Francois Souchet ,Adebayo Oke-Lawal, Iona McCreath, Denola Grey, Zara Odu And More Join Omoyemi Akerele for the Fashion Business Series 2020

Heineken Lagos Fashion Week is pleased to announce the official kick-off of Fashion Business Series this Tuesday, 24th November. Since its inception, FBS has been instrumental in bringing together key stakeholders in fashion to facilitate conversations, exchange of  ideas, and networking to develop the fashion industry.

This year’s keynote address will be delivered by Francois Souchet of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Francois is currently the lead of the Make Fashion Circular, a programme with a set agenda of disrupting the status quo within the industry and he will be leading the keynote on this same topic.

Fashion Business Series is pleased to welcome Francois as his work in the industry and now at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation has contributed greatly to the redirecting of the fashion industry to employ principles of circular economy, an approach that emphasises usage of renewable materials. Lagos Fashion Week has long been committed to the process of identifying sustainable fashion practices. This discussion will be an opportunity to hear from those at the helm of this movement within the global fashion industry.

This first round of panel sessions will feature those from within the fashion industry, speaking on unlocking some of the major challenges that the industry faces. Panelists include a cross-section of designers, fashion entrepreneurs and various creatives, to engage in discourse surrounding the employment of sustainable practices economically and environmentally, and addressing the education deficit on the continent.

Adebayo Oke-Lawal (Founder, Orange Mentorship) will moderate the first session on addressing the education deficit on the continent, and will be joined by Fredricka Brooksworth (Founder, Fashion Scholar) Yvonne Ntiamoah (Founding Chairperson, Board of Fashion Ghana) and Iona McCreath (Creative Director, Kikoromeo). The next session will be moderated by Omoyemi Akerele founder of Lagos Fashion Week and she will joined by Samata Pattinson (CEO Red Carpet Green Dress), Zara Odu (Founder, Designer Consociate), Esethu Genga (CEO/Co-Founder Rewoven) and Elmer Stroomer (Founder, Africa Collect Textiles) will explore how to integrate practical solutions for long lasting fashion practices.

The final session for this week will explore blockchain technology and sustainable alternatives. Denola Grey (Fashion Consultant and Writer) will serve as the moderator and will be joined by Patrick Duffy (Founder, The SwapChain), ShihYun Kuo(Co-CEO & Founder, Lablaco) and Onyinye Fafi-Obi (Art Director).

Each panelist will offer a unique perspective and it promises to be a day filled with enlightening discussions.