Joram Muzira
The entertainment industry is one of the sectors that has suffered more because of this lockdown. At least some sectors have been opened up but not entertainment. This includes musicians, fashionistas, filmmakers, poets, and comedians among others.
It’s for this reason that some entertainers are looking elsewhere. We have seen artistes being booked to perform across borders while others have decided to settle abroad. However, there are other opportunities that if all goes well will boost the industry especially those in fashion.
The UNAA Causes has a fashion festival runway that people in the fashion industry can use to seize more opportunities. In 2017 UNAA Causes rebranded its Festival Runaway to Fashion Weekend, very popular activity and allure to Uganda’s Fashion Industry, an opportunity to participate in Fashion Weekend comes with a trip to the USA.
This alone makes the popular program at the annual Uganda Festival & Expo a must-attend for designers, celebrities, Fashionistas, and well-wishers. One person who highly believes in this is Joram Muzira, CEO of JMM, arguably Uganda’s leading model management.
“UNAA CAUSES has been a beacon of hope to the entire Fashion industry in Uganda because it has given massive platforms to the designers, Models, Creatives and top industry leads to network with global markets in the US as well as the African natives and Ugandans in the Diaspora,” he said.
Joram who has directed Fashion Weekend also adds that The platform has further created stronger partnerships with different entities in Fashion, Music, Art, finance that have become strong ecosystems pushing each other to see all sectors grow immensely.
Beyond the Showbiz buzz of Fashion Weekend, Uganda’s fledgling Fashion Industry can seize the moment and promote its product line to the North American market.
According to Mr. David Muwanga, the Chief Executive Officer of UNAA Causes, there is a shift in the way the program is perceived, African Cultures are more conservative and Fashion is very expressive, this is the way it’s marketed by global brands, this may explain the absence of major local brands, but new local brands have emerged in the past five years with ready to wear fashion lines appealing to the mainstream market.
“It’s bigger than the Runway or Red Carpet Experience, this is an opportunity to grow globally and create employment for the Country plus all the economic multipliers that come with this growth.” He said. While Fashion Weekend on Labor Day Weekend is a way for delegates to express themselves at the Red Carpet Experience every Sunday at the annual Festival.
Joe Malaika, a leading Uganda diaspora based Designer will also grace Fashion Weekend and wants to see more Ugandan brands globally but he cautioned that for the Country’s designers to compete at the global level there is a need to improve on the quality, it’s not only about the quality of the fabric, everything matters, but craft is also very important.
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