Vivienne Westwood, UK fashion designer whose five-decade career began in the mid-1970s punk movement in London and who remained devoted to its ethos of anti-establishment agitation throughout her life, has died at the age of 81. Her brand announced the news of her death on its social accounts.
At the dawn of the punk era, Westwood, with her then partner Malcolm McLaren, helped to invent its “look” with designs that ranged from shredded T-shirts to bondage suits, emblazoned with anarchist symbols, Nazi swastikas, inverted crucifixes and words like “DESTROY.” Dressing the Sex Pistols, who McLaren managed and promoted, she created a vocabulary of provocation that would not only shake up British fashion of the times, but also go on to define her own runway collections and influence the work of generations of designers to come.
A working-class girl from Derbyshire, who was largely untrained in fashion, Westwood was a primary school art teacher when she met McLaren in 1965 at the age of 24, already a young mother and separated from her first husband. Within a few years, she became the spikey-haired high priestess of punk who commanded London’s burgeoning counter-cultural movement while selling Teddy Boy clothes and bondage jeans from a cult retailer on the King’s Road. That she would ultimately be perceived as one of the most influential British designers of the 20th century, and alternatively as a batty eccentric for her political fulminations against consumerism and capitalism, underscored Westwood’s position as a fiercely independent creator who would help shape but never quite fit into the mainstream.
“We wanted to undermine the establishment,” Westwood once said. “We hate it. We want to destroy it. We don’t want it. We were youth against age, that’s what it was.”
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Outside Africa Industry Creatives
UPCOMING TOP EVENTS!
Volta Fashion Week, Awards and Honors will be happening this year from 10th-12th February at the serene Holy Trinity Spa and Hotel in the Volta region Of Ghana. Having an array of spectacular designers from both Ghana and other parts of Africa showcasing. This year’s event is fused with a special massage package for VIP guests. Ticket cost ranges from 50 cedis for students, 100 cedis single, 150 cedis double, 1000 cedis VIP and 1500 cedis for VVIP.
The International Fashion Festival in Togo (FIMO 228) has established itself for nine years now as a benchmark fashion event that promotes the talents of designers from all over the world. Like every fashion event, FIMO 228 reflects the art in fashion and all the cultures of the countries represented by the designers present. Presently on the FIMO 228, creators, models, photographers, journalists, national and international media. But it does not stop there. Each year, FIMO228 is part of a logic of commitment to solving the problems of our society. Thus, the 10th edition of FIMO 228 has the social theme “Fashion is committed to protecting the environment” and the artistic theme “Féérie”. Now the dice for the 10th has been rolled; 
All-African Leather Fair (AALF): the trade show organizing by The Ethiopian Leather Industries Association
(ELIA) from the first edition in 2008 up to 12th successfully. AALF brings together tanners, footwear and
other leather goods manufacturers, in addition of equipment and technology suppliers, chemical and
inputs suppliers, manpower training institutions, trade promotion organizations, etc from all over the
world.
African companies and organizations are expected to constitute the largest attendance. The Fair is a
specialized one designed to promote the African leather industry and to enable it create an interface with
its partners within the continent and around the world. There is side events included occurring parallel
with the show Panel discussion, Fashion show, Fashion Zone, Leather Talent show.
Due to the Global market situation and the pandemic impact the leather sector in Ethiopia and Africa at
large heavily affected. It is expected that the upcoming AALF trade fair will play its role in motivating the
sector in market expansion, facilitating inter Africa business relation .Investment Attraction, Technology
transfer and etc… To motivate the sector The government starts school shoe and bag project under the
initiation the manufacturing sector “Let Ethiopia produce “ “ Ethiopia Tamret“ as the sector dependent
on inputs such as chemical, accessories and component supplier will be expected in wide participation.
Considering these AALF2023 will Have new components fashion show will be including some Africa
countries participations, Fashion Zone(where many designers will participating by showing the Fashion
trends) Talent show (leather products creativity, any innovation creativity in the sector ) in addition to this
Ethiopia Leather journal upgraded to Africa Leather journal (sector based studies ,research and potential facts for Africa will be published inspirational descriptive motto also included .
DIRECTION COLLECTION: OUT NOW!
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