Lilly Alfonso lands Dutch fashion role

Malawi’s star fashion designer continues to soar on the international stage as her exploits never cease to attract resounding appreciation and honour.

Latest on Lilly Alfonso’s success ladder is her being made an ambassador of I am Fashion, a fashion and designing event organised by Queen of Africa, an Amsterdam-based fashion promotion firm.

This follows her participation of the event over the weekend where she showcased her designs as well as made a motivation speech to young fashion designers in Europe and Africa who participated at the business empowerment conference.

Alfonso spoke about her journey as a successful fashion designer and the budding fashion industry in Malawi, among other issues.

“I have been honoured to be an ambassador of I am Fashion global and I will be responsible for Africa. I cried on stage when the organisers announced the news, I couldn’t believe it. This is such an honour for a Malawian to be recognised by foreigners in that context. This is not just for me, it’s for the country as a whole,” she said.

As an ambassador, Alfonso’s job description is and not limited to “selecting designers from Africa for the I am Fashion Weekend who will obviously meet the retailers and buyers as well as connecting them to more events around the globe,” according to the designer.

I am Fashion Weekend is a project under Queen of Africa Foundation to create a platform for upcoming and experienced fashion designers. It also bridges the gap between different cultures through its fashion show and business empowerment event.

In a separate interview, Dorine Esien of Queen of Africa, said Alfonso was chosen because of her outstanding works and contributions in African fashion with much focus on her qualities and experienced role as an African woman entrepreneur.

Said Esien: “Lilly’s participation brought the finishing touches to the I am Fashion event, her experience, professionalism, and mostly her clothing brought out the sparkling touches that the event deserve. As a designer, she has carried herself not just as an ambassador to I am Fashion, but also as an ambassador to the African woman because of her creative works in the fashion business.”

“She has also managed to transform African fabrics into a beautiful work of art through her designing. With these successes, we couldn’t think of anybody that has done more for African fashion in our generation than Lilly. She had to be the one.”