Inspired: Of Eric Raisina and YSL

YSL, Eric Raisina-style. 

Fashion is usually a re-interpretation of something that exists; a re-imagining that goes around in circles and cycles, drawing inspiration from an original and making it something new. At Africa Fashion Week in Dublin a few weeks ago, several of Eric Raisina's dresses took inspiration from Yves Saint Laurent's iconic Mondrian dress, which was itself inspired by the composition of some of Piet Mondrian's paintings:

Raisina's pieces brought YSL's invention to life, presenting it with layers of texture, detail and in a variety of lengths and styles. Following a similar color scheme to the late great Yves Saint Laurent, Raisina elevated the iconic piece, giving it life, movement and energy. A classic is a classic, but Raisina has brought something to the table that has stolen our hearts.

XO

Photos courtesy of google and Africa Fashion Week, Dublin

Event: Africa Fashion Awards 2010

[Bunmi Koko and her partner, Francis Udom, as she accepts the award for Best International Emerging Talent]

It has been a long but enthralling look at Africa Fashion Week over the past week and to wrap things up nicely, the Africa Fashion Awards held this evening in South Africa. Thanks to the Twitter, we felt like we were there live with fashion's finest as each winner was announced. A big, big congratulations to all the nominees and winners! [Please note: We may need to edit the names of the categories a little later on when we get an official list.]

o o o

INTERNATIONAL DESIGNER OF THE YEAR: Duro Olowu

DESIGNER OF THE YEAR (AFRICA): Black Coffee

TOP MAKE-UP ARTIST AT AFRICA FASHION AWARDS: Pat McGrath

BEST STYLIST: Edward Enninful

BEST FASHION COMMUNICATOR: Bella Naija

BEST INTERNATIONAL EMERGING TALENT: Bunmi Koko

EMERGING AFRICAN DESIGNER OF THE YEAR (AFRICA): Ituen Basi

STYLE INFLUENCER (MALE): Michael Jackson

STYLE ICON/INFLUENCER (FEMALE): Grace Jones

MENSWEAR DESIGNER OF THE YEAR (INTERNATIONAL): Ozwald Boateng

MENSWEAR DESIGNER OF THE YEAR (AFRICA): Stiaan Lowu

MODEL OF THE YEAR: Sessilee Lopez

MOST OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO AFRICAN FASHION: Marianne Fassler

TOP HAIR DIRECTION: Saadique Ryklief

MAKE-UP DIRECTION: Pat McGrath

FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY: Koto Bolofo

ACCESSORIES DESIGNER OF THE YEAR: Albertus Swanepoel

RETAILER OF THE YEAR: Africhic (http://www.africhic.com)

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: Yves Saint Laurent, Azzedine Alaia, Joseph Ettedgui

[See last year's list of winners here.]

A special congratulations to Ituen Basi (who won the award for Innovation in Design last year), two of our personal favourites - Bunmi Koko and Duro Olowu -, and Bella Naija!!!! We thought Deola Sagoe should've won something...alas, it wasn't to be. 

Any winners you're especially excited about? Any surprises? Please share!

XO

Photo courtesy of Simon Deiner/SDR Photos

Special Thanks to DeGorgeous1 & JMyburgh on Twitter!

Made in Africa: YSL's Muse Two Artisinal Recycled Bag

YSL's Muse Two Artisinal Recycled Bag: Textile made in Burkina Faso

Late last year, Prada launched a 'Made In' range, shifting the spotlight of production from Italy to local artisans in Peru, Scotland, Japan and India in its bid to focus on other instances of craftsmanship. If you've followed our Made in Africa observations, you'll already know that it's becoming more popular for designers and brands all over the world to include Africa's plethora of co-ops in production, since they offer the sort of beauty that's ethical, cost effective, and charitable. Let's face it: the 'Made in Africa by a women's co-operative' model, while somewhat over-used (feel free to disagree) has carved its own niche and is here to stay. At least a for a while. The latest well-known entrant? Yves Saint Laurent.

There's a whole page (Page 86) in Harper's Bazaar's April 2011 UK edition dedicated to the eco movement and we were delighted to read that YSL's Stefano Pilati 'enlisted artisans in Burkina Faso to produce an ethical version of the label's bestselling bag using textiles made from recycled plastic bags and woven cotton' [Harper's Bazaar, emphasis ours]. The artisans responsible? Women from the Gafreh Association (supported by Les Filles du Facteur), who work with 'recycled plastic bags collected in different cities and villages of the country', which are then 'cut into thin strips, assembled, woven and transformed into distinctive pieces for the contemporary home and fashion markets' [Sidim]. To be clear, the bags were not constructed in Burkina Faso, but the unique textile used to create a limited edition of 60 of them was, and that's to the credit of these women.

l-r: Awa Sanou, one of Gafreh's artisans; a bag produced by Gafreh

We firmly believe that it'll take the concerted and continuous effort of international and national agencies to develop and sustain the frameworks that allow these types of collaborations to be possible, and it'll take a demand for the Made in Africa product by Africans and non-Africans alike for this model to bring the highest returns for the greatest number of people. It shouldn't be a patchy occurrence - we're asking for a full-blown movement.

Discover some of the women behind Gafreh here, some of their other creations here, and buy YSL's Muse Two Artisinal bag here.

- SLiq

Made in Africa: Lanvin collaborates with Dessin L'Espoire in Swaziland

Clearly, Made in Africa is the new cool, with brands from Yves Saint Laurent to Vivienne Westwood catching on, and now Lanvin. This fall will see the debut of Lanvin's Petite collection (see the cutest photos here) alongside a limited edition of Lanvin-clad dolls handmade in Swaziland by women who work with Dessine L'Espoire (Designing Hope). 

Desinne L'Espoire's 'mission as an NGO is to support people affected by HIV and AIDS' through awareness programmes and economic partnerships. Swaziland has the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence in the world (about 25.9% of adults in 2009, according to this source) and 'more than half of workers in Swaziland's garment industry are living with HIV'.

With the rapid increase in NGOs and social entrepreneurs touting the 'Made in Africa' message, it's easy to fetishize it or dismiss it as a gimmick, but Lanvin's approach is compelling in that a 122 year-old house (Lanvin was founded in 1889) puts its heritage behind a disturbing epidemic in a way that not only sheds light on it, but also contributes to helping those affected by it.

A percentage of the proceeds from these dolls will go to Desinne L'Espoire and each doll will retail for £220.

More information here [Vogue UK].

If you're interested in learning more about the reality of HIV in Swaziland, we've found the following resources:

HIV prevalence among factory workers "50 percent" [PlusNews]

Swaziland's Silent HIV Epidemic [Foreign Policy]

Swazis put life on hold because of stigma [SAFAIDS]

- SLiq