Joburgers, brace yourselves for an art curated fashion week this September.
Midwest Fashion Week has announced that it will be hosting a CONNEXIONS fashion show in South Africa.
Midwest Fashion Week is a platform dedicated to empowering creativity and the expression of individuality. As such, it has been extended to South Africa to allow local designers to showcase their brands.
CONNEXIONS is a virtual fashion show started by style and entertainment reporter Jen Su.
It focuses on growing the already established fashion community beyond the Midwest and opening up markets for designers based in other parts of the world through a series of regional events
It was inspired by Berny Martin, an avid traveller, who is passionate about African cultures across the globe and finding ways of connecting creative communities and creating opportunities for designers.
Martin is also a fashion designer and founder of the label Catou.
He also launched Midwest Fashion Week (MFW) to produce his own fashion shows and to also afford underexposed designers the opportunity to showcase their work.
In just over a decade, MFW has had the privilege of showcasing the talents of more than 300 designers from several different countries, and helped to launch careers for a number of high profile fashion professionals through its supportive and collaborative community.
“I am encouraged by how we can work together to make new connections.
“The inspiration was ignited by my trips to South Africa and the culture there.
“Fashion is becoming more and more the found source of global economic development and South Africa has a lot of potentials,” says Martin.
The fashion show will take place at Gallery MOMO, a premium art gallery space in Parktown North, Joburg.
It will be curated with art, allowing designers to creatively display their signature designs in the form of a static installation and live models.
People can expect to see the works of seasoned designers including Berny Martin – Catou (USA), Carol Bouwer – Carol Bouwer Hand Bags (SA), Odysseus Shirindza – Arnreuby (SA), Reggi Xaba – iFele (SA), Nokwanda Ngcobo – 8thWandah (SA), Heather Marie Designs (USA) and Inga Gubeka – Inga Atelier (SA).
Due to Covid-19 regulations, the event will be accessible to a select few at the venue.
However, there will be a virtual component to allow for a broader audience to tune in.
“The objective of the CONNEXIONS showcase is to facilitate new dialogue between the Midwest region of the US with South Africa.
“I am hopeful that a new dialogue will spark conversations around economic development and growth between the two regions in the mix of the new global economic developments,” adds Martin.
The fashion show will take place on September 25 at Gallery MOMO.