This season's Portugal Fashion Week (PFW) took place in Porto, Portugal, from 16 to 19 March, and I was lucky enough to have been in attendance. Representing AMAKA, I had the opportunity to connect with brilliantly talented designers from across Africa and the diaspora. Fashion creatives from Mali, Kenya, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, and beyond, all converged at this one place for this one event. They all arrived via the Creative African Nexus (CANEX) , a platform connecting, highlighting and funding African artistic expression on the continent and in the diaspora. 

Portugal Fashion Is Giving These Designers Access and Linking Them to Opportunities

Day One

I landed in Porto on the afternoon of the 17th with a sense of immense relief regarding my safe landing (I'm scared of flying) and eagerness to hit the runways. I'm very beauty-motivated, so clothing, accessories, and even hair care and styling are all means of me showcasing my personal style and interests. I enjoy delving into different aesthetics — whether that be Y2K, afro-boho, or neo-grunge — mixing and matching as I go along. So, dressing to impress is always the aim of the game. For my PFW debut, I wore a chocolate brown fine corduroy shirt, tied at the waist to accentuate my midriff, partnered with a flattering pair of vintage 70s geometric print trousers and eggshell green sandals. I adorned a burnt orange headwrap and finished off the look with a pair of Louis Vuitton hoops, a Louis Vuitton pochette bag, and an iced out silver and gold bracelet. Brown, green, and orange are my absolute favourite colours to wear, so this outfit encapsulated that perfectly.

I found out I was not the only one dressed to impress that day after bumping into CANEX project lead and LULUBELL Group founder, Lulu Shabell, ahead of attending my first show. Shabell mesmerised in a black and white wide-leg jumpsuit with eye-catching abstract design from Tongoro, reminiscent of traditional Kenyan Masai prints. She added a pop of colour with a colourful satin scarf tied around her neck — a look.

I had the pleasure of attending KikoRomeo's walk for my PFW premiere. KikoRomeo is a Kenyan-based heritage brand that prides itself on ethically and locally-produced artisan styles. An example can be seen in their signature horn logos, which are laser-cut in Ethiopia and form part of the zero-waste cycle at the meat factory where their leathers are sourced. I caught up with the brand's creative director, Iona McCreath, who was representing the label at PFW. Speaking on her new collection, she shared that the ensemble's defining colour of green sets the backdrop of designs inspired by East Africa's coastal Swahili culture. With a Scottish mother and Kenyan father, she also references her own ethnic background, adding, "I want my creative output to be representative of my diverse heritage."

Day Two

Instead of the previous day's earth tones, I went for a bold retro composition of primary and secondary colours, wearing a satin head wrap echoing the African American streetwear of the late 80s and early 90s. I wore a navy blue bodycon midaxi dress, a super cropped fine corduroy navy shacket, and the same eggshell green sandals as yesterday. The bag of the day was a fuchsia Fendi baguette bag, and I topped off the look with a pair of olive green shades and gold jewellery from Justine Clenquet (necklace), Omolola Jewellery (earrings), and Vivienne Westwood (rings). Omolola Jewellery is a fabulous Black woman-owned brand that features West African styles and is based in the UK. Check them out here. 

I spent a lot of day two engaging with the event organisers and participating designers. Speaking with Abel Diaz, a PFW coordinator, I learnt about the importance of profiling African fashion at the event. He relayed, "For Portugal Fashion, Africa is really an important hub right now. We are doing [sic] a big effort to promote African fashion, using Portugal as a platform for Europe. There is much creativity going on right now in the whole continent, and Portugal Fashion is really focused on highlighting and helping all these, especially young, brands to enter the international markets."

I also caught up with Ivorian designer, Lafalaise Dion, dubbed "the Queen of Cowries", who is the owner of the eponymously named label Lafalaise Dion. She talked to me about her Racine collection: "'Racine' is like a telling of our story. 'Racine' in English is 'the root' — where you come from". She continued, saying that it's about "re-personalising yourself with your stories and your legacies".

Cowries are an essential part of the Abidjan-based creative's work, with shells being popular adornments across West African cultures that signify prosperity, welfare, happiness, and health. Pre-colonial communities used cowrie shells in divination to send symbolic messages, prepare medicinal herbs and adorn musical instruments.

I next touched base with Nigerian designer, Abiola Olusola, who spoke about her, once again, eponymously named brand. She cites a unique source of inspiration for her pieces, looking to the pastel and vibrant colours of 1983's Scarface and other '80s American movies and overlaying them over traditional Yoruba attire."There are a lot of embellishments, and tie-dye, and beading [along with] a mixing of fabrics, silks, and cottons; super high slits, there are cut-outs. It's meant to be chic, and cool, and feminine at the same time," she beams. 

Finally, I connected with Malian-born Fatima Toure, founder and creator of NILHANE. As described on their website, it's "a leather goods brand that takes inspiration from the heritage of the Sahel region of West Africa." They produce high-quality bags which are handmade in Spain and take cultural references from her home country.

Toure spoke to me about the Maya bag, saying, "It's inspired by the Taureg leather trunks from Mali. It's rectangular in shape." She proceeded to demonstrate the accessible clip fastening for the cream edition before exhibiting the black and grey models. However, her favourite bag from her latest release is the Coumba bag in ocean blue. "Named after my mother, who's Fulani, it's designed after the Fulani earrings (pictured below), and it's been a bestseller." 

NILHANE accessories later featured in an evening show for Kreyann, an haute couture clothing brand based in Cameroon and also part of the CANEX collective.

Day Three

In true transitional season fashion, I paired a summer silhouette with a muted colour scheme of neutral beige, reflective of the temperate weather. I wore a midriff exposing oatmeal crop top, made from recycled cotton, along with a striped knit maxi skirt incorporating beige, cream, and brown shades. The look was toned down with a beige fine knit cropped cardigan to provide some coverage for the otherwise high-heat look. I wore the same jewellery as yesterday besides my necklace, swapping the statement choker for a dainty gold chain. With my hair in a glorious big puff, I was giving afro-boho-chic meets Y2K, donning a pink pair of square rimless sunglasses to add to the summery accents. I wore the same Louis Vuitton Pochette as I did on the first day, completing the look with my now-signature muted green sandals. 

The Women Initiating Change for African Designers at Portugal Fashion Week

For the final day, I wanted to highlight more PFW street style ahead of the April & Alex's show — the final CANEX sponsored designers to hit the runway for the week. It was a beautifully sunny day, so I was able to capture many vibrant outfits that stood out against the Portuguese sun — see some pictured below.

The week's activities came to a close that evening with a farewell talk from CANEX to all the designers featured, for which I was fortunate enough to be present. As earlier expressed, designers of African descent came from all over the world for this season's PFW to showcase their artistry and creativity. Accounts of VISA issues, missed flights, and backstage anxiety juxtaposed those of a long-standing commitment to the creative process, months to years of planning, and a sheer passion for fashion, creating a great sense of humour and camaraderie among the group. It was a joyous sight to see, and AMAKA looks forward to watching all of their journeys through the fashion world.