Africa Now: Expanding the Fashion Conversation

For years, conversations about fashion have largely circulated around the same cities, institutions, and established names. Yet some of the most interesting developments today are happening elsewhere — through designers building businesses, communities, and creative identities from entirely different cultural perspectives.

Africa Now, currently presented in Paris through a collaboration between Afreximbank, Tranoï, and Galeries Lafayette, is less interesting as a retail activation than as a reflection of a broader shift. It creates visibility for designers whose work is often discussed within regional contexts but remains less visible to international audiences. Africa Now turns attention toward a new generation of designers from across the African continent, bringing together four brands selected through the CANEX Presents Africa initiative.

Fashion has always been shaped by cultural exchange. The difference today is that more initiatives are attempting to create direct pathways rather than waiting for talent to be discovered by traditional systems.

JUDY SANDERSON

Born in South Africa, educated in Hong Kong, and now based in Portugal, Judy Sanderson's work reflects a life lived across continents. Her collections draw from African heritage while embracing influences from Europe and Asia, creating a wardrobe that feels global without losing its sense of origin. The result is contemporary womenswear that balances femininity, confidence, and cultural storytelling.

Courtesy of Judy Sanderson

LATE FOR WORK

Founded in Casablanca by designer Youssef Drissi, Late For Work began as a challenge to traditional office dress codes. What started as a graduation project has evolved into a label exploring how workwear can be reimagined through a more relaxed and personal lens. The collections often sit somewhere between tailoring, everyday functionality, and playful disruption.

Courtesy of LATE FOR WORK

VANHU VAMHE

Perhaps the most community-driven project in the selection, Vanhu Vamwe was founded by Zimbabwean designers Simba Nyawiri and Pam Samasuwo-Nyawiri. Their practice extends beyond product design into broader conversations around craftsmanship, sustainability, and collaboration with artisan communities. Slow fashion is not a trend here but a working philosophy, rooted in long-term relationships, ethical production, and respect for process.

Courtesy of Vanhu Vamwe

WE ARE NBO

Based in Nairobi, We Are NBO approaches jewellery through both design and resourcefulness. Working closely with local artisans, the brand transforms recycled and salvaged materials into contemporary pieces that carry traces of their origin. Brass, wood, bone, and repurposed tools become part of a creative dialogue between craftsmanship and modern design, resulting in jewellery that feels both personal and deeply connected to place.

Courtesy of WE ARE NBO

Projects like Africa Now remind us that fashion becomes richer when more voices participate in the conversation. Not because diversity is a trend, but because every region brings its own relationship to craft, materials, community, and storytelling.

At HAY-HAY, we often find ourselves drawn to these intersections — where local perspectives meet international audiences, and where fashion becomes a vehicle for understanding cultures beyond our own. The value of initiatives like this is not only in introducing new designers, but in expanding the lens through which contemporary fashion is viewed.

This approach feels much more aligned with HAY-HAY's editorial direction: curiosity, cultural discovery, and creative ecosystems, rather than event promotion.