The organisers of Gaborone Fashion Week (GFW) have announced the date for their inaugural get-together for budding local designers and fashion entrepreneurs.

The exchange, which is the first of its kind, will be a one-day seminar on August 9th at Boipuso Hall for exhibitors who will be showcasing at the main exhibition during Gaborone Fashion Week. The line-up of speakers for the event includes some of the fashion world’s influential tastemakers from varied disciplines within the fashion industry. The speakers include Oroma Elewa editor of Pop’ Africana, a New York City based bi-annual fashion and art publication dedicated to delivering a rejuvenated image of Africans. Nigerian-born Elewa brings the vibrant cultures and styles of Africa to an international audience.

Also sharing the podium on the day is Arieta Mujay, a seasoned international stylist. Mujay will be at GFW to oversee the overall look and the styling of the shows. She is also the public relations manager for River Island, a British high street fashion brand that has stores around the world. She has worked in the fashion industry for many years and brings her wealth of experience to the event.  Speaking about her involvement with GFW this year Mujay said, “It’s time the world sat up and paid attention. African people are very creative and we have never really had a platform to showcase this creativity, but this changed over the last few years. As a result, a lot of talented people now have the opportunity to show the world what they can do. I am just so proud to be part of the movement.”

The workshops are designed to give exhibitors an opportunity to learn how to market their designs, merchandise and how to create fashion designs that are sellable. According to the organizer, Koketso Chiepe, the workshops should be especially useful to fashion designers and jewelry makers who are producing locally. “Often when designers create clothes for a fashion show they don’t focus on what happens to the collection they have tirelessly put together after the show. A collection is showing your potential buyers what you’re selling this year. There needs to be a plan to produce these collections and to be able to make money from them. For traditional jewelry makers we want to emphasize quality and creating pieces that are trendy. They should begin thinking about their pieces as part of an outfit to make them relevant. These are just some of the things we want to bring to the discussion,”  said Chiepe.

Other important themes to be discussed on the day include the use of media to build a brand and how to use social media to get more exposure for budding designers and labels.  The seminar is open only to exhibitors and will run from 0900 hours to 1200 hours.  For information on how to become an exhibitor contact Tlamo or Tebatso at tkgakge@gazettebw.com or call 3912833.

Source – The Botswana Gazette