Six finalists heads to DFA bootcamp

Six fashion designers are now closer to their dreams as they inch closer to the final showdown of Design Fashion Africa.The young designers, who were part of the DFA online design challenge, had their entries reviewed by a panel of celebrity judges and will now join the DFA Fashion Academy where they will receive training from some of Africa’s best designers.

Design Fashion Africa had launched on the September 3, with the goal of showcasing more young upcoming fashion designers to the rest of the world and help them commercialize their craft. Following a launch teaser video and an official announcement, the organizing team received over 1000 entries from across Nigeria. While there was some public voting for best designs, a panel had to sit through and vet all the entries to pick the very best designs from the lot, narrowing all applications to less than 1 per cent.

At the event hosted at the Eko Hotel & Suites, two designers were eliminated and while this was the end of the road for them. The experience garnered while working with seasoned fashion veterans will offer them an immense boost in their careers.

Following this event, the remaining 6 designers will undergo a three-day Bootcamp, which will feature a fashion academy on the first day, a marketplace on the second and round up with a live fashion show on the final day. The fashion academy will feature training from some of the best in the fashion business in Africa such as Mai Atafo. 

The marketplace and live runway show are more focused on the primary goal of the DFA initiative, which is to showcase these designers to everyone. Each finalist will get the opportunity to have their outfits on the runway along with other established designers from across Africa. The marketplace will be a sales point for other designers with unique outfit designs and fashion accessories to drive sales to guests at the event.Design Fashion Africa opens on October 3, and will come to an end with the live fashion show at Eko Hotels on October 5.