Factory Party 6: CF Presents Afrikana
“Creativity is the power to connect the seemingly unconnected.” William Polmer
Last month at Factory Party #6, Calgary Fashion presented Afrikana. The celebration of Africa has been big this year on the runways, Marc Jacobs and Junya Watanbe are only a few that played with the African theme for this season. This year Nigeria’s Arise Magazine, Nigeria’s new fashion glossy who have been referred to as Nigeria’s Interview Magazine also showcased their 4 part runway show, Arise African Fashion Collective at the Mercedes New York Fashion Week for Spring09. So really it kind of made sense for us to take that route, why not show that Africa is very much a part of Calgary as well as Canada?
It was important to showcase Afrikana for us as in 2001, Canada was home to 300,000 individuals of African origin with 23,000 Africans living in Alberta (Statistics Canada 2007).
According to FFWD Magazine: “Alberta’s oil boom, however, has caused a dramatic increase in Calgary’s African population. Official statistics aren’t available, but the Sudanese community claims that it has doubled in the last five years, from 6,000 in 2002 to 12,000 in 2007. Likewise, the small Nigerian community of 400 in 1996 has grown to well over 10,000 today.”
As our city continues to grow we feel it important to promote members of the fashion community who are actively involved in the fashion industry no matter what category they may belong to.
Afrikana showcased, Morenike Olaosebikan + Trendy Strands (Women’s Collection), Susan Claharan (Head Pieces) and Haithem Elkadiki (Men’s Collection).
For more photos from the event, please visit our Facebook Fan Page.
Illustration: Garrett Naccarato
Photo credit: David J
Calgary Fashion @ FP # 6: Behind The Scenes.
A lot goes into our fashion shows. Two and a half years ago when I started Calgary Fashion I had no idea how we would evolve into this amazing fashion power house jam packed with all the talents and effort that is even necessary to make such things happen.
This time around for Factory Party 6 we decided to go with the title Afrikana that focused on Africa meeting The Factory Party. Basically my roots meeting The Factory Party through some of Alberta’s talented designers. My apartment became our dressing room filled with over 30 people and these are some behind the scenes shots. As we continue to post the pictures from FP #6, the details of what it all took to make this happen will be unveiled.
Stay tuned for more.
Photo Credit: David J
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