Stage is set for 15th edition of Swahili Fashion Week

Dar es Salaam. The annual Swahili Fashion Week (SFW) is scheduled to take place in Dar es Salaam from December 2 to 4 at the Parthenon Hall/Greek Hellenic Club on Ali Hassan Mwinyi Road.

Marking 15 years since it was launched, the three-day event will bring together more than 50 fashion designers from across East Africa and beyond to showcase their designs and talent, while networking with fashion enthusiasts and other stakeholders within the fashion industry.

SFW founder Mustafa Hassanali, told journalists that the goal is to boost the African fashion space.

“The goal of developing the African fashion space remains at the forefront of what we are aiming to do, and through the platform and its wide media exposure, the consumer in Tanzania, Africa and diaspora at large is seeing that there is an alternative to the imported brands, strengthening brand value, championing the ‘Made in Africa’ concept and building a global brand with African roots,” he said.

Mr Hassanali added that the SFW has always been a premier creative platform for designers from Swahili-speaking countries and beyond.

“The platform intends to encourage talented designers to use platforms as stepping stones to the next level in the fashion world. 15 young and talented designers will be able to showcase their innovative and creative designers to the world,” he said.

This year’s 15th edition will go by the theme ‘Discover what makes Africa beautiful’.

For her part, SFW public relations and media manager Nzonesta Jecknonia said number of international participants remained low due to Covid-19, and this has created room for more local and designers from within the continent.

“Last year, we saw a huge number of designers because we were celebrating 60 years of independence. This year we still have many Tanzanian and East Africans who are ready to showcase their collections,” she said,

Over 48 designers from Tanzania and East Africa will showcase the work along with ten international designers.

Some of the local designers include Bhuyeg’I, Bilan Facon, Chuwa Fashion, Difa_Designs, Katty Collection, Kiki’s Fashion and Mkwanduleson’s. International designers include Berry Heart Creations (Botswana) and Ucoco Brand (Burundi).