New creative voices are emerging in a world where fashion is often dictated by Paris, Milan or New York Fashion Weeks, and Vincent Jacquemet is one of them. E passionate entrepreneur, he founded theAfrodyssée event to promote African fashion in Europe. Through his unique journey, he highlights the richness and diversity of the continent’s designers, while challenging the prejudices and stereotypes that persist in the fashion industry.
Discovering African Creativity
Vincent had a conventional school career up to university, where he studied literature and philosophy. His frequent trips to Africa, particularly the Sahel countries, introduced him to textiles and the magic of colors such as indigo. During these trips to the Ivory Coast, Ghana and Nigeria, he discovered a new generation of daring designers. These exchanges with fashion designers prompted him to question his own prejudices. As a result, he became more interested in the continent’s creative diversity, and discovered a wealth of talent and projects that were little-known in Europe. Convinced of the need to highlight these designers, he decided to create an initiative to promote the diversity and modernity of African fashion in Europe. This was the genesis of what has now become an unmissable annual event in Geneva: Afrodyssée.
Ibrahim Fernandez Collection @Abby
The ambition of the Afrodyssée event
Vincent Jacquemet deplores the concept of charity evenings and galas, which often perpetuate a paternalistic vision of Africa, but don’t allow for a real, equitable exchange. He aims to change this perception by highlighting the talent and modernity of African creators. His experience in the production of cultural projects gives him the necessary skills to organize events that showcase African creativity. He is also critical of the fashion shows organized in Paris to showcase collections by African designers. They’re great shows, but they don’t allow designers to sell their pieces or meet buyers to take orders. These observations are key to the concept of the Afrodyssée event, whose ambition is to create a dynamic of virtuous exchanges between designers and visitors.
An innovative and ambitious concept
The Afrodyssée event aims to foster an authentic and balanced dialogue between Africa and Europe, by showcasing the creative wealth of the African continent. One of the major challenges is to present a selection of around twenty designers, all based in Africa. The challenges of bringing together designers from all 4 corners of the continent for 3 days in Geneva are immense. For the 7th edition, the Afrodyssée team led by Vincent has risen to the challenge, offering a broad yet non-exhaustive vision of what designers from the 54-country continent can offer. Afrodyssée is organized around 4 pillars
- The Exhibition to meet designers and acquire collectors’ pieces made in Africa
- The Debates, which bring together experts and designers to discuss the place of African fashion on the international scene.
- The Village of Flavors to (re)discover African gastronomy
- The Show to discover the latest collections
The 2024 designers list
Designers are selected through a rigorous casting process, based on their creativity and communication on social networks, as well as on criteria linked to the organization of the business, such as the fair remuneration of workers.
1. Adele Dejak – Kenya
2. Bazarapagne – Togo
3. Boyedoe – Ghana
4. Fia Factory – Nigeria
5. Gringo Custum – Senegal
6. Handcrafts Z – Zimbabwe
7. Judy Sanderson – South Africa
8. Kilubukila – Congo DRC
9. L’Artisane – Senegal
10. Larry Jay – Ghana
11. Lilabare – Kenya
12. Black Market – Togo
13. Masa Mara – Rwanda
14. Moshions – Rwanda
15. Nilhane – Mali
16. Pepper Row – Nigeria
17. Samson Feli – Togo
18. Schag – Togo
19. Threaded Tribes – Ghana
20. Urban Tribes – Switzerland
21. Vanhu Vamwe – Zimbabwe
22. WaxUp Africa – Switzerland
The future of Afrodyssée
In this episode of the podcast, Vincent shares his vision for the future of the Afrodyssée event, with possible editions in New York or Bahia, and new, larger spaces for the Geneva edition to welcome more visitors, more designers and a more personalized scenography to best represent each brand universe. For 3 days, on May 31, June 1 and June 2, 2024, African creativity will take pride of place in Switzerland at the Maison communale de Plainpalais through an event now recognized in Africa, Europe and the rest of the world as a benchmark in the promotion of African cultural and creative industries.
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