Inside Namibia’s Extravagant Fashion Week

Namibia’s biggest and most popular fashion platform, MTC Windhoek Fashion Week, tells a strong story of explosive growth in the fashion industry, with 2600 Namibians having showed up over a period of two days, which included showcases by 35 designers.

The annual event took place last week, although the real fun began on 2 November, and highlighted the maturity and commercial potential of the Namibian fashion sector through the quality and clout of homegrown brands and talents.

This week, Unwrap.online wraps up some of the designers that showcased their hard work and talent.

The swimwear line by the 23-year-old Jonte Moller had everyone’s jaw on the floor, as she was the only one that showcased swimwear with her theme ‘Construction’, which aims to empower women.

Jonte, a Namibian designer based in South Africa, said fashion week was amazing, besides the pressure which she described as “hectic”.

“It was more than I expected. Everything was amazing and I want to bring forward a new look into the show, as well as more designs. The only problem is that there was some criticism, where people told me that my designs were too revealing, I mean we are a young generation and the story of covering up is too much,” she said.

Seringa also had jaws on the floor with every garment that came down the runway, with shocked being an understatement.

House of St Luke was absolutely amazing, while Cultura showed us the equivalent of street wear excellence done the Namibian way.

The South African designer K. Moraba brought it with K. Moraba and Collective, featuring a collection that was just art after art after art.

Stephen van Eeden showcased Namibian-styled fairy tales, and the creativity in his designs was immaculate.

Inasmuch as we appreciate the designers and their eccentric artistry, we should not forget the models that strutted the runway and owned the clothes they had on.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with unwrap.online this week, Alvaro Mukoroli, fashion week co-founder and director, said he was pleased that the platform allowed people to be themselves, and featured transgender models as well.

“In terms of inclusivity, we had all size models on the runway, which is a norm at the MTC Windhoek Fashion Week since its inception in 2016. The platform has always allowed people to be themselves, and we have had transgender models as well.

“The MTC Windhoek Fashion Week was a success indeed; we hosted various activities during the week, from Fashion Pitch night, a networking session for industry professionals, a masterclass and runway shows. We hosted designers from Namibia, South Africa, Angola and Zimbabwe, among others,” Mukoroli.

“We had designers collaborate with music producers to create their own sound for the runway and we incorporated performances during breaks,” he said.

Mukoroli recounted that each runway show had about 300 attendees.

“This year we had about 80 male and female models, and 50 interns who were part of our internship programme. The designers showcased their best work and we are proud to see that Namibian designers are putting a focus on growing their art.

“We will be continuing with networking sessions, pop-up shops and masterclasses across the country in different towns. We are taking the activities to the people and also looking forward to more industry collaboration,” he said.

Windhoek Fashion week started in 2016, and the event has gradually grown, with designers from Namibia, Rwanda, Angola, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Mozambique and South Africa having showcased their work.

– unWrap.online

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