Africa Fashion Week: Gloria Wavamunno shows off her contemporary side (PHOTOS)

photo credit:  Simon Deiner / SDR Photo

Following a somewhat lukewarm start in 2009, Ugandan designer Gloria Wavamunno brought her A-game to the Johanesburg runway during Africa Fashion Week.  From uber thigh-high slits to edgy batik jackets and tops, Wavamunno is carving a new niche in the fashion world.

From long flowy skirts and a myriad of dark leather shilhouettes, Wavamunno's ready to wear collection featured exposed zippers, jersey pieces and structured looks.  We notice that Wavamunno departed from the usual Africa Fashion Week tribal prints and focused more on chic jersey fabric styles.  That brings up the issue of whether African designers should stick to the tried and true ankara, batik, tribal print styles or find their niche in contemporary fabric designs.  We think Wavamunno manages to infuse enough batik elements into her collection to give off that Africana vibe.

We're rooting for the Wavamunno line and loving this new collection with its edgy, somewhat defiant and sexy messages. 

Who should rock this collection?  We see Chanel Iman, Nicole Scherzinger , Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

photo credit: Simon Deiner / SDR Photo