Congolese fashion designer Anifa Mvuemba, owner of contemporary brand Hanifa, debuted her latest collection on Instagram Live with 3D models.
It was an innovative fashion show that wowed the internet and may be a reflection of where fashion is headed. Anifa told Teen Vogue that she had plans for a digital show long before coronavirus-related lockdowns.
“The news came out about how serious things were and I started to feel a bit anxious about everything going on. I started feeling like maybe it would be insensitive to create and share a new collection online while people were facing very difficult realities,” Anifa said.
Using the platform to bring awareness to illegal mining issues in her home country, the 29-year-old fashion designer’s show justified much praise for her creativity and was another form of entertainment that we didn’t know we needed.
Anifa said she has been using 3D mockups for a while to convey design ideas to her team, but she said “designing content using 3D models and now an entire collection has been a complete game changer for me. It actually requires an even greater amount of attention-to-detail for the clothes to fit and look just right.” After meeting with her team, she decided to follow her purpose and basically said the “show must go on.” “My decision to keep going could impact our customers for the better in ways I never imagined. That’s when I knew it was time,” Anifa said.
Anifa used the show not only to show off her designs, but to raise awareness about issues facing Congo with a short documentary at the start of the show.
From mineral site conditions to the women and children who suffer as a result of these issues, Anifa’s mission was to educate her audience before debuting any clothes. “Serving was a big part of who I am, and what I want to do,” she said in the short documentary.
