Hi Lovelies,
I am so glad it is Tuesday and we are slowly but surely inching towards the end of the week; i know that sounds ambitious but each weekday we conquer brings us closer to the weekend :-). Hopefully, you should have read my previous post on the African Fashion Week London Catwalk/Designers but if not, hop off to read it here. As promised, I decided to split the post into designers and exhibitors to avoid having a really lengthy post. So, here are pictures from some designs and pieces I totally loved.
AFWL 2013 Exhibitors
I was really happy to see so many creative designers exhibiting bespoke and phenomenal pieces. Having lived in Nigeria for pretty much the whole of my life, I have been surrounded by many creative indigenous pieces so it is a little bit hard to impress me. But, I was impressed and pleased to see many African (not just Nigerian) creative designers with many goodies ranging from handbags, shoes, belts, dresses, children's wares, toys, head wraps, jewelry, etc. Indeed the list is almost endless. I appreciate more of the effort behind their designs because it is not easy sourcing for the materials here in the UK or the manpower to create them. So, Kudos to all the creative designers that showcased their pieces. Many of the designers stood out for me but I had to narrow down all the lovely pictures I took to the best of the best (for me), other people's opinions may differ. Some of the Exhibitors include: Didi Creations, Kenza Accessories, Illay, Tote Collections, House of Loulee Creations, Aduna Baobab, Rya-V Jewelry, Lewa Jewelry to mention a few.
Jewelry and Accessories
I totally loved all the jewelry on display because they were all good representations of the African Culture and heritage mixed with some contemporary pieces. I loved how some of the earrings had the ethnic Ankara material prints embedded inside. They were all bold, colorful and creative pieces that would definitely make you stand out from the crowd when wearing them..
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| Find out more about Rya-V Jewellery here |
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| Find out more about Lewa Handmade Jewellery here |
Handbags and Clutches
I am a huge sucker for cute handbags and clutches and all these bags seemed to be calling out to me but thankfully, I resisted temptation. I love how structured these bags were and the ehnic materials used with the right pop of colours. I also loved the clutches which were made from leather and Ankara material which would look amazing with a pair of jeans, white shirt and blazer. I just love prints so much and I think it is heaven when they are incorporated into bags and clutches....
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| Find our more about Didi Creations Here... |
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| Find out more about Tote Collections Here... |
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| Illay London (Tel : 07968762970) |
Head Wraps/Turbans (Kiyana Wraps)
This was one stand that had so many people visiting because these head wraps looked delicious. I was surprised at how sturdy they were. They looked really beautiful on the people who tried them on and I think they can add life to any plain outfit. They are also perfect for bad hair days especially if you can't be bothered styling. I can see myself wearing this even on good hair days for weekend and casual outings..Find out more about Kiyana Wraps here
Children Wears, Toys and Accessories (House of Loulee)
Of course, children were not left out. In fact, there was quite a good number of kids in the Exhibition Area of the AFWL 2013 and there were some exhibitors that had children wear, toys and accessories. I was enchanted by the dolls and toys (elephants) from House of Loulee. I thought these dolls were the cutest dolls ever and they make me laugh every time I look at these pictures. I love how the designer took her time to actually create afro hair pieces for these dolls and I totally love their cute little ankara frocks. Would you buy these for your kids?Find out more about House of Loulee here.
Health and Well-being (Aduna Baobab)
To feel good from the outside, you need to start from the inside which is why I love that there was a health and well-being stand in the AFWL Exhibition. Aduna Baobab specialises in formulating various healthy vitamins mixes and powders made form pure baobab which has many health and skin benefits..Find out more about Aduna Baobab here
Shoes and Apparel
There were a good number of exhibitors selling different kinds of apparel ranging from Skirts, Dresses, Tops, Jackets,Blazers, etc and it was indeed a colorful rainbow of many creative pieces from the various designers. I also loved the shoes from a number of exhibitors who, as usual, incorporated ankara and kente pieces into materials for designing different kinds of shoes including flats and heels...very lovely!!!
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| Malakhandsco |
As you may be able to tell from these pictures, I thoroughly enjoyed my day at the African Fashion Week London 2013 with these lovely exhibitors and their creative pieces (I have added some links and contacts below relevant pictures above if you are interested in any of these pieces). Not all of them have websites yet but I think many are working on it and may be able to arrange some sales when you contact them. I know I will be in touch with some of them as some pieces were just too good not to have....
I hope you enjoyed this post and I do have a lot of pictures and may put them up just as a post picture when i get around to editing all of them. Thanks for always stopping by to listen to my little blurbs every now and then...Catch you in my next post..toodles...xxx
