LATER this year, from November 28th to 30th, another edition of one of the most sought-after events along the Indian Ocean Islands trail, the Seychelles Fashion Week, will take place Mahe, an Island on the Archipelago Republic.
It will be the seventh edition of the event that combines fashion, music and Creole culture to drive tourism for the Island Republic of Seychelles. The Seychelles Fashion Week (SFW) is a prestigious platform that brings together both international and local fashionistas, tourists and culture-centric people from the world of fashion and creativity including designers, models, and creatives.
Birthed in 2018, the Seychelles Fashion week has been covered by International Media, Bloggers, and attended by buyers as it creates a wonderful opportunity for fashion and tourism trade on the back of the offshoot Seychelles Fashion Trade Exhibition.
Terry Carola, Founder of Seychelles Fashion Week told Festivals Afriq that what he and his team have created and have executed over the past seven years has been catalyst and a helpful tool to promote Seychelles as favourite tourism destination for lovers of fashion and culture.
“By featuring local designers and traditional attire, SFW can highlight the unique cultural aspects of the Seychelles, enticing tourists interested in authentic cultural experiences,” Carola noted. He believes it is the overriding reason the Ministry of Tourism has partnered him to organize this event over the years.
The event also has the potential to encourage local artisans to produce more and thereby provide employment and pull revenue for the economy. “Engaging local businesses, artisans, and hospitality services, SFW can stimulate the local economy and provide tourists with a more immersive and comprehensive experience of Seychelles’ offerings,” he said.
He believes, however, that a lot more needs to be done in the area of marketing for the country to gain the needed benefit from Seychelles Fashion Week. “Joint marketing campaigns with the Ministry of Tourism can utilize the glamour of the fashion week to promote Seychelles as a stylish and luxurious destination. This can involve social media campaigns, advertisements, and promotions highlighting both the event and the scenic beauty of the islands.”
In 2021, while delivering a short speech at the launch of the event, the Principal Secretary for Tourism, Mrs. Sherin Francis, expressed the industry’s excitement over the SFW. “Seychelles has the potential to become a popular fashion destination, with our pristine paradise serving as an inspiration for other designers and influencers,” said Mrs. Francis. She added that the event opens the door for the destination to host large-scale events that will increase its visibility and boost Fashion Tourism.
Seychelles Fashion Week creates a global platform for local designers and artisans to showcase and promote their craft, as well as the Creole culture on the global stage, increasing international recognition for the destination and its treasures.
Seychelles has been known as a haven for adventure seekers, as the destination offers top-notch sailing, scuba diving, snorkeling, and gourmet picnics on private beaches plus hiking trails to mountaintops, surfing, island hopping on inter-atoll ferries, horse riding through azure shallows, spotting the world’s biggest nut :coco de mer), strolling among giant-sized tortoises, and indulging in the flavorful, spice-infused Creole cuisine.
Festivals Afriq encourages you to take advantage of the coming Seychelles Fashion Week in November to have the best of both worlds of fashion and adventure. FA
Festivals Afriq spoke to some of the models for Seychelles Fashion Week and they had this to say:
Born and raised in Seychelles, my name is David Boniface. Just completed my university studies i indulge my time exploring the beautiful island of Seychelles before entering the world of employment. I’m an athlete, model and actor. I’ve represented my country Seychelles internationally on both my modeling and athlete platforms. With my modeling agency I got to walk in front of millions during the Dubai expo 2020 in various collections from South Africa to Seychelles. Locally, I’ve participated in Seychelles Fashion Week three years consecutively. Through online platform exposure I got the opportunity to photograph in some international clothing brand such HimAlife based in New Zealand.
My name is Ryan Nibourette and I’ve been a male model with Telly’s Modeling Agency for 3 years.My passion for being a model started when I was in my teenage years. I used to attend local modeling shows just to admire the models walking up and down the runway wearing amazing designer’s clothes,and for me that felt amazing.
Fashion has always been something that I loved and I still do until now. Being a model is not only about walking down the runway, photo shooting and being on magazine’s, it also helps you build your confidence and you surely become a role model for a lot of people and especially the younger generations who are inspired to be a model. My first achievement was getting selected as a model to walk the runway wearing both local and international designer clothes in Seychelles fashion week in 2020 and surely that felt exciting as it is one of the biggest fashion events in the Seychelles.
In the near future, I would like to be a modeling/ mentor, coach and make others dreams come true. My message to the people who are inspired to be a model is. “ Step up! make the first move and fulfill your dreams”.
My name is Yannick Vincent Freminot and I’m from the beautiful islands of the Seychelles. Born last in a family of four, I grew up studying and spent my childhood in the place I still reside in until today, the district of Anse Royale. I am 21 years of age and currently working as a cabin crew with our local airline Air Seychelles. I completed my studies at the Seychelles Tourism Academy with an advance certificate level in Tourism studies and Tour Guiding. In my spare time I dedicate my time to my pet dog Coco and together we spend some afternoons on the beach from time to time, if not I usually use it to go over some aviation videos just to feel safe and well knowledge in my field of work.
