Tag: Events

Bling & Blood go primetime on Vh1

I mentioned before that Vh1 in conjunction with the United Nations was producing a documentary on the bling and blood diamonds relationship. The documentary, “Bling’d: Blood, Diamonds, and Hip Hop”, “takes a look at the illegal diamond trade in Sierra Leone, West Africa and its connection with the hip hop culture, particularly how ‘bling’ played…
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Africa’s Inconvenient Truth

When I heard Al Gore’s announcement that he will be producing Live Earth, a 24-hour concert held simultaneously across all 7 continents, I got to thinking about what part if any Africa(ns) play in the enormous eco-conscious global trend. With “An Inconvenient Truh” nominated for an Oscar, eco-trend features in both business and fashion magazines,…
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Making a model living

Back in my fashion week round-up post, I mentioned the lack of black/african models on the runways this season. While it was a passing comment the topic holds great weight with many Africans trying to build a career in the modeling industry. While many of us take them for granted and often trivialize the idea…
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African designers gamble at Magic Las Vegas

Last August while in Las Vegas for a mini vacation with the family, being the workaholic I am, I squeezed in a visit to to Magic and it’s satellite tradeshows, Project and Pool. For those who have never attended the Magic event, basically it’s a few days of high octane buying and selling of apparel…
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African Hip-Hop in LA

For all those in LA this week make sure you check out the Pan African Film Festival which opened on February 8th and will run unil February 19th. In it’s 15th year, the festival is the largest international black film festival in the United States. While you’re getting in all your African films make sure…
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I made it through! Fashion Week round-up

So, I survived another fashion week with very little scrapes and bruises. As usual the week was hectic. Here are my observations: • Kofi-ism #1: Never tell a model she’s sweating. Models need to be complemented only. Whatever! • Kofi-ism #2: The only people worse off than uninvited fashion guests are the photo and video…
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Vote for Wanlov

Back in 2004 I organized a party to celebrate the launch my Spring/Summer 2004 collection. The collection was based around the Nigerian singer/Afro-beat originator Fela Kuti, an innovative musician who dared to re-invent African song. My launch party, called “Redefining African Style”, featured some upcoming African musicians who I felt were creating a new sound…
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Darfur at NY Fashion Week

So I finalized my Fashion Week schedule the other day and, while I won’t be showing my clothing line this season, I am excited about the shows I’ll be attending. The week will definitely be an exciting one, as I am scheduled to work with some wonderful mens and womens designers. One show that I’m…
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African blogger issues

Recently, I received a nice message from fellow blogger Maryam in Morocco and ventured over to her site. She has a great blog through which she shares with readers the beauty of her experiences in Morocco. For those who aren’t aware, Maryam is nominated in the 7th Annual Bloggies, and deservedly so. The problem though,…
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Tommy Hilfiger and the chaos of NY Fashion Week

It’s that time of year again when any and every person in the fashion industry turns their attention to the tents at Bryant Park for New York Fashion Week. As a veteran of the chaos that descends upon an already chaotic New York City, I too have begun to feel the anticipation of what the…
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