From October 3 to 5, Stephen Manzini, the founder and CEO of Soweto Fashion Week, will be attending the BRICS+ Fashion Summit in Moscow.
The global event, the largest of its kind for the emerging fashion markets, will bring together industry leaders, heads of fashion associations, manufacturers, designers and experts from across the world to discuss the future of fashion.
The summit offers a comprehensive business programme, education events and an international exhibition “Heritage”, which features modern interpretations of cultural codes in fashion design from across the globe.
Manzini will be participating in the BRICS+ Fashion Summit to foster multivector co-operation in the fashion industry, strengthen cultural and business ties and address pressing issues like innovation and sustainable development.
As the key event in emerging fashion markets, the summit focuses on the challenges and achievements of talented individuals, designers and companies within the industry.
South Africa's expertise in fashion and culture will be invaluable in supporting emerging designer brands on a global scale. Summit discussions will also delve into topics such as artificial intelligence, investments and manufacturing.
“The BRICS+ Fashion Summit is very important for emerging economies and the Global South as we have never had a united platform of this nature in history. The unification of these markets could potentially bring major trade agreements within the economies and perhaps create vigorous exertion from the current dominant economies to look east and south for trends and inclusion into mainstream markets. Communication of this is essential as a starting point,” says Manzini.
The international exhibition, Heritage, will be a highlight of the summit. It will showcase the powerful influence of the national and cultural heritage of BRICS countries, as well as countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, on modern clothing design and reflect the global trend of embracing cultural codes in a contemporary context. A brand from South Africa, Sun Goddess, will present pieces inspired by African motifs.
After the BRICS+ Fashion Summit, Moscow Fashion Week will take centre stage from October 4 to 9, featuring talented designers from Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Russia, South Africa, Costa Rica and the Unite Arab Emirates.