Trio Magazine

Trio Magazine according to their website "..is a fashion and entertainment magazine that will be published quarterly, and initially circulated online. TIRO seeks to establish and maintain a unique position amongst culturally themed publications within the United States, and the continent of Africa. Its goal is to be the magazine of choice for females interested in fashion emphasizing African & Western Cultures. The majority of fashion and entertainment magazines on the market today are primarily concerned with fashion trends in the western world, ignoring the uniqueness of the African fabric and its impact on the western world.

The idea for TIRO came from Helen Eferakorho, a female of Nigerian descent, raised in the United States. Having lived in Nigeria (one of the focal venues for African Fashion) in her youth, Helen developed a strong appreciation for the uniqueness of the African fabric. On the other-hand her tenure in the US exposed her to a variety of culturally stimulating fashion styles via fashion oriented periodicals, trade shows, and day-to-day observations. Her passion for this venture was as a result of the opportunity to observe the best of both worlds. Helens goal is to use TIRO to expose the enormous possibilities within this sector of the industry, and provide a vessel for individuals within its target audience to enhance their lives.

To accomplish this, our vision is to create the type of fashion magazine that has never been seen before. Its premise: the intentional merging of African and western styles, the concept that created TIRO. TIRO is an Urhobo (Tribal Language) word used in Nigeria to describe a woman that is full of grace. Grace is a charming and attractive trait, one that will be evident in every issue of TIRO and will be the watch word for staff, articles, exposés, reviews and advertising..."

Photos courtesy of Trio Magazine

Nayo

Some say she is the "New Sade" but we think she is one of the new gem's in the Nigerian music industry. One of her singles "African Girl" is one of the best R&B singles we have heard recently.

Her Myspace bio says "..NAYO (N-áá-y-Ò) jumps out from within the Yoruba name of Temitope Odunayo Abidoye, born in Lagos, Nigeria and singing from day one. Her Nigerian culture traveled with her around the world as a girl, while she incorporated its rhythms into the new beats and sounds she found in England, the United States, and the rest of West Africa. At that young age of 10, Nayo began writing songs and found her influences in artists such as Madonna, Seal, Annie Lennox and Carole King..."


"...Nayo returned to Los Angeles with renewed purpose and independently released a limited single 'Party Fever' which found its way on the Billboard Club Play charts and various charts in Europe by late 2005. Then she began collaborating with producers and songwriters from New York, Los Angeles and the UK, where her true love for music first began. With her debut album to be released next year 2007, Nayo is her name and her voice speaks for generations of people and millions whose voices have not been heard for years..."

This is Nayo's alternative music website.

Photo courtesy of Nayo's Myspace page

Kati Torda Dagadu

Kati Torda Dagadu website says "...she is a Hungarian-born artist who has lived more than half her life in Ghana. There she touched upon a fading bead culture and successfully initiated a new consciousness of it. She has combined the cultural heritage of her two homes to create internationally celebrated bead work that reflects her considerable knowledge of Ghanaian and other West African bead traditions.."


Her beautiful handcrafted glass bead work designs are a combination of her artistic talent and ideas she has borrowed from traditional West African bead making techniques, which I think started in the ancient empires of Ashanti, Songhai,Benin and Mali.

Photos Courtesy of Beads.com.gh

Burka meets Haute Coutre

Beautiful Burka (Burqa) inspired fashion by Fashion East designer Louise Golden where shown at the catwalk of the London Fashion Week 2007.

Other designers like Lela Ahmadzai "Burka meets Haute Couture" have shown that the Afghan Burka could me remodeled to look interesting and trendy.




Photos courtesy of Burka meets Haute Couture and Yahoo images.

Noella Coursaris

Noella is a trailblazer in the world of fashion modeling, this lady of Congolese and Cypriot parentage has achieved a lot as a black model in today's international modeling market. MIMI magazine says "..Coursaris accomplishment's are no small feat considering that in the fickle world of fashion, it takes more than just beauty to succeed-especially for African
models..."

In her brilliant interview with Africaincorp blog, she talks about a lot of issues ranging from what inspired her into fashion modeling, what she thinks would create a successful fashion and modeling in Africa and finally the expectations of the fashion modeling world.

She also has a outstanding interview with Kaysha filmed in New York shown below.


Photo courtesy of Jambomagazine.

Honorine Uwera

This model originally from Rwanda moved to Canada in 1998 were she was found by the IMG modeling agency. She is presently one of the hottest black models on the Catwalks of Milan, New York, Paris and London. She has an interesting weblog at Myspace.com

Photo courtesy of fmd1.com

African Waistcoat Company

Started by Calum Robertson in 2003 at Candem, London the African Waistcoat Company combines the finesse of Savile Row's craftsmanship and exotic Nigerian Aso Oke fabrics, to make fantastic waistcoats. Aso Oke Fabric is a hand loomed fabric worn by both women and men of the Yoruba people of south-western Nigeria.

The African Waistcoat Company website also features an article written by William Georgiades of the New York Sun ".... Located in a passageway off a narrow road, The African Waistcoat Company headquarters sits between antique shops and stalls in a former cobbler’s shop. Inside the space is both tight and expansive — there’s little room to move but the colors on display vibrate.

The process of having a waistcoat made begins with a measuring followed by some rather serious decision-making, as dozens of patterns and swatches, of increasing vibrancy are brought out. For now all waistcoats are custom made, though in the future there are plans for off-the rack items. African beads and cufflinks which recall Ghanaian Adinkra designs are also available, along with textiles.

Once the decision has been made, the materials and measurements are constructed within two to three weeks for an average price of about $300.

What makes these waistcoats particularly interesting is the quality of the materials and their construction. All of the items are made from Nigerian handwoven aso oke cloth. Aso oke connotes high status among the Yoruba peoples of southwestern Nigeria, a part of the world Mr. Robertson has come to love since his first visit there in 1974. After his first visit, Mr. Robertson returned every year for five years to visit friends and returned in 1999 and again last September when the idea came to him to open a shop. He looks forward to returning once a year to keep his stock updated..."

Photos courtesy of African Waistcoat Company website.

Kosibah Creations

Kosibah Creations was founded by Yemi Osunkoya a graduate of Fine Art with a major in Textiles Design from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife, Nigeria.

Established since 1991 Koshibah Creations says it "...Specialises in elegant, figure-enhancing, contemporary gowns that blur the lines between bridal and evening wear. His use of corsetry, draping and meticulous attention to detail produce gowns that enhance every figure..."

Koshibah Creations has also won many international awards and showcased in a lot of international events like Encore Bridal Show, The National Wedding Show. It also won the Designer of the Year 2002 Award given by Mahogany Events.

Photo and some excerpts for this article are courtesy of Koshibah Creations.

HauTe

Their website says HauTe, "...is a 100+ pages fashion magazine. It features works of Nigerian designers all around the world. Exhibiting a taste for the cultural tempered with an appreciation of the varied degress of influence by the West in today's fashion. "Haute" Magazine has a commitment to e platform profile for Nigerian designers as an exposure in the fashion world. Started by a group of talented people namely Dammie Amolegbe (Editor in Chief), Uche Eze (Deputy Editor), Osione Itegboe (Art Director),Osifo Akhuemonkhan (Consulting Editor), Bolaji Kekere - Ekun (Editor - at - large).

Photo courtesy of HauTe,

Clam Magazine

Their website says "....CLAM is a unisex magazine whose goal is to promote creativity, concepts and ideas in fashion, architecture, music, design, the arts, free-time, travels and African design.... these different themes are approached in two main areas..."

"...Each subject is part of an original and conceptual artistic direction. The concepts are presented through the expression of the artists and creators coming from very different horizons..."

"...The place accorded to the image is central: she wants to be unusual, so as to create constant surprise for the viewer.Experimentation is one of the characteristics of CLAM which explains its layout: always changing, never fixed. Clam wants to encourage creative reflexion.The presentation is based on ideas and not the seasons.This concept confers to the magazine a collector's status..."

The Editor in Chief of Clam magazine is Amadi Okorafor who we previously blogged about his contribution to the African movie industry.


Photo courtesy of CLAM Magazine.