El Dorado New frontiers for Conde Nast
Vogue beyond sea goes to Africa
As the retail apocalypse rattles the Western world, and events like NY Fashion Week have started to crumble, the scene in lesser explored locations like Qatar and Africa moves into the spotlight. As Qatar celebrates its inaugural Fashion Trust Arabia prize, Conde Nast is allegedly looking for a location for its soon-to-be launched Vogue Africa.
African Fashion, a long story
A year ago, the British supermodel, Naomi Campbell, was in Nigeria, where she made her way through Arise Fashion Week, a fashion show that took place from March 30 to April 2, 2018 in Lagos. the first time in six years. The model then took the opportunity to welcome the contribution of African creators to the international fashion industry but also to make a request.
“It’s time for a Vogue Africa to be born. Vogue Arabia now exists. Logic would like Africa to follow. This continent has never had the opportunity to showcase its contribution to international fashion, to see its fabrics and creations dubbed by the world, “said the supermodel in an interview with Reuters.
The Mature Market issue
“People are finally realizing that your skill level does not have much to do with your skin color,” she explained, implicitly referring to Edward Enninful, a British man of Ghanaian descent who, on 10 April 2017, was propelled to the head of the British edition of Vogue. Be the first black man and the first man to take the reins of the magazine. Not to mention the arrival, at the end of March, of Virgil Abloh, American creator of Ghanaian origin, also in charge of the collections of ready-to-wear menswear at Louis Vuitton.
For almost ten years, professional photographer and makeup artist Cameroonian Mario Epanya, based in Paris, continues to highlight the creation of a similar edition through the creation of Facebook groups, but especially the realization of covers stamped “Vogue Africa” That he had the opportunity to see exposed twice (in Brazil and the United States). Since then, interviews have been chained for this regular haute couture show.
In 2010, he was even questioned about the issue by Vogue Italy. And this, shortly before the birth of Black Vogue, a small revolution that does not seem to make much noise (created at the initiative of the former editor-in-chief of the Italian edition, Franca Sozzani, who already called for the creation of a Vogue dedicated to Africa). “Vogue is not just a magazine, it’s a world and an institution in which actors in African fashion and the diaspora have their place,” says Mario Epanya.
For Paola Audrey Ndengue, founder of the fashion magazine Fashizblack and communication director of the Afrikrea platform, the creation of a Vogue Africa is, from an economic point of view, premature, even if the African creation is largely at the rendezvous . “We have to take into account Vogue’s business model. This magazine does not exist without its advertisers who, for the most part, are major luxury brands. And for the moment, these luxury brands are only present on the continent in North Africa and South Africa, “says the young woman, based in Abidjan, where she is also a consultant in the field of lifestyle.
Luxury goods and advertizing
“In Africa, the luxury market remains a niche market. As long as luxury brands are not really established in Sub-Saharan Africa, Vogue is very unlikely to embark on an African adventure. That said, I’m still surprised that there is still no South African version of Vogue, as the luxury market is mature and very real. And what about the existing African fashion magazines … “Is not it better to help those who are already there? “Asks Paola Audrey Ndengue, before expressing her uncertainty about enriching local African brands with Vogue.
