Be a part of the BellaNaija Style Summit #BNSDigitalSummit – Harnessing Africa’s True Potential on the 14th of August 2021.
In recent years, there has been a growing awareness of the fashion industry’s environmental impact, sparked by abundant evidence of increased worldwide clothing consumption and fuelled by increased clothing accessibility and affordability. The environment has been at the forefront of many critical discussions in 2021.
On the continent, landfill sites brim with rotting clothing from fast fashion brands. The fashion industry’s continued expansion has caused a spike in landfills loaded with discarded clothing that no longer fits the trend. According to research, the United Kingdom sends 10,000 items of clothing to landfills every five minutes, with major African cities like Lagos and Accra having huge dumping grounds flooded with discarded fashion items.
From responding to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, new advances in recycled fabric technology to the promotion of African textiles heritage, how are top our designers and key industry leaders paving the way for a more environmentally responsible future of fashion?
Meet the Panellists
Nkwo Onwuka
Nkwo Onwuka is the Creative Director & Founder of Premium ready-to-wear fashion brand NKWO. Her journey to designing started with a mother who taught her how to sew and an obsession with dolls, Nkwo Onwuka earned a degree in Psychology but her love of making pretty things has evolved into an artisanal brand at the forefront of the sustainable fashion movement in Nigeria.
With the conservation of natural resources and the environment as its core values, the brand’s main focus is on textile waste reduction and how it can be used as a sustainable means of traditional craft skills preservation. Nkwo’s innovative solutions to combat waste have led to the invention of a new African fabric called DAKALA CLOTH and by working closely with artisans and local makers, the label aims to create meaningful change on the continent by involving the many parts of the expanding fashion eco-system in a new way of working that is more mindful as it celebrates and preserves the art of creation.
Ekwerike Chukwuma
Ekwerike Chukwuma is a multidisciplinary artist based in Lagos, Nigeria. He creatively directs the fashion-art brand; WUMAN. He loves to express himself through his art, creating on paper and garments. He founded the brand WUMAN taking inspiration from the study and drawing of the female form which he fell in love with during his early university days. He believes that WUMAN fosters the idealogy that garments are storytellers and draws from his heritage, African art and culture to create contemporary works that are engaging and speaks to the soul.
He aims to use African inspired fashion as a tool to inspire positive change and herald its art globally. WUMAN was created to foster ideological fashion that is deeply rooted in the continent of Africa with a view to carving its unique and authentic perspective across the global fashion industry.
Sydney E. Nwakanma
Date: Saturday, August 14th 2021
Time: 3 PM – 3:50 PM