Newsletter No. 05                                        16 February 2018                     

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Nandi Madida nails her New York Fashion Week debut

By Emmanuel Tjiya

Local celeb Nandi Madida presented her Colour by Nandi Madida Autumn/Winter 2018 collection, in collaboration with designer Josh Patron, at New York Fashion Week on Saturday.

Her collection, undoubtedly a celebration of female power, was complemented by a fierce beauty look. Models were transformed into warrior queens with exotic eye make-up, bold in-your-face crimson lips and Bedoo wigs.

Fiery shades of red also dominated the runway— think everything from a classic coat-dress with luxe ruffled details to a sultry off-the-shoulder dress inspired by a double-breasted suit jacket.

pdated power suits offered a more fashion-forward alternative for the working woman. With colour-blocking effects, dramatic shoulder details and playful prints, the message was clear: you can be bold and fun at the same time.

While red and shimmering gold hues were the colour of choice for day-wear; evening-wear introduced clean whites and muted black options with African beadwork on the neckline.

As Madida took her bow after the show in a black fluffy jumper paired with printed cigarette pants, it was clear as day that her effortlessly cool style had inspired the collection.

The Times

Ghana’s ICU urges government to address textile piracy menace

Ghana’s Industrial and Commercial Workers Union (ICU) has urged the government to urgently stop the piracy of local textiles and influx of cheap foreign prints in the market to sustain the industry. According to union general secretary Solomon Stephen Ashalley Kotei, piracy is slowly smothering and strangulating the local textile industry.

Criticising the government for being unable to curtail negative foreign influence on the Ghanian textile industry, Kotei urged it to attack piracy with absolute commitment and seriousness without being a spectator.

He was speaking recently at the inauguration ceremony of ICU’s local union at Tex Styles Ghana Limited (TSG), formerly known as Ghana Textile Printing (GTP), in Tema.

Ghanaian markets are over-flooded with cheap, inferior and pirated Chinese textile prints, he was quoted as saying by media reports in Ghana.

As several appeals to the government to step in to save the local textile industry have not been heeded to, a coalition of textile companies will mobilize both their management and workers to demand protection rather than plead, he said.

The majority of textile products in the Ghanaian market are now smuggled and counterfeited and if this continues, the situation would turn worse, TSG managing director Erik Vander Staaij said

Nigerian government working to revive textile industry: minister

The Nigerian Government under President Muhammad Buhari is committed to revive the textile industry according it high priority, minister of state for industry, trade and investment Hajiya Aisha Abubakar said recently while visiting the headquarters of the National Union of Textiles Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN) in Kaduna.

Once the country produces enough cotton, it can feed the industry, Nigerian media reports quoted her as saying.

It is surprising that the National Cotton, Textile & Garment (CTG) policy, adopted by the government since 2014, was not built into the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), Issa Aremu, general secretary of the Textiles Workers Union, said.

The textile industry is yet to revive despite government efforts, he said, adding that the industry witnessed about 700 direct job losses due to retrenchment in some factories. F2F

AFI CT Fashion Week to celebrate Africa

African Fashion International (AFI) has rebranded its fashion week properties to AFI Cape Town Fashion Week and AFI Joburg Fashion Week. AFI Cape Town Fashion Week will take place from 21-24 March 2018.

“The global north has always been inspired by Africa. Following its recognition with the Franca Sozzani award in New York, AFI is uniquely positioned to propel African fashion onto the global stage,” says AFI executive chairman Dr Precious Moloi-Motsepe.

In keeping with its longstanding commitment to support, develop and nurture talent across the continent, AFI has expanded to include multi-skilled art directors to capture the local fashion scene and stories with new talent.

In line with the theme: #IAmAfrica!, AFI Cape Town Fashion Week will celebrate the future of African luxury fashion with continent’s ancient creative heritage.

AFI Cape Town Fashion Week is emerging as a destination for a fusion of fashion, art, and design and will showcase a range of collections from African fashion royalty and rising star designers and artists.

Did you know……..

One silk cocoon produces an average of 600 to 900 meters of silk filaments, but it takes four to eight pieces to make one strand of silk thread.  In all, it takes about 30,000 silkworms to produce 12 pounds of raw silk.

Eyeliner became popular after its discovery in King Tutankhamun’s tomb in the 1920s.