Face of Africa 2010 – Destination Lagos: Photos, Fashion & Lukando Nalungwe’s Magical Moment
Posted on Tuesday, February 9th, 2010 at 8:51 PMBy BellaNaija.com
The Face of Africa 2010 has come and gone. Arguably the most prominent fashion event ever held in Nigeria, the Face of Africa 2010 finale definitely lived up to the hype.
For weeks leading up to the event, “Do you have Face of Africa tickets?” was a question that was repeated time and time again across the social circles.
On Saturday 6th February 2010, the event was held at the Eko Hotel in Victoria Island, Lagos. The first sign that things were not “business as usual” was that, there was no “African Time”. The event started right on time at 6PM – sharp!
The venue was setup like a “warehouse art gallery” with burly construction workers rolling in huge cargo boxes. The models emerged from the boxes and were introduced by the night’s hosts – Studio 53’s Fareed Khimani and former Face of Africa Kaone Kario.
The first segment was one that has been anticipated for the last few weeks. The Top 10 Face of Africa contestants were dressed in couture pieces by 10 of Nigeria’s most respected and talented designers: Zizi Cardow, Frank Osodi, Odio Mimonet, MOMO, Tiffany Amber, Ituen Basi, Adebayo Jones, Lanre Da-Silva Ajayi, Jewel by Lisa and Kosibah. The pieces were really fabulous! We wont bias you by letting you know our fave, check out the photos below and let us know which tickled your fancy.
Marvis in Zizi Cardow
Tholakele in Frank Osodi
Lilian in Odio Mimonet
Esperana in MOMO
Thembi in Tiffany Amber
Blessing in Ituen Basi
Rosanna in Adebayo Jones
Diana in Lanre Da-Silva Ajayi
Ernania in Jewel by Lisa
Lukando in Kosibah
Up next, we got to see video diaries of the girl’s homes and an overview of their lives before Face of Africa. The crowd got emotional watching this as it showed different aspects of African living. From Thembi’s Soweto home and collection of shoes to Mavis in her home with kerosene stove and shared bedroom with her siblings. It was good to learn more about the girls.
The entire event was a visual high-fashion journey, intertwined with great musical performances by D’Banj and South Africa’s Lira.
Check out photos and videos from the performances and all the exciting segments below.
Jewellery from around Africa
Collection was curated by PIECE.
From Paris to Lagos
Pieces from Christian Lacroix, Versace and Emmanuel Ungaro accessorized with jewelery by Chris Aire added an international dimension to the fashion mix.
Fashion Scene by John Kaveke
Fashion Scene by David Tlale
Fashion from all around the A
Designers from all around the continent, created Little Black Dresses for all the contestants. Designers who created dresses for this segment were Anna Getaneh of Afrique Mosaique (Ethiopia), Kofi Ansah (Ghana), Anisa Mpungwe of Loin Cloth and Ashes (Tanzania), Gloria Wavamunno (Uganda), Chakirra Claasen (Namibia), Cathy Kathunzi (Malawi), Koketso Chiepe (Botswana), Liz Ogumbo (Kenya), Taibo Bacar (Mozambique) and Angela Mulenga (Zambia)
The Winner!
After all the glitz and glam, it was down to the final 3 – Rosanna of Zimbabwe, Lukando of Zambia and Ernania of Mozambique. It was a magical moment as the winner – Lukando Nalungwe was announced by the original Face of Africa – Oluchi. The tears immediately began to fall as the crowd rose to their feet to felicitate with the new Face of Africa.
Congrats! Lukando along with runner-up Rosanna are off to New York Fashion Week to walk the ramp at the ARISE collective show.
Overwhelmed with emotion as she is announced as the winner
The After Party
The afterparty was lots of fun. It was held in a ‘loft meets warehouse’ space right next to the venue of the actual Face of Africa show. Lots of great food, drinks and then performances from Nigerian stars including Banky W, Eldee and Mo’ Hits.
Watch out for the BN Red Carpet Fab – Face of Africa 2010 edition!
We’ll love to hear your thoughts on the show and the winner!
Tags: face of africa, Face of Africa 2010, Lukando Nalungwe
……………………………………………………………………………………BLAH
These young ladies ROCKED IT! I live in the USA and this competition has exceeded all by far. It’s brings tears to eyes and a joy to soul to see the beauty and level of class shown. This is Africa! Cheers!!!!!
CONGRATS TO D WINNER!!!… WANDE COAL RELIIIIIIIIII NEEDS TO LOOSE WEIGHT…. NOT COS U HAVE MONEY DOESNT MIN U HAVE TO PACK ON ALL D WEIGHT IN D WORLD!
My favorite designers for the show were, in order of the most loved to the appreciated: 1. Kosiba (rocked it), 2. MOMO (very elegant) 3. Tiffany Amber 4. Adebayo Jones 5. Ituen Basi. Of course all the 10 designers were fabulous but those five are my favorite, since I more for the traditional designs than the experimental.
By the way, thanks Bella for the post. ‘preciate as always.
On the Side: As much as the show was well coordinated, the venue of the event is somewhat “wanting”, it looks like a warehouse or some back street indoor basketball court, does it mean we do not have a more elegant location for this event in Nigeria?
Mannnn, I’m SO proud to be African, lol. JBL, Odio Mimonet, Ituen Basi and Lanre Da-Silva = L.O.V.E. Great work from all the designers and great work as always, Bella! Your coverage is always on pizzoint! Can’t wait for the Red Carpet Fab post.
XO
Its great to have a competition like this. I love the fact that african designers were prominently featured. Good job. Love love the John Kaveke show, would wear every single outfit and the hair, SUPER, I want that too
sooooo proud of our Nigerian designers, amazing!
@honeypot, d event venue was set up like that forthe show. I thot it was brilliant. Its fashion meets design – very well done i must say. All in all the show was a total blast!
U lie!!!!!……there’s nothing even remotely “blah” about anything here…
na wa..why cnt pple just appreciate hard(good) work???….
meanwhile, kate kate kate. how many x did i call u???? y would you come to such an event as the last season’s winner with hair like that??? stop it o. don’t try it next time. I thought the kate that went to bba (revolution) was out of character but after seeing u @ the show it seems its normal now…you’re letting your self go. you need to watch it, you’re a model, your appearance matters!!
Think outside the box. The venue was perfect for the theme they were going for ” construction site”. Hence the men in hard hats and the cargo boxes. The hall of course is not complete and still under construction. This is ART and everything must not be glamorized…sometimes things can be different.
lwkmd @ boogsy n beezy. Well said o, i love the venue very much and the art behind it, love me some Dbanj too.. LOL. Wande babe ko wetin dey happen for you na?? Abeg, gym is your friend o, ehn?? but everall love the designers and David T ( RSA) is very good too.
all d girls look great. nyone could have won n i’d still b glad. africa rules!
That is what it was called… A fashion warehouse
Dbanj no just try. The dude could not sing. The lip-singing was not even synching. Timing was off and add to that the pretty bad and out-of-tune voice. God, what happened to the days when all you had to do was give a musician a mic, put a live band behind them, and sit back to hear them sing your soul to rapture?
A D-guy you fall my hand. As in the singing was embarrassing. Seriously, what is happening? What happened to the simple elegance and beauty of the natural human voice? You know, people like Ego?
Anyway, don’t mind me jare.
even the Ego sef, I’v heard her live & i didnt believe it was d same psn…. she was mediocre to d max…..
LOL….me just had to say now..
Can’t d-banj ever perform alone?whats wit all the “spliff stars” behind him in every single show.
I actually wanted Blessing to win.All in all good show.
JBL is Amazing.
i tnk we all knw he cnt sing…wt he has goin 4 hm is charisma n don jazy’s beat.
Lira was great, subtle and classy, she was like a goddess, bigups.
D’banj o o o o, no comment. couldn’t they ve used nneka or lagbaja or i dunno
it’s a tie between mimonet and tiffany amber lol. great frocks from all the designers. the pics look amazing!