Where oh where do I even begin… Africa Fashion Week Los Angeles day one summed up in one word: magnificent. Also, Extraordinary. Sensational. Outstanding. There are endless amounts of relative adjectives I could use, it was absolutely divine. The culture, the energy, the stories, the beautiful rich variety of skin tones… it was a colorful dream! What a day, what a day!
AFWLA took place at Playhouse Studio in Chinatown, not a bad setup. Day one started off as a “Ted Talk” inspired panel of strong, successful entrepeneurial women who spoke to us of their career journeys and gave us helpful and resourceful industry information. The roster included Claire Sulmers founder/CEO of Fashion Bomb Daily, Esosa E who is a multi-talented resourceful (and hilaarriouus) being, celebrity stylist Ayanna James, founder of the art curation Osengwa‘s Seju Mike, designer and founder of Della’s Tina Tangalakis, and Ngozika O’keke who is the designer/founder of her self titled clothing line. These women are all pioneers themselves so their advice is definitely valuable and muuuch appreciated. Not only were these ladies insightful, but also tremendously kind and very passionate humanitarians in some fashion…literally. Of course it’s always nice to engage individuals who are actively pursuing similar career goals as yourself to hear of their trials and tribulations and gain outside perspective; it’s an additional bonus if these mentors are genuinely authentic in wanting success stories for you, too. The love in the room was real you guys, and I’m not just talkin about the love of fashion! I mean, it was that too… you know what I’m saying!
After the open panel we all stayed and gathered, had some hors d’oeuvres and refreshments and were able to mix and mingle with the pros and get even more of our questions answered. I can pretty much guarantee that there wasn’t one single person in the room who hadn’t left with something, a whole lotta inspiration and empowerment was goin on! These are the types of conversations that bring awareness and promote self empowerment necessary for individual as well as community growth, they are sooo essential in all of our lives. It’s thru social media platforms like this (future scope I’ll be bringing event news further in advance) and many others (like Fashion Bomb) that our communities discover new opportunities and events to have these moments of connection and enlightenment… I highly recommend all my fellow fashion entrepreneurial spirits (and others) to indulge, you’ll be so grateful you did! All my LA natives make sure you check out AFWLA as well as these other wonderful organizations so you don’t miss out! As always, love you soo much! Now let’s get into these shows!
♥
Left to right: Tina Tangalakis, Esosa E, Ayanna James, Ngozika O’Keke, Claire Sulmers, Seju Mike
Claire Sulmers and myself ♥ loove her!