Lagos Fashion Week brings back the Fashion Focus programme for 2019! Established in 2011, Fashion Focus (formerly known as Young Designer of The Year) was created to the growth and promotion of emerging talent in the fashion industry through mentoring and awarding a grant via the Fashion Focus Fund.
In partnership with FETS Wallet, Sunlight and Avivere, Fashion Focus presents unique opportunities for emerging talents to harness their skills through business development workshops, creative workshops, and mentorships with the aim of providing young designers with the tools they need to facilitate innovation, accelerate growth and achieve commercial success.
The programme has once again been extended to the rest of Africa and not just Nigeria. They made the announcement in a statement on the LFW official Instagram page.
“For 8 years, Heineken Lagos Fashion Week has sought to empower African fashion creatives by presenting them with an opportunity to be scouted, nurtured and awarded a grant to propel their business forward via the Fashion Focus Fund. Fashion Focus Africa has encouraged designers to hone their talent and develop much-needed business acumen, that’s crucial for building businesses that can attain commercial success in Africa and beyond. Programme participants are provided with mentoring, business and creative workshops.
Past recipients of Fashion Focus Fund include: Emmy Kasbit – class of 2017/2018 and Cynthia Abila – class of 2018/2019. Both winners received a 5 Million Naira cash grant and business mentorship with Avivere.
Last year, for the first time, Fashion Focus accepted applications from fashion creatives across Africa, making the programme open to creatives beyond Nigeria. The 2018/2019 programme included finalists from Angola, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and Rwanda. These five designers will also be showing at the Heineken Lagos Fashion Week runway in October. We understand the challenges that come with establishing a successful fashion business and making it competitive on a global scale. We are committed to providing the necessary tools needed to thrive to the individuals that pass through Fashion Focus Africa.” – commented Founder and Executive Director, Omoyemi Akerele.
Fashion Focus Application Details:
Application Deadline: Friday 20th September 2019.
All applications received will be reviewed. Ten (10) shortlisted applicants will be invited to present their work to a selection panel at Lagos Fashion Week in 2020.
The 5 Finalists for the Fashion Focus Africa 2019/20 session will be announced and the programme will commence December 2019/ January 2020.
Fashion Focus Africa is presented by HeinekenLagosFashionWeek in partnership with FetsWallet, Avivere and Sunlight.
To apply, visit the website www.lagosfashionweek.ng
See the announcement on Instagram below:
View this post on Instagram
Credit: @Lagosfashionweek