Fashioning In West Africa
“A series of conversations with West African Creatives”
African fashion enthusiast and facilitator Arieta Mujay Bärg travels across West Africa to interview some of her fashion and creative network on the true business of fashion and artisanry in West Africa. The series sees Arieta travel to Ghana ,Nigeria and Abidjan, talking to a selection of industry experts like Omoyemi Akerele, Deola Sagoe and Roberta Annan, fashion brands like Christie Brown and Ellie Kwame, Loza Malembho, Orange Culture, Tokyo James, as well as photographer and documentarian Stephen Tayor and artist Pierre Chrsitophe Gam, building an impressive collection of interviews and insights from some of West Africa's finest creatives on issues like production and manufacturing, creative expression, fashion waste and the opportunities for the future.
The self-produced documentary made in collaboration with Bärg Productions and executively produced by the African Fashion Foundation is the first part in a series of 3 others to come: Conversations With Creatives Across East, North & South Africa. Fashioning West Africa addresses the growing buzz and interest in African fashion and design over the past couple of years and aims to change the way the African creative story is being told and puts the ownership and narrative back into the hands of the continent’s people. “With 1.2bn people and over 3,000 diverse cultures in Africa providing critical content for the global creative industry; credit must be given where it is due.
Fashioning in West Africa
Arieta Mujay is a marketing creative consultant who has been working in marketing communications at various capacities for the last 15 years, across in the UK and across Africa. Her work is focused on Brand Marketing, PR & Communications; building campaigns both online and offline for global retailers and e-commerce start ups in the UK. Working for retailers such as New Look, BOOHOO. COM and River Island, Arieta is able to build brand marketing and communication strategy that is implemented globally but with local nuances.
In August 2012, Arieta embarked on a solo trip across Africa to understand the business of fashion, visiting 10 countries over 4 weeks. As a result, she consulted for the Ethical Fashion Initiative, a UN incentive which supports local artisans in Africa and produces research papers for the UK trade and investment on market entry into West Africa after in-depth research into retailing in West Africa and the opportunities.