Gozi

Ping Mag of Japan writes about Nigerian fashion designer Gozi Ochongor who graduated as software engineer only to become a successful fashion designer.. I think her fashion rocks and its very trendy.

Ping Mag writes "...I sold at Portobello Market and Spitalfields Market in London for quite some time. People thought my stuff was really cheap and bought it like crazy! So every day, I went up a little higher with the price and they were still buying (laughs). People came up to me and wanted to borrow my clothes for shootings all the time and although I went through this unorthodox way, I slowly gained some confidence..."



Her Bio on the HBS Africa Conference website says "...Gozi Ochongor is the Creative Director of her eponymous fashion label, Gozi. Gozi graduated from Imperial College London in 1998, where she studied Software Engineering. Finally able to pursue her passion, she enrolled at Central School of Fashion, where she studied Ladieswear Fashion Design. A year later, she established her label at the Portobello Market and soon acquired a solid client base. After graduation, Gozi established her company Gozi Ltd in July 2003.

Gozi draws influences from a myriad of sources: from science, art and dance, to a love for travelling and learning about new cultures. She has visited over 15 countries worldwide and incorporates her souvenirs in her collections. Thus interwoven into each garment is the fusion of the contemporary art and culture of the West with the color and sensuality of Africa and the spirit of Asia.

Gozi currently serves on the board of the Fashion Business Club in London that provides a forum which fashion entrepreneurs engage with, inspire and support one another..."

Movie and photos of Gozi's Collection courtesy of Ping Mag

Sika

Ethnicinfluence writes about Sika which was named as one of the top five London labels in 2006 according to Draper's Women wear.

"..."Sika", the word for money in Ghana's Twi language, was the obvious choice when it came to a name for the label - it was initially Phyllis mother's nickname since she was the first in the family to arrive in the U.K..."

"... Sika is also easy to pronounce, sticks in the mind and is a little bit quirky. and of course, as the designer says, " the clothes are priceless!" The cowrie shell, a form of currency for centuries in West Africa, is a main feature of the Skia Logo..."

Zeba Mgazine.... also has has an an article Introducing SIKA as one of London's hottest new fashion designers.

Designer Phyllis Taylor is behind the contemporary women's clothing label SIKA. SIKA's current collection is called "Goldcoast" and consists of baby doll dresses, tops, wrap dresses, cropped trousers and capes in unique and quirky prints.

In February, SIKA was named one of the top five London labels to look out for in 2006 by Draper's Women's Wear.

Photo courtesy of Ethnicinfluence

Kunle Afolayan

TheNews writes about Kunle Afolayan "...son of deceased actor, the late Ade Afolayan, a.k.a. Ade Love, resigned his appointment at City Express Bank sometime ago to veer into full time acting, after taking part in a number of home flicks.

Kunle's website says "...Kunle Afolayan is a guy one reckons with in the entertainment industry. Over the years, he has not only proved to be a very good actor and filmmaker but has continue to live the legecy his late father Adeyem i Afolayan(aka Ade-love) left behnd! Saying he is the chip of the old block is definitely very true because he has acting and flmmaking running through his vein..."

"...He was born 30 of September in the mid 70' to the Late Adeyemi Afolayan(aka Ade-love). He attended Afican salem primary school ebute meta, did his secondary education in Denton grammar school and Government secondary school Agbamu Kwara state, he then proceded to Lagos state polytechnic.Kunle worked in the bank for couple of years,he resigned his appointment 2005 after which he went to NEW YORK FILM ACADEMY in london to study DigitalFilmmaking..."

Photo courtesy of Kunle Afolayan website.

Emmy Collins

Emmy Collins website describes him as "....a menswear designer who is rapidly gaining a reputation for making garments that cut a real dash in a jaded fashion industry..."

"...With clothes characterized by sharp, funky tailoring and a fresh, startling approach to colour, Emmy is beginning to establish himself as one of London’s most flamboyant designers of men’s clothes. It has to be said – his signature pieces are not for the faint hearted. Think of the badass flair and original style of seminal artists – Jimmy Hendrix, Al Green, Marvin Gaye, Fela Kuti and more recently, Lenny Kravitz – and then you will begin to get the picture..."

"...Emmy has been described in the media as a natural and he describes his own work as never being in vogue therefore can never be out of vogue and he has designed clothes for singers, musicians and lately, members of Chelsea Football Club particularly defender William Gallas..."

Photo courtesy of Emmy Collins.com

Trendy Africa

Trendy Africa is a website whose aim is to present "...captivating images, deliver mind boggling literature and ensure constructive interactive links as a basis for harnessing the worlds culture through the eyes of Africa...".

Their website aims to present to the world the beauty of African Culture, entertaiment, music, literature, style and fashion as it has never being presented before.

Picture courtesy of Trendy Africa

Uzuri Magazine

Uzuri Magazine according to their website "...is a premier high quality quarterly African inspired, high fashion, international magazine determined in becoming the leading beauty, fashion and entertainment publication in the emerging African global market..."

"...Our goal is to support and promote African inspired fashion designers and artists by raising their profile, acknowledging their contributions and helping them achieve rank on the mainstream global ‘fashion-stage’. is justly dedicated in increasing awareness of the culture, beauty and fashions inspired by Africa. It celebrates the emerging trends of fashion from mainland Africa and the Caribbean to the runways of Paris, Nairobi, Tokyo, London and New York – to name a few..."

Uzuri was founded in 2005 and it is very interesting to see the emergence of a lot of glossy print media publications that cover the areas of African fashion, style, and entertainment.

Photo courtesy of Uzuri Magazine