Retail fashion is undergoing a tumultuous transition at the moment, but even online ventures have been subject to bumps and bruises, particularly during the pandemic. Nevertheless, glimmers of hope continue to emerge, and African fashion designers have several new platforms, such as Industrie Africa, providing a critical engine for advancement. AFI Designer Boutique, created by Dr Precious Moloi-Motsepe’s African Fashion International in 2019, was designed to help promote African luxury fashion designers to the global stage and sell their products via the platform. More recently, online retail “destination” Industrie Africa, the brainchild of Tanzania-born Nisha Kanabar and which launched in 2018 as a sort of well-curated encyclopaedia of young, upcoming and established African fashion designers, has also leapt into e-commerce.
SOURCE: DAILY MAVERICK
