The city of Sao Paulo came alive last weekend as it welcomed African designers from all fashion capitals of the world – London, Paris, Mozambique, and of course, Nigeria for the maiden edition of the much-anticipated Africa Fashion Week Brazil. It was a glamorous fashion show organised by the wife of Ooni of Ife, Queen Aderonke Ademiluyi-Ogunwusi in partnership with businesswoman Silvana Saraiva, Chairman of Brazil Chamber of Commerce and CEO of FeaFro Institute, Brazil.

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The much-anticipated international fashion show which is aimed at promoting the richness of African culture through fashion and more importantly, promoting trade and investment in the creative industry, was held at the Expo Center Norte, Sao Paulo, Brazil. The three-day event, which kicked off on Thursday, May 25 and ran till Saturday, May 27, saw a spectacular showcase of Africa’s cultural heritage and fashion.

The runway saw a display of classy cuts, haute couture, and ready-to-wear trendy pieces all distinctly made with the Adire and Ankara fabric, to the delight of the audience. It featured a special showcase of Ooni of Ife’s Adire Oodua by Nigeria’s frontline designer Ejiro Amos Tafiri. A-line adire dresses with statement sleeves, asymmetric tops paired with adire trousers, and long skirts with extravagant organza hem were the stars of the collection, all made with different types of adire.

Queen Aderonke Ademiluyi-Ogunwusi, better known for her passion for the development of African culture and heritage is the founder of Africa Fashion Week London and Africa Fashion Week Nigeria She is also the Chief Executive Officer, CEO of Adire Oodua Textile Training Hub and Vice Chairman House of Oduduwa Foundation. Queen Aderonke has showcased over 2000 African brands to a global audience since she rolled out the drums to celebrate her maiden edition of Africa Fashion Week London in 2011. Not resting on her oars, Queen Aderonke has continued to provide bigger platforms for African fashion designers to get global prominence.