For Ayo Magazine, I spoke with the Malawian designer to learn how she’s disrupting Africa’s fashion industry.

Published April 1, 2020

Lilly Alfonso, an award-winning Malawian fashion designer, is making waves in Africa’s fashion industry. Featured on BBC Africa and CNN’s African Voices, Alfonso is part of a growing class of popular African creatives and designers redefining the continent’s position in the global fashion sector.

Residing in Lilongwe, Alfonso creates luxury, ready-to-wear and custom attire. Designed for the “modern African man and woman,” her bespoke designs provide a personalized touch for customers, brandishing each garment in Alfonso’s sleek and chic signature style. Alfonso was inspired by the rich cultural heritage of various African nations. Her designs are an amalgamation of vibrant tones, prints, patterns and colours from Malawi, Zambia, Tanzania, Congo, Nigeria and South Africa, exemplifying Alfonso’s dedication to spotlighting continental creativity through her work.  

From her early days sketching and sewing in her veranda in Malawi’s commercial and financial centre, Blantyre, to gaining international notoriety, Alfonso is an example of homegrown talent that has risen above the infrastructural challenges that have historically weakened Malawi’s fashion sector. Her work has appeared in fashion shows in Cairo, Paris, London, and more. Alfonso’s rising international presence continues to provide opportunities for emerging African designers to dominate luxury and haute couture spaces, arenas that have predominantly served Western and Asian fashion creatives. She was awarded the International Fashion Designer Award in Cairo in 2019 and 2020, and won the Living Legend award in Malawi’s 2019 Urban Music People (UMP) Awards. 

Read the full interview on Ayo Magazine