YOUNG and ambitious fashion designer Anita Hlazo has been selected to represent Mzansi at the Africa Fashion Week in London, United Kingdom.
The 26-year-old from Delft, Cape Town has been given a chance to showcase her talent at the 12th Annual Africa Fashion Week London in October 2023.
But for her dream to come true, she needs to raise about R60 000 to travel there.
Anita’s brand is called Afrogrunge, a designer brand that stems from her experience of the "grunge" subculture, which finds its roots in the punk rock aesthetic.
She said: “I subscribed to studs, piercings, thrifting, individuality, skateboarding, and uniqueness. I openly loved hip-hop but secretly enjoyed punk rock music.”
With her blackness, experience and curiosity for exploration, her out-of-the-box persona founded Afrogrunge five years ago.
The brand has gained significant notoriety in the last few years by being part of the Nike Women X Shelflife campaign in 2023.
It is part of the Sportscene catalogue under the Redbat POSSE initiative in 2022, highlighting activism in gender-based violence. The campaign donated 100% of its proceeds to creating safe spaces for women in local communities.
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This time, Anita wants to stretch her wings abroad by showcasing her design talents in London this year. However, she’s trying by all means to raise funds to get her designer registration fees, flights and visa finalised before the show date on 23 October 2023.
“Initially, I was not going to go because it is quite a lot of money to showcase. But my friends encouraged me to enter and suggested I open a crowd-fund to get there. So, I posted on my Instagram requesting funds to cover my fees to showcase and get to London,” she said.
So far, Anita said he has raised R 13 700 on her GoGetFunding account, and a friend has offered her free accommodation in London for a week during her stay.
She is looking to host a fundraiser event scheduled for the end of August at a gallery in Cape Town. She said the would cover additional costs for visa and flights.
