A few paragraphs from my essay:
One of the most prized fashion design contests held is the L’Afrique Est A la mode (Africa is in style). The first place prize to this contest is called the Golden Thread. In FIMA 2009 this award went to a South African, well-deserved, men’s fashion designer named Thokozani Mbatha.
The local economy in general was poor, yet it still got to enjoy the feeling of FIMA in the air through mass media. “ Fashion is a prominent element of popular culture throughout Africa, a commodity that only a minority of people can afford to own, but that nearly everyone experiences via mass media of all kinds, including magazines, television, billboards, and the Internet.” (Rovine, Victoria L)
The article talks about where some of the best and most influential designers get their ideas. The article says, “within the framework of global fashion production and promotion, often using tailoring techniques based on Western design, Alphadi and other designers of his generation have produced garments with a distinctively African flair. Many worked with textiles that are deeply rooted in local cultures, such as bogolanfini, Kente, and elaborate resist dyed fabrics. They have also experimented with the local garment styles, including most notably the large, flowing boubous worn by men and women throughout west Africa.” ( Rovine, Victoria L.) this shows that African individuality is apparent when it looks appealing to the eye, trends, and is picked up for things such as FIMA.
FIMA has done a lot for the world. FIMA has particularly helped in low income areas, bringing them things they could not normally afford such as electricity and the opening of an airport. As the article says, “ in addition to creating audiences and markets for the work of African fashion designers FIMA aspires to serve as an engine for national development. In his introduction to FIMA’s printed program, Alphadi noted that electricity was brought to the village of Boubon, where FIMA was held in 2003, as a direct result of the fashion event. Elsewhere in the program, a short text enumerates other permanent benefits to which FEMA has contributed including the reopening of the airport in Agadez and the paving of the roads.” (Rovine, Victoria L.) FIMA helped bring things to people who would have never seen these things otherwise because their Government could not afford it for them. FIMA got a airport built by using its power, money, and influence from sponsors and fans around the world. It also got electricity brought to a small village because there was going to be a show there and you can’t have a show in the dark.
My strengths:
My weaknesses:
My struggles:
What needs work: