On Saturday 21 May 2022, the inaugural event for the first-ever Cultural Style Week took place in Bank, London at Forge, just a few steps away from London’s renowned Royal Exchange.
The significant day which also coincided with the United Nations World Day for Cultural Diversity, saw people from all cultural backgrounds come together to celebrate the London launch of this new global movement hosted by radio and TV presenter Nayha.
After being welcomed and photographed on the red carpet, guests enjoyed a drinks reception, canapes and interviews with key people connected to the viral video campaigns and Cultural Style Week projects. Vibrant fashion Showcases included Sakafet London, YiCrafts and MAC Store London.
Founded by Yiran Duan, YiCrafts aims to promote awareness and provide authentic experiences of the crafts and cultural traditions of Chinese ethnic minority groups. Their spectacular showcase included Chinese Yi, Miao, Bai, Dong and Tibetan costumes with educational and insightful commentary from Yiran Duan.
Specialising in making clothing and accessories using the unique Caribbean madras fabric, Sakafet London. The vibrant colours of the madras fabric bring clothes to life, reflecting the spirit and energy of the wearer. The equally vibrant showcase included various styles of madras clothing modelled to Dominican Jing Ping music much to the delight of the Dominica High Commissioner Janet Charles who was also in attendance.
The final fashion showcase by Mac Store London was founded by Afghan model and actor Hasib Fakhir. The Afghan clothing brand provides a wide range of Afghan clothing from Kabul, Afghanistan for men, women and children including beautiful traditional accessories and bridal wear.
Their special guest and show commentator was Ariana Abawe, a journalist based in London and founder of the award-winning Ariana Magazine.
The show featured stunning traditional Afghan bridal clothing and accessories with makeup and hairstyling by Afghan celebrity Mua Morsal. Actor Bizhan Neromand also modelled during the show.
The show was brought to an end with an amazing traditional Balinese dance performance by Nova Marseline, the Cultural Style Week global brand ambassador representing Indonesia who flew in from the Netherlands to celebrate the launch event. Guests then partied the night away on the dance floor and 360 booth.
“Seeing the vision come to life today was an emotional experience for me. I am happy to know that people understand it and are in support of it. I am looking forward to seeing how people celebrate during the week.” Said Candy-Ellie Graham, founder of Cultural Style Week
Click here to view official launch event photos.