MFW – Mozambique Fashion Week – is the acronym that gives name to the event that put Mozambique on the global map of fashion. The first stone of a building that is still being erected was laid in 2004. Sixteen uninterrupted years later, an industry is emerging and with it several designers.
If it is true that MFW arose in the wake of centuries-old fashion events, it is no less true that it has always sought to have its own character, showing a way of thinking and organizing fashion weeks deep- ly rooted in the countries that host them. It placed fashion shows in venues that had never been thought of to welcome them, such as the Central Railway Station or the Maputo International Airport. With all the glamor that characterizes this type of events, MFW has always wanted to impose itself as more than that. And we saw them as pioneers in raising awareness for breast cancer and LGBT rights, when issues like these were (and aren’t they still?) a big taboo in Mozambican society.
In a break from the standard, they have always involved more than fashion professionals. The space that, at first, would welcome only designers, models and fash- ion lovers, was also hyped up by music, visual arts and gastronomy, proving that, as Vasco Rocha, Executive Director at DDB (the agency that organizes the event) says, fashion can be a factor in development. “We involved several young people, hotel chains, the tourism sector, and we used artists who come from abroad as Mozambique ambassadors,” Rocha explains.
Taíbo Bacar, Nivaldo Thierry and Omar Adelino are some of the designers who found at MFW a shop window that opened doors to other circuits, an ongoing work helped by the event. “Between 30 to 40 Mozambican designers have already exhibited abroad and par- ticipated in training courses at the hands of the MFW,” Rocha adds. Also as part of the Commomwealth Fashion Culture circuit, the MFW is part of the world fashion calendar. Last year, an even 15 years were celebrated. If it will mean the end of a cycle making way for the opening of another, this year’s edition – still in secret – will make clear. But Vasco Rocha lets us know that the 2020 edition, which will take place in December on a date to be announced, will give us a Mozambican brand, with national designers and models.
Texto: Elton Pila
Foto: Kim Van Zyl
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