Impressive designer line-up for first-ever Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Joburg Spring/Summer 2016

An explosive lineup of South Africa’s and Africa’s best designers has been announced by African Fashion International (AFI), the official platform for Fashion Week’s headline sponsor, Mercedes-Benz, the country’s leading fashion event. This highly anticipated extravaganza will take place in one of the continent’s fashion capitals – Johannesburg – at Nelson Mandela Square in Sandton City, from the 10^th to the 13^th of August 2016.

The new Spring/Summer show is the first event in the remodelled AFI calendar and this platform is being used to showcase the very best of Pan-African design talent. These two strategic shifts not only re-affirm AFI’s role as a pioneer in the African fashion industry, but will contribute in taking the show to a whole new level.

This fabulous fashion feast kicks off with the introduction of a new, fresh designer who has been mentored and groomed by the acclaimed “King of Fashion” David Tlale, in the David Tlale Intern show. The inspirational Laduma, with his MaXhosa range, is back from Italy where he won the 2015 Vogue Italia Scouting for Africa Award.

Both of these amazing talents will share this year’s stage with other household names such as the dynamic Marianne Fassler, Nhlanhla Nciza, Nandi Mngoma, Suzaan Heyns, Khosi Nkosi, and Zama Mathe, to name a few. Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Joburg SS 2016 will undoubtedly be a monumental shift in AFI’s shows, as it brings together one of the best Pan-African lineups to date.

Speaking about AFI’s decision to realign their calendar, Sizwe Nzimande, at African Fashion International says, “AFI has long been viewed as a critical part of the fashion industry on our continent. It was with this in mind that we took the strategic decision to aggregate Africa’s biggest design talent into all of our Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week platforms, to ensure that we live up to the mission of nurturing the growth and development of African fashion.”

The designer lineup* for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Joburg SS 2016 is:

“This year we are particularly excited about the MBFWJ Fastrack^TM Finale, where the continent’s most promising young designers get to show off their immense talent and their hard work. It’s a huge night for all the designers, but particularly for our Fastrack finalists, as the global fashion spotlight is firmly on Nelson Mandela Square and the trends coming out of Africa,” says Nzimande.

*Designer schedule is subject to change.