African Fashion International celebrated Africa Day in style by hosting an exclusive fashion show infused with a gala dinner.
Africa Day is celebrated annually on May 25.
Hosted at The Leonardo, the tallest building in Africa, the AFI Africa Day celebration saw fashionistas, designers and the media from Africa attend in style.
Upon arrival, guests had an option of a photoshoot in their exquisite African attires before making their way to the dinner table.
Pearl Modiadie, the host for the event, dazzled in an Otsile Sefolo multi-layered African dress, completing the look with a matching doek.
First to perform was the Vuyani Dance Co, followed by the Ndlovu Youth Choir.
Masa Mara, a Cape Town-based designer but originally from Rwanda, was the first to showcase. The designer revealed a bright collection of stylish puffy jackets, briefcases, rondavel hats - all in bold prints and colourful patterns.
Ituen Basi from Nigeria showcased stunning African print dresses. Meanwhile, Loubna Combalat of Loayo Art revealed a collection inspired by her birth country, Morocco.
“And you know as Africans love colourful things, so this collection is a cocktail of colour and vibrancy. Africa Day means a lot to me,” said Combalat.
The last designer to showcase was David Tlale, who showed us some masterpieces from his ‘Veterans Pursuit'.
And then it was time to indulge in some African cuisine. First to be served was an array of Canapés inspired by the North African cuisine of Morocco, with elements of Spanish flair.
For appetisers, we had matoke (green bananas) croquettes, green peas stew and great lakes whitebait- all inspired by Rwanda.
For the mains, Chef Coco drew his inspiration from the Nigerian culture. He served us seafood jollof rice paired with deep-fried plantains.
The dessert was inspired by South African culture. We had rooibos cheesecake, tangerine, naartjie and white chocolate.
