What Happened in African Fashion This Week
- bolaji akinwande
- Apr 26
- 3 min read
South Africa Fashion Week kicks off this week with the SS25 presentations featuring Gert-Johan Coetzee's futuristic collection, elsewhere Christie Brown ushers in a fresh take on sportswear with its SS25 offering, and Ghanaian brand Nineteen57 appoints a new creative director.
Clearly Invincible brings you all these and more in our weekly update.
Here is everything that happened in African fashion this week.
Brand
CHRISTIE BROWN RELEASES SS25 COLLECTION
Ghanaian-based brand Christie Brown releases its spring-summer 2025 collection. The new collection drops April 26th online and in stores. Titled "GO!", the collection is a bold take on sportswear and the brand's signature haute ready-to-wear aesthetics. Featuring jerseys, bomber jackets, varsity shorts, ruffled dresses, and more, the collection also includes a menswear piece. With artistic direction from Kobe Adu, who recently became the brand's art director, the collection is inspired by motion and how a woman navigates the world with style, grace, and power.
Personality
DESIGNER OPHELIA CROSSLAND BECOMES THE NEW CREATIVE DIRECTOR OF PAN AFRICAN BRAND, NINETEEN57
Ophelia Crossland is a Ghanaian designer and the founder of her eponymous womenswear brand. She has been appointed as the new creative director of Nineteen57 (a Ghanaian luxury menswear brand) owned by Kofi Okyere-Darko, who has now stepped down as the brand's creative director following his newest appointment as the Director of Diaspora Affairs at the office of the Ghanaian president. Ophelia steps in as the new creative director following KOD's new governmental duties, and she is set to bring her decade-long experience in fashion to the brand.
E-Commerce
THE FOLKLORE PARTNERS WITH VISIONARIES FASHIONING AFRICA TO HOST WEBINAR FOR AFRICAN BRANDS
The folklore, one of Africa's leading e-commerce platforms, is partnering with the creative platform, Visionaries Fashioning Africa, for a webinar titled "Selling and Shipping Internationally with The Folklore". The webinar is set to take place on 29 April and will discuss topics around building an international e-commerce presence, navigating cross-national logistics, and how to avoid common e-commerce mistakes.
Personality
NAMIBIAN DESIGNER, HELENA HANGULA BECOMES NATIONAL DIRECTOR FOR SOUTHERN AFRICA FASHION AWARDS
Helena Hangula is a Namibian designer and the creative mind behind Puurfekt Studio. She has recently been appointed as the National Director for the Southern Africa Fashion Awards (SAFawards), a platform that brings together and celebrates the Southern Africa fashion community. Helena is also the Head of Art and Design at the College of the Arts in Windhoek, with extensive experience managing designers and models. Her new role is set to empower Namibia's diverse fashion creatives—designers, stylists, models, and makeup artists—while boosting visibility and promoting inclusivity within the country's fashion industry at the SAFawards.
Opportunities
AFRICA FASHION WEEK NIGERIA ANNOUNCES CALL FOR EXHIBITORS
Dubbed the world's largest and longest-running showcase of African design, Africa Fashion Week Nigeria will take place from December 12th-14th in Lagos, Nigeria. The event will feature both established and emerging designers from across Africa. Creative brands, vendors, and fashion entrepreneurs can now register to showcase and exhibit their work.
Showcase
SOUTH AFRICAN BRAND, GERT-JOHAN COETZEE PRESENTS FUTURISTIC SS25 COLLECTION "THE ARRIVAL" DURING SAFW
South African designer Gert-Johan Coetzee debuted his SS25 collection at South Africa Fashion Week this week. Titled "The Arrival," the futuristic collection is set 10,000 years beyond Earth and explores the interplay between past and present. It features sculptural and spiky dresses, hardware, low-rise jeans, and statement headgear.
Event
FASHION SOUK SETS TO RETURN TO LAGOS THIS JUNE
Following a successful run in Accra, Ghana, the multi-day fashion fair is returning to Lagos, Nigeria, and will take place during the second weekend of June (14th and 15th). Since its inception in 2018, the fair has continued to expand, with previous editions held in cities like London and Dubai.
Brand
NGANO DESIGN WINS 2026 NEW TALENT SEARCH COMPETITION AT SAFW
The new talent search competition helps to showcase emerging talents in South Africa's fashion industry. During the first day of South Africa fashion week, nine newcomer brands, namely Oddity, Ecstatic, Estelle James, James Presents, Juanie, My Roots, Ngano Design Africa, Tadi Wa Nashe, and Taylored Substance, each presented new collections on the runway. Tanaka Vengere of Ngano Design Africa emerged as this year's new talent search winner.
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