The mission statement for the Safara Fashion Show is to bridge the North American and African fashion barrier.  This event featured audiences varying from young people in their early twenties interested in fashion to a more mature audience with the median age being 34.  Some of the designers at the show included Catherine Addai (Canadian/Ghanian), Niapsou Di (Senegalese/Canadian), King Jector Jr. (Nigerian), Ginette Sarr (Senegalese), Charifa Labarang (Cameroonian/Canadian), Fatouma Haidara (Malian), Stacey Martin Sackey (Ghanian), and many more.

We had the opportunity to arrive early and experience the behind-the-scenes action that was taking place before the event started.  There were cocktails and refreshments for the guest as well as a take-home goody bag.

We were lucky enough to be granted front row seats at this event which allowed us to capture some amazing shots of the designers’ collections.

The show began with an amazing performance by Drummers of Burundi who are a percussion ensemble from the tiny country of Burundi in Central Africa.  They showcased their dance and performance routine that was compelling in many ways and had the crowd bursting with energy.  Their ancient dance is rooted in tradition and mystical belief.

Hosts Gwen Madiba and Karrueche Tran started off the event by presenting the first designer: Kaela Kay

I would describe Kaela Kay’s collection as “African print glamour meets street style”.  It was a great way to open up the Safara Fashion Show and set the bar high for all the other designers in the show.

The next designer was “We Are Kings”.  They showcased menswear starting with African print structured blazers.  The colors chosen were vibrant with an edgy twist.  Take a look at a few of the pieces we had a chance to snap pictures of below:

The models for this designer looked pulled together and polished.  Their presentation skills were on point with the atmosphere of the designer’s style.

It was an all around amazing event, from the crowd cheering to the incredible designers showcasing their talent.  At one point Karrueche and Gwen asked all the women and men who were wearing African print to come up and model their attire doing the walk-around. It was a great way to engage the audience and create a positive vibe and atmosphere for the onlookers.

There was also a competition between 3 up and coming designers from Richard Robinson Fashion Design Academy who were given African print material to create a winning design.  Our favourite designers from the competition was by our very own intern Jessica Sylva  with her partner Sarah Ammoun.  They placed 2nd in the competition for the best design of the night.

The first place winner designed this beautiful African print ensemble which was a metallic gold jumpsuit with a train around the hips.

Here is the 3rd place winner of the African Print designer Contest:

This picture below is one of our interns named Liya Huang who’s an up and coming model/blogger/fashion guru.  She has written several articles for Trendy Bloggers which can be found here. GREAT JOB LIYA  !!

All in all it was a fantastic show that was very well planned by Gwen Madiba and Sid Abdul.  They did an amazing job planning this event and showcasing African print style to the audience.  As a blogger and event attendee it was a pleasure to document the event throughout the evening.  We truly enjoyed everything from the entertainment, the hosts, and the fabulous designs.

Angie’s AMTI provided the event with their beautiful models who gave their best performance showcasing different African style designers.

The hairstylist responsible for the gorgeous hair was Curly Hair Designs located on 198 Greenbank Drive in Ottawa.  They did an amazing job with the models’ hairstyles.

A big shout out goes to the Ottawa based makeup artist Marlet Aguilar who did the makeup for all the models in the show and helped them shine bright throughout the night.

Here are some additional photos that were captured throughout the night.