Elise Sormani spent ten years living in Cape Town, South Africa. While there, she developed an ethical fashion brand. Her journey, marked by professional and social challenges, led her to create a project combining fashion and social responsibility. In this interview, she shares her commitment and impact on the African fashion industry.
Elise Sormani creates her ethical brand in South Africa
It was in Africa that Elise transformed her convictions into an innovative entrepreneurial project. She was not held back by the complex administrative procedures. She adapted by exploring the possibilities of local involvement. “We’re obliged to reinvent ourselves,” she says, referring to the challenges for expatriates and the glaring inequalities between modern districts and townships.
This desire to create a link between these two worlds inspired her to launch a handbag brand. After taking sewing classes, she seized the opportunity to combine her know-how with local fabrics. Her business was not just a fashion project, but also a way of offering employment opportunities to women from precarious backgrounds, often forced to stay at home to look after their children.
For Elise, ethics were at the heart of her business model. She partnered with local seamstresses, enabling them to work from their homes in the townships. Elise also integrated ethical materials into her production, adopting an approach that respects the environment and local resources.
The move to South Africa was not the beginning of her commitment to corporate social responsibility, but rather the next logical step. Before moving to Cape Town, Élise was already working in France in the CSR sector, a field she discovered through passion. This path led her to go back to school to specialize. In the end, South Africa was the step that transformed her career and her vision of entrepreneurship.
Elise Sormani contributes to UNESCO report on the fashion industry in Africa
UNESCO’s initiative stems from its mandate to support the creative industries in various sectors, including music, film and, today, fashion in Africa. With a growing number of reports exploring creative industries around the world, it was time for the organization to take a closer look at African fashion. For this ambitious project, a call for projects was launched and a team of experts selected to carry out an in-depth study of the state of the sector in Africa. Élise was part of this team of consultants.
The aim of the report is to provide an overview of the African textile and fashion industry. The mission in which Elise took part revolves around an analysis of the industry’s value chain. The aim is to understand where and how the sector’s players fit in. From raw materials, such as cotton grown on the continent, to the processing and distribution of finished products. By integrating a sustainability perspective, the study also seeks to assess how the industry can prosper while respecting ethical and environmental values. Through its involvement in the UNESCO report, it is helping to raise the profile of the African fashion industry, promoting sustainable and responsible practices.
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