Damenews In the latest episode of Marketplace Africa CNN’s Anna Stewart sits down with the founder of Industrie Africa, Nisha Kanabar to talk about how a growing global interest in African fashion is paying off for homegrown designers.
Speaking about why she created the platform, Kanabar says, “Industrie Africa in a nutshell is a luxury fashion destination for the best of African designers. We kind of like to think of ourselves as a one stop shop that allows us to scour the best of African fashion for you.”
With such diversity in fashion across the African continent, Kanabar tells Stewart: “When you are promoting African fashion, you need to speak with it from a place of provenance, you need to speak about it from a place of education and knowledge. […] We really seek to celebrate and represent the diversity independently of each country and its respective designers’ stories. And I think that’s kind of what sets us apart.”
Sustainability is a big issue in the fashion industry. Kanabar describes the company’s commitment to a sustainable approach, “I would say sustainability shouldn’t be a buzzword, purely because to be sustainable as a business is a necessity for survival. And I think that that sort of mentality and that practice is all the more pertinent when it comes to the continent. For us, it’s about creating opportunities but also creating um an ecosystem that is regenerative, that is self-sustainable.”
Kanabar tells CNN that the impact of COVID-19 and the burgeoning creative economy on the continent, have spurred an increase in interest in African fashion in recent years. She says, “I think we’re looking beyond our insular borders. We’re looking beyond European heritage houses because the definition of fashion, but also the definition of luxury has shifted. The definition of luxury is now more democratised and accessible to all.”
Since 2018, when Industrie Africa was launched, the platform has reached an audience that spans 200 countries with a customer base that grew to 51 countries across six continents. Kanabar concludes: “We’re very proud of our accomplishments and being able to kind of sit between these two worlds. […] So, it’s been an incredible and very organic growth journey.”
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