The creators Jacques Bam and Muyishime Edi Patrick ex-aequo grand winners of “Designer Africa Fashion Up 2022” Prize

On Friday, September 16, at the end of an exceptional fashion show held at the Hotel Salomon de Rothschild in Paris, the jury of the Africa Fashion Up program has designated two grand winners ex-aequo among the five finalists designers: the young South African designer Jacques Bam and the Rwandan designer Muyishime Edi Patrick. Each was crowned “Designer Africa Fashion Up 2022”. Created at the initiative of Valerie Ka, international top model, Africa Fashion Up is conceived as both a program and a fashion show whose aim is to accompany the contemporary African fashion in full effervescence. This edition was supported by Balenciaga, Binance Charity, Galeries Lafayette Paris Haussmann, Sisley and HEC Paris, partners, and on the media side by Trace, Brut, France Médias Monde, Brune magazine and 35°Nord.

Following this great fashion show, the five finalists of this 2022 edition will have the chance to benefit from a four-month personalized coaching offered by Balenciaga and a training module delivered by the HEC Paris management school

On the evening of Friday, September 16, 2022, the young South African designer Jacques Bam and Rwandan designer Muyishime Edi Patrick were each awarded the “Designer Africa Fashion Up 2022” prize, presented by Balenciaga.

Jacques Bam and Muyishime Edi Patrick convinced the jury with the quality of the pieces presented as well as with the strong markers of their style, their concept attentive to the notion of sustainability as well as their textured and colored cuts.

The collections of the two grand winners were presented during the show alongside those of the other finalists of this edition 2022: Jean-Cédric Sow (Congo), Mina Binebine (Morocco) and Ibrahim Fernandez (Ivory Coast). Emmanuel Okoro, Designer Africa Fashion Up 2021 (Nigeria) and Clarisse Hieraix (France) also took part in the show as guest designers.

During their stay in Paris, the five finalists participated in two days of behind-the-scenes fashion immersion through a series of visits. The haute couture house Balenciaga opened its doors to these promising talents and its teams had the opportunity to give them masterclasses.

The finalists also went to discover the great luxury houses Galeries Lafayette and Sisley and were received by the management teams. Video interviews organized by Binance Charity and broadcasted live on the organization’s social networks were also organized for the winners. Finally, the winners had the honor to speak at a round table dedicated to Luxury in Africa, organized by the Master Marketing New Luxury and Art of Living of SciencesPo Paris.

From left to right: Emmanuel Okoro (Nigerian designer, Designer Africa Fashion Up 2021), Jean-Cédric Sow (Congolese finalist of Africa Fashion Up 2022), H.E. Maurice Kouakou Bandaman (Ambassador of Côte d’Ivoire in Paris), Valérie Ka (Founder of Africa Fashion Up and of Share Africa), Alexandre Liot (Managing director of Galeries Lafayette Haussmann), Clarisse Hieraix (French designer), Laurence Thouin (General Secretary of Share Africa), Mina Binebine (Moroccan finalist of Africa Fashion Up 2022) and Jacques Bam (South-African finalist and Designer Africa Fashion Up 2022).

Next step for all Africa Fashion Up 2022 finalists: they will follow a specialized management training module delivered by the HEC Paris business school and benefit from a personalized coaching from Balenciaga during four months in the framework of an extended mentoring program. In addition, the Collection Leridon is committed to African creation by including for the first time in its collection a selection of the laureates’ outfits that will be exhibited around the world.

“On behalf of the Share Africa team and all the partners of the 2022 edition of Africa Fashion Up, we would like to congratulate all the designers who participated in this great adventure and especially the grand winners, Jacques Bam and Muyishime Edi Patrick. Together, these five finalists as well as the two designers who were associated with this fashion show were able to make African creativity shine,” said Valerie Ka, international top model, founder of Share Africa and initiator of Africa Fashion Up. “My thanks also go to all the partners who supported this second edition, in particular Balenciaga, Binance Charity and HEC Paris who gave the prizes to the designers”.