The Creative Africa Nexus (Canex) program, set up by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) to support African fashion designers and other creatives, returns at Tranoï, from Mar. 2 to 5, 2023 presenting 17 exclusive African labels in a dramatically staged exhibition at the Palais Brongniart. Africa, a continent with a wealth of creative resources, continues to make its name as an innovation melting pot in the fashion industry.

Here's the full list of 17 African labels presenting at Tranoï Women:

Rich Mnisi
Founded in 2015 by Rich Mnisi, the brand is the artistic manifestation of a bold vision, a vision inspired by sources outside of the realm of fashion, including film, music, art, and nature. Each collection and offering presents a distinct point of view, celebrating culture, heritage, and the common human experience. All this packaged in extremist yet minimalist structures which are rooted in innovative design and superior craftsmanship.

Mafi Mafi
Established in 2011 in Addis Ababa, Mafi Mafi is a trailblazing sustainable fashion label with a design mission to merge the richness of ancient Ethiopian heritage with ready-to-wear apparel. The brand is a social enterprise celebrated globally for empowering and upskilling young artisan weavers, designers, pattern makers, seamstresses, and factory workers with livable wages, apprenticeships, and personal development in a familial workshop setting.

Doreen Mashika
Zanzibar brand founded by Doreen Mashika and known for contemporary fashion made in Zanzibar.

Adele Dejak
Adele Dejak the brand is home to luxurious African inspired jewellery handcrafted in the heart of Kenya. Every creation comes from materials that different African tribes would use to make their ornaments and trinkets.

KikoRomeo
Founded in 1996, KikoRomeo puts sustainability at its core, striving to create longevity in each garment by using handmade and hand-dyed fabrics as well as hand-carved trims, sourced from the African continent. Their fabrics come mainly from natural fibres including cottons, linens and silk, as well as explorations into alternative fibres such as those derived from sisal and orange peel.

Abiola Olusola
Abiola Olusola launched her eponymous brand in 2017, a contemporary women’s ready to wear and bespoke line with a distinct juxtaposition of minimalist cuts, sleek architecture and African sub cultures and craftsmanship.

Judy Sanderson
Judy Sanderson launched her eponymous label in 2020 with a base in Portugal where she currently lives. A brand that champions her African roots and story telling yet mirrors her life journey through Asia and Europe to create a rich blending of cultures which foster an appreciation for diversity and inherent sense of wanderlust. She creates contemporary pieces for women who are not only fiercely fashionable but also own their power and femininity.

Vanhu Vamwe
Vanhu Vamwe (VV) Shona for 'One People' has created an ethical framework of luxury handcrafted products that articulate a strong brand aesthetic based on traditional crafts and modern innovation. The brand has become a philanthropic enterprise which stands for a social mission to bring economic empowerment to women living in marginalised communities.

Awa
AwA is a line of leather goods and accessories, combining the passions of the architect with the know-how of craftsmen. The brand draws its inspiration from architecture, certain icons of cinema and the international music scene, the art and artisanal manufacturing techniques.

Shekudo
hekudo, founded in Sydney Australia, began as a womens clothing brand -drawing, now the brand relaunched into footwear and accessories moving its base across the Indian Ocean to commence production in Lagos, Nigeria going from 4 to 14 artisans in just a year. Priding ourselves on being a socially responsible label fueled by Women’s empowerment, Shekudo works hard to make sure that the majority of its raw materials can be found or produced locally (such as its shoe heels, recycled insoles, remnant leather and linen) and seeks to employ majority women in its team.

We Are Nbo
Sustainably handmade jewelry brand based in Nairobi.

La Falaise Dion
La Falaise Dion is a designer and visual artist from Man, the 18 montains city in Côte d’Ivoire. She is based in Abidjan and her work is driven by her quest to reconnect with her ancestral power. Using cowry shells as her primary medium, she collaborates with local artisans to create distinct and striking pieces which honor the divine feminine. The brand was inspired by the culture of the Dan people of Western Cote d’Ivoire who use cowry shells as a mean of communication with the spirit world. The brand’s mission is to promote the richness and uniqueness of African cultures by celebrating this specific shell.

Kente Gentlemen
Established in 2017, Kente Gentlemen is a clothing brand based in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire with the mission of fostering ethical means of production and consumption of clothing. In its in-house ateliers, the bran designs and tailors contemporary clothing and accessories, in collaboration with local craftswomen and men.

Christie Brown
Christie Brown (CB) is a Ghanaian based luxury fashion brand founded in 2008 by Creative Director Aisha Ayensu. Named after Aisha's grandmother, a Ghanaian seamstress with no label of her own, Christie Brown is inspired by the countless artisans and visionaries that have come up before it. From women selling colorfully printed and intricately woven fabrics in crowded market stalls, to seamstresses expertly cutting out patterns by freehand.

David Tlale
David Tlale is a South African brand that stands out from the crowds, thanks to a design elegance that challenges the clichéd and predictable.

Orange Culture
Adebayo Oke-Lawal started Orange Culture in 2011, after having worked with several Nigerian designers, to turn his unique vision of fashion into reality. The label is more than a clothing line, it is a “movement” that covers universal silhouettes with an African touch to a creative class of men, translating into a heady mixture of Nigerian inspired print fabrics, colour and contemporary urban street wear.

FoziaEndrias
FoziaEndrias is a clothing and accessories brand based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Established by the forces of passion, enthusiasm, and the drive of creating new things out of all that exists, the label strongly believes in the power of humanity, time, and creativity, with a focus on the sustainability, considered the issue of humanity.


Canex presents at Tranoï
Tranoï Women
March 2 - 5, 2023
Palais Brongniart
16 Place de la Bourse
75002 Paris

Photo: KikoRomeo