BEAUTY AND FASHION - The African Mirror

Jun

2020

Racism: Vogue Editor-in-Chief’s admission

The Editor-in-Chief of the elite fashion magazine recently apologized for past ‘hurtful and intolerant’ stories. AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER ANNA WINTOUR - Editor-in-Chief of the international renowned Vogue Magazine for the past thirty years - has admitted to its racist practices. Following a social media outrage about Vogue’s treatment of black models, stylists, writers and employees, Wintour conceded that practices at Vogue were hurtful. She said Vogue had not done enough to promote black faces in the fashion industry or promote black staff within the magazine. The admission was part of an internal memo sent by US Vogue’s Editor-in-Chief last week,…

Jun

2020

By The African Mirror

COVID-19 FASHION: Rich Mnisi launches premium range of masks

BEAUTY AND FASHION

THE SOUTH African luxury designer has created a line of face masks to contribute to Covid-19 relief. The fashion industry has continued to display its humanitarian efforts of contributing to the relief of the coronavirus pandemic, and South African fashion designers joined the pledge of protecting their customer and making it fashionable after the South African government lowered the national lockdown to level 3 at the beginning of June. Rich Mnisi recently launched his limited collection of luxury face masks, titled ALKEBULAN which means “mother of mankind”, on his online pop-up store. The Award-winning designer created a thoughtful collection of…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

African beauty Influencers to start following

BEAUTY AND FASHION

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER THE declaration of national lockdowns by governments across the continent, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, has restricted the movements of people and increased their online presence on platforms like Youtube, Instagram, Tik Tok and Facebook. They flocked by the masses to the digital platforms has led to upcoming black influencers and creatives upping their games considerably and doing new things to attract and keep their followers. As the list of international black artists and influencers continues to grow, AFRICAN MIRROR highlights some of the interesting names who are slaying in the beauty industry. Dimma Umeh…

Jun

2020

By The African Mirror

Congolese fashion designer goes virtual as virus hits runway shows

BEAUTY AND FASHION

U.S.-BASED Congolese fashion designer Anifa Mvuemba was excited about debuting her fashion line, Hanifa, at this year's New York Fashion Week. But when her show was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mvuemba got creative. The 29-year-old designer held a virtual show on May 22 for her latest collection called 'Pink Label Congo', and the 3D animated event was watched by tens of thousands of people who streamed it on her Hanifa Instagram Live page. "We didn't know that it was going blow up the way it did. We were not prepared for this at all," she told Reuters via…

Jan

2021

By The African Mirror

Beauty maven Pat McGrath to receive royal honours – a first for industry

BEAUTY AND FASHION

MPHO RANTAO AMERICAN longtime make-up artist Pat McGrath is set to become a dame, a royal honour by Queen Elizabeth II, as part of the Queen’s New Year list of Honours. It was announced that the veteran makeup artist and businesswoman would be awarded a Dame of the British Empire (D.B.E) for services to the Fashion and Beauty Industry and Diversity. This would be the first time ever for a makeup artist to receive a royal honour. In an Instagram post, McGrath wrote, “Not in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that one day Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II…

Jan

2021

By The African Mirror

NKWO looks to a sustainable future of fashion with new collection

BEAUTY AND FASHION

MPHO RANTAO THE world is only two weeks into 2021, but talks have already resurfaced regarding the ever-growing concern on climate change and the damaging effects that the fashion industry has on the environment. In a report published in Business Insider, the production fashion is responsible for 10% of total global carbon emissions, is considered to be the second-largest polluter after oil, and uses up to 1.5 trillion litres of water at the risk of the planet’s biodiversity. The Gerewol Jacket from a 2020 collection. Picture: Instagram/nwko_official The staggering reports released by environmental organisations, along with the wide-spread criticism from…

Mar

2021

By The African Mirror

Botswana’s Kearoma sets her sights on fashion with Che’ri

BEAUTY AND FASHION

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER BOTSWANA jazz songbird Kearoma Rantao has made her move into the fashion world. Rantao sat down with The African Mirror on her new venture while managing her successful career during the coronavirus pandemic. She told us that her country going into lockdown along with other Southern African countries is what inspired her to start moving with her new brand Che’ri. “Covid-19 basically stopped all music performances because our lockdown didn’t allow for social gatherings at live performances, so I had to come up with another stream of income, and decided to push up my dream of starting…

Mar

2021

By The African Mirror

Meet Vogue China’s 27-year-old editor Margaret Zhang

BEAUTY AND FASHION

MPHO RANTAO VOGUE China has made a historic appointment of its youngest ever editor-in-chief, Margaret Zhang. Zhang is an Chinese-Australian fashion blogger who rose to the top of the influencer market with her ingenious looks captured on the streets of Sydney, gaining iconic status for her eclectic, street style in the media. The fashion blogger's new role sees a massive shift in Vogue’s leadership from a generational perspective - as a young editor in a role for Vogue that has been held by veteran fashion figures such as Anna Wintour, the editorial fashion giant’s new announcement follows the shift led…

Mar

2021

By The African Mirror

First transgender model of colour poses for Sports Illustrated

BEAUTY AND FASHION

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER HER name is Leyna Bloom and she has made history. As March continues to celebrate International Women’s Month, Leyna Bloom made history as a cover star for Sports Illustrated magazine, set to be released in July, making her the first transgender model of colour to do so. Bloom, a South Chicago native, told The New York Times that one of her biggest goals as a rising model was to be seen, not just for her curves or her looks, but to be seen as a someone who was as deserving to be featured in a magazine as…

Mar

2021

By The African Mirror

Victoria’s Secret is returning to our screens

BEAUTY AND FASHION

MPHO RANTAO THE full story of Victoria’s Secret is coming to our screens. American streaming site Hulu announced that they had signed on to produce and release the three-part documentary, The Rise And Fall Of Victoria’s Secret, on their streaming site in 2022. According to the Hollywood Reporter, journalist and filmmaker Matt Tyrnauer will be going behind the scenes and “using first-hand accounts and deep investigative research to reveal the inner workings of Victoria’s Secret, the brand and the cultural institution.” Tyrnauer will be directing all three episodes, as well as producing alongside Corey Reeser. It is no secret that…