Africa Fashion Up, the first large-scale Parisian event dedicated to contemporary African fashion, returns this year for a third edition placed under the sign of audacity and originality, while giving a special place to ethical and sustainable fashion. The selected future laureates will have the chance to showcase their original creations at a major fashion show to be held on 7 July at the Quai Branly - Jacques Chirac Museum. The call for applications is open from February 15 to April 15, 2023.

The Africa Fashion Up showcase programme, dedicated to contemporary African fashion and organised by Share Africa, is launching its third edition with a call for applications from young African creators, stylists and designers. At the end of a selection process supervised by an international jury, the winners who have been identified as the "Discoveries of the Year" will be invited to Paris. During a week of exploration and immersion, they will take part in masterclasses and visits provided by the programme's official historical partners, including Balenciaga and Galeries Lafayettes.

The major fashion show will be held on July 7 at the Quai Branly - Jacques Chirac Museum in the heart of the French capital, an opportunity to demonstrate their talent, know-how and commitment to eco-responsible fashion. 

Created in 2020 by Valérie Ka, a Franco-Ivorian top model, Africa Fashion Up is the first Parisian event dedicated to high-end African fashion in France, with the ambition of recognising and encouraging a vibrant African fashion scene, between tradition and modernity, between heritage and international openness. The programme focuses on all current fashion practices: from streetwear to haute couture, all trends are welcome. For Valérie Ka, founder of Share Africa: "Africa Fashion Up aims to renew the way we look at fashion and Africa, and intends to offer a showcase for young artists from the continent. They are the representatives of a dynamic and responsible creative industry in Africa and I am proud to contribute to its expression on the French fashion scene." 

The new African talents and their creations will be honoured, firstly by benefiting from a complete guidance and support, ranging from training to mentoring, during several days in Paris. They will have the opportunity to participate in masterclasses, to meet with referents of the fashion world, as well as to follow coaching sessions with a 1-on-1 follow-up.

At the end of this sequence, the winners will be invited to present several pieces of their collection during the big fashion show organized at the museum. The designer whose profile wins the jury's approval will be awarded the "Designer Africa Fashion Up" Prize 2023.

About « Africa Fashion UP » program

The ambition of Africa Fashion Up is to show the vitality of current African creativity through fashion. The program takes place within the framework of Share Africa (www.shareafrica.live), a broader initiative that includes a series of actions and events showcasing the creativity, innovation and environmental commitment of African youth. ​By bringing together African creation in Paris, Africa Fashion Up wishes to become the showcase for this new trend, driven by a generation of uninhibited designers who give pride of place to audacity, color and originality. The program focuses on all current fashion practices: from streetwear to haute couture, from the most experimental approaches to the most modest initiatives. Africa Fashion Up is particularly interested in young African talents who are drawing Africa in the 21st century by drawing inspiration from their history and their tradition.​Its objective is also to show and bring to life contemporary African fashion by highlighting its influence on other areas of creation and culture (cinema, music, entrepreneurship, etc.). Fashion thus becomes a true marker of the transformation of contemporary African societies.

About Share Africa

SHARE AFRICA is a platform of actions and projects that aims to highlight the young, creative, innovative and green Africa by encouraging those who undertake and create in Africa. Whether they are actors of "AfricaTech", entrepreneurs, inventors, designers, activists, thinkers, social entrepreneurs, students, African creators are brimming with inventiveness and propose resolutely innovative approaches. Designed above all as a platform for meetings and exchanges, SHARE AFRICA will be the scene of a fertile emulation, a real incubator of collaborations between African and French or even European talents in a whole range of fields where creativity and innovation are essential. This initiative aims to renew approaches, promote a new humanism, disseminate innovation to the greatest number of people, but also and above all to show a positive Africa. 

More information on the official Africa Fashion UP website:

https://www.africafashionup.com/

To take part in the call for applications: https://www.africafashionup.com/about-5