininity is clothed in an enchanting aesthetic of flowing lines and close fits, with asymmetries, transparencies and draping played out in a primarily neutral tones.

www.bridgetawosika.com

Lanre Da Silva Ajayi

Lanre Da Silva Ajayi has a Bachelors degree in Business Administration from Coventry University and a Masters degree in Finance from the University of Leicester. She created her eponymous label (LDA) in 2005 and it has gained a strong international following in just seven years. By combining pattern, optical prints and fine traditional fabrics – a tribute to her Nigerian background – LDA produces sophisticated clothing for the elegant woman who wants couture with touches of bright, vitamin colors. www.lanredasilvaajayi.com

Image – PITTI W – Lanre Da Silva Ajaye

Zashadu Enterprises

All creations by Zainab Ashadu – the designer who founded the Zashadu brand – are handcrafted in Lagos using Nigerian leather than has been exported and tanned in Italy, Spain and Portugal, exotic skins and rough-cut semiprecious stones so that each unique piece characterized by different colors, shapes and ornaments  is a collector’s dream.

www.zashadubags.blogspot.it / www.zashadu.com

In addition, the Lagos Fashion and Design Week invited to Pitti W also:

Omer Asim

Tailored lines plus structured shapes equal a fit that speaks the language of minimal geometric design and sculpted architecture. This is women’s wear by the London-based Sudanese designer Omer Asim. Born in 1978, Mr. Asim has a degree in architecture and has worked with Maurice Sedwell of Savile Row and Vivienne Westwood. He launched his own label in 2009 with an installation during the London Fashion Week.

www.omer-asim.com

This is truly exciting news and shows even more the importance of African fashion and African designers to the global fashion and texiles industry.

One event NOT to miss!

For more information go to:

http://www.pittimmagine.com/en/corporate/fairs/woman/news/2012/lagos.html