Mr Price comes to Acacia Mall

On Thursday evening, the Mr Price and Bossini brands at Acacia Mall will be launched in pomp and colour at an invite-only event to be headlined by a fashion show dubbed – Mr Price and Bossini Feel Good Collection 2015.

The Challenge

For the first time ever, 3 of Uganda’s renowned fashion stylists will go head to head to put together fashionable combinations from Bossini and Mr Price.

The fashion show will host 3 top Uganda fashion stylists namely:

• Brenda Nambi
• Brenda Maraka
• Rafael Kasule

The above three will be competing for the position of best/ leading fashion stylists in a fashion show featuring Mr. Price and Bossini brands. 
The over all winner will receive a cash prize of Shs 4 million the first runner-up will receive Shs 2.5 million.

Fashion Show Themes

Mr Price Collection Featuring:

• Smart casual working attire
•  Sporty theme – Majorly create sporty inspired looks that can be worn at different sport events and still stand 
out
•  Accessorize it – this will show case different ways to put toghether accessories.
• Bossini Collection Featuring:
• 
 Time Out Collection – Casual wear for weekends & outings for the entire family
• Wet season collection – Showcasing exquisite pieces for the wet season
• Color blocking (Denim and color pants) – Mix different colors to provoke and create a look that stands out.

Fashion Show Judges

• Two of Uganda’s Fashion gurus (They will be disclosed on that day)
• Deacons CEO – Mr Muchiri Wahome

Here are a few photos from the store.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Did Daniela deserve award for best dressed guest at the ASFA?

The Abyanz Fashion and Style Awards took place over the weekend at MTN Arena. Among the 22 awards was the accolade for the best dressed female and male guest. Daniela Atim (Jose Chameleone’s wife) won the ladies’ category with her black lacy dress. We present to you more looks that were in top contention for the accolade 

Bark cloth for international runways

Designer Stella Atal paints on a piece of bark cloth

Last Thursday, the Uganda National Museum hosted a one of a kind fashion show. The pieces were partly or fully made out bark cloth (lubugo) by José Mendo. At the event, fashion designers based here and abroad hatched a plan to make bark cloth one of the mainstream fabrics on and off the runway. The Bark 2 The Roots programme is a brain child of Josephine Kyomuhendo, a UK- based fashion designer who label José Hendo has been featured on fashion shows in Europe, the New York Fashion Week and recently Kampala Fashion Week. The project is a collaboration with Makerere University School of Fine Artist, fashion designers like Stella Atal,Eva Mynsberghe and Anne Musisi among others. The idea is to bring together researchers, makers, designers, education institutions and buyers (promoting production and export) among other stakeholders to promote the environmental friendly, sustainable and renewable material that bark cloth is. Some designers showcased how the material from the mutuba tree can be used as fabric for clothing and decorated with patterns or mixed with other textiles, while Mynsberghe showcased how she is using the material to make jewelry. José Hendo showed the potential of bark cloth and how it can be maneuvered during designing. Her haute couture avant-garde designs showcased on that day showed how the material can become a global trend. She explained that she is using explosion of colours plus silhouettes and patterns that that can be embraced by the young generation. That way, bark can move forward but keep its heritage.

Jose Hendo (R) demonstrates bark cloth manipulation

The event partly put together by activist Winnie Sseruma also brought together fashion lovers of different generations and eco-sustainable designers. Bark cloth was the only form of fabric way back before textiles like cotton, nylon, and polyester among others pushed it out and left it for the coffin. This project could end the stigma attached to it and put it at the same level with the likes of leather, silk and other fabrics.

 

Kampala Fashion Week lands with a bang

The first edition of the Kampala Fashion Week took place last week with the grand finale on Saturday night at Kololo ceremonial grounds. To say that designers pulled all stops at the event, a brainchild of Gloria Wavamunno, would be an understatement.

The nine fashion designers plus the jewellery and shoes that went with their creations, made every effort to create a lasting first impression.

The event organization was impeccable thanks to LDJ Productions from New York, and this could go down in history as one of the fashion shows attended by true fashion lovers and not just wannabes.

The runway lights came on around 8:30pm and there could not have been a better way to open the show than having the winner of Africa’s Next Top Model, Aamito Stacie, showcasing a high slit and plunging V neckline dress by Kwesh (Juliana Nasasira). From then till 10pm, model after model hit the runway walking unique designs as the guests applauded.

The runway was graced by jumpsuits, florals, mind-blowing men’s wear, one-shoulder dresses, among others, made from leather, bark cloth, beads, lace and African fabric.

Ras Kasozi of Kas Wear worked with military inspired fabrics and black lace for his collection. Fringed and pointed-shoulder finishing stood out in his collection.

Sylvia Owori showcased her Safari Collection before first daughter Natasha Kainembabazi Karugire showcased her comeback collection under J&Kainembabazi.

She chose chiffon and silk in vibrant colours for her

Aamito (L) with Natasha Kainembabazi

collection, with some beading to finish some dresses in the neck area. A matching yellow hat complemented one of her yellow dresses with simple animal prints.

After a 15-minute break, Gloria Wavamunno’s collection that bordered more on the abstract graced the catwalk.

What stood out was the draping accompanying some of the designs and the use of nude colour pastels. The beautiful handmade jewellery, sandals and bags by Zanaa complemented the designs.

UK-based Jose Hendo brought the end to a fantastic night with close to 30 unique creations.

Her touch on the ready-to-wear designs made out of fabric left a lasting impression. Martha Jabo, Catherine & Sons and Eguana also showcased.

Fashion lovers are definitely looking forward to next year’s edition.

More photo..

 

Judith Heard rocks Kigali Fashion Week

Judith Heard doing her thing

 

The fourth edition of the annual Kigali Fashion Week has been taking place in Rwanda’s capital Kigali with 15 fashion houses showcasing their collections on the runway. The event took place between 3rd to 8th of this month.  Designers from Kenya, Burundi and Uganda took part, while Rwanda was represented by 12 designers, including Patrick Muhire of Inkanda House, Colombe Ituze, Kevine & Ysolde of Uzuri K&Y, and Teta Isibo of Inzuki Designs. The theme for this year’s KFW was “Disability is not Inability” in a bid to create awareness on intellectual disability in Rwanda. Uganda was represented by Santa Anzo. Judith Heard was one of the models that hit the runway to showcase Arapapa by Santa Anzo. Here are more photos from the event courtesy of Allan Atulinda of Atulinda Images in Kigali.

 

Kampala Fashion Intro at Serena tomorrow

Fashion lovers are in for a big treat this weekend. The 2014 Kampala Fashion Intro takes place starting this evening with the climax happening tomorrow evening. All the action will be at Kampala Serena hotel. The Kampala Fashion intro is the precursor to this year’s regional fashion weeks taking place in August in Burundi and Rwanda early November.

Kampala Fashion Week will take place in November. The event is a unique opportunity for talented fashion designers, creative makeup artists, trend-setting hair stylists and stunning runway models.

On the runway, Gloria Wavamunno and Xenson will represent Uganda, while Cynthia Rupari and Patrick Muhire will represent Rwanda. Sheria Ngowi and Cynthia Munwangari will showcase designs from Tanzania and Burundi, respectively.

Great Lakes Arts Association has put the evening’s event together in partnership with LDJ productions, the producers of the New York Fashion week and Kigali Fashion Week. According to Joel Kanyamunyu, a director at Great Lakes Arts Association, guests should expect the hottest up and coming designers from Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Nigeria, and an exclusive slice of international fashion labels. Kanyamunyu also believes the event will be a trendsetter for the industry.

“This festival will obviously incorporate all aspects of the industry; the cultural, the modern, the hippy and trendy. Our anticipation is that this will be a trend-setter for the industry,” he told The Observer.

RwandAir, Serena hotel Rout and Mashanyu Media are the sponsors of the event.  Tickets go for Shs 100,000 for Gold and 200,000 for Platinum tickets The event kicks off at 8pm.

Some of the Designers Showcasing

Sheila Gashumba: Teenage Fashion Icon

This morning, I was having a discussion with a colleague about how the dress code of some of Uganda’s TV personalities is wanting. That is when the name of Sheila Gashumba came up. This teenager is so styled to the extent that it hurts seeing old women struggling to be like her. She an icon not only for the teens in Uganda and she makes fashion sense-all the time. I will be writing a full blog post about her. But here is a picture from a charity event organised by her NGO “Young Bodies Big Hearts” raise funds for kids in Mulago hospital. She presents a teens’ program on NTV called  T-Nation. 

Sheila Gashumba

Fashion Police256 back with a bang

Miss Teen Fashionistas

At Miss Uganda grand finale

 

Stella Atal showcases at Club Silk

There was no better way to end the fashion calendar at Club Silk’s monthly fashion show. Stella Atal showcased three collection in her unique Afrocentric style. Recycled wear, Sunshine, Old Skool were the collections she showcased. Old skool simply blew me away. More pictures and details coming soon.

Lady Tok is here

When Agnes Ajuna talks about fashion, you can feel the passion she has for it and not just for design, but for quality and class.

She is part of the new breed of mushrooming fashion designers in Kampala. But Ajuna, whose label is Lady Tok, plans to set herself apart by designing simple, outstanding and affordable wear.

“My style is simple but outstanding.  I design for people to get that beautiful wow,” she said at the launch of her fashion house at Sheraton hotel last Thursday.

Going by her showcase, the graduate from Margaret Trowell School of Industrial and Fine Art has found her niche.

Her first collection – office wear had a weekend feel to it. An outfit you can wear to office on a Friday or when you simply want to look casual. She loves working with bright hues, and  designing for all sizes; her plus-size model completely rocked the runway.

However, it’s the Afro-urban collection that stole the show. Her simple cuts and vibrant colours plus matching jewellery (her own) were spot-on. Her outfits suit anybody not ready to put on a cleavage show.

One thing Ajuna needs to do is step out of her comfort zone. Looking at her creations, you can see that her highest level of creation is yet to come.  She will not reach the levels of her role model Santa Anzo, who transformed African designs into fashionable attires showcasing at international stages, by playing safe.

Ajuna started designing during her final year at university to raise tuition. Working at her home in Kireka, she was encouraged by family and friends who loved her outfits. She now plans to showcase twice a year. Levixone and Coopy Bly provided the night’s entertainment with songs like Noonya Omu, Sidda mu Kyalo and Nyweza.