Celebrating a decade of African fashion excellence, African Fashion International’s (AFI) Fashion Week extravaganza took to the runway on Thursday 17th August 2017 at the luxurious Mall of Africa.

Adding to the celebration and festivities was the announcement that Dr Precious Moloi-Motsepe has been nominated as the first recipient of the Fashion 4 Development Franca Sozzani Award.

This highly prestigious international award commemorates the late Franca Sozzani, the Editor-in-Chief of Vogue Italia, whose passion and commitment played a key part in promoting fashion as an engine of transformation and economic development as well as creativity.

Nominated by Franca Sozzani’s son, Emmy Award-nominated film director Francesco Carrozzini, and Norway’s HRH Crown Princess Mette-Marit, the award celebrates Dr Moloi-Motsepe’s “considerable efforts in connecting, creating and promoting African fashion designers, and opening up new avenues for disadvantaged women.”

The award will be presented at Fashion 4 Development’s Seventh Annual Official First Ladies Luncheon. This will take place during the 72nd Session of the United Nations General Assembly, at the historic Pierre Hotel in New York City on Tuesday 19 September 2017.

The event will be hosted by Fashion 4 Development President and Founder, Evie Evangelou and Livia Firth, Creative Director of Eco-Age, and features a runway show with fabulous creations from Elie Saab. AFI will also be running a parallel event in the hotel showcasing some of the exceptional talent and designs from around Africa.

This high-level gathering unites First Ladies, Diplomats, Fashion VIPs and other key influencers from around the globe to recognize and celebrate the unprecedented cooperation between Diplomacy and Fashion for the greater good of Women and Children worldwide.

“Over the past decade, African fashion has transformed on a global scale. I am so proud and privileged to have played a key role in recognising and celebrating our history and heritage through our passion for fashion and all things African”, says Dr Moloi-Motsepe.

"From the very beginning, I focused on building a world-class platform for African designers. A fashion platform that promotes African creativity and innovation. A platform that showcases all that Africa has to offer, in all its abundance, uniqueness, authenticity and style”.

“Fashion is a hugely forward-looking business so we would be remiss if we did not spot and foster the talents in the next generation,” says Dr Moloi-Motsepe. “Beyond our Fashion Weeks, AFI strongly pursues development programmes, including its own AFI Fastrack™ and AFI NextGen™.”

“I am truly honoured to be nominated for the inaugural Franca Sozzani Award, it’s an award I share with all my colleagues, clients, designers and fashion creatives in Africa,” says Dr Moloi-Motsepe.

“They inspired me to become a true pioneer of luxury African fashion. To create, co-create, develop and grow a global audience that recognises and rewards Africa’s creativity, ingenuity and craftsmanship.

Through the establishment of AFI, Dr Moloi-Motsepe has played an invaluable role in the fashion industry, elevating and propelling local designers into the international fashion arena.

AFI has proudly collaborated and partnered with some of Africa’s rising stars to launch international careers in New York, Paris and London. These include David Tlale, Thula Sindi, Rich Mnisi, Eleni Labrou and Tuelo Nguyuza to mention a few.

Dr Moloi-Motsepe’s AFI initiatives have also caught the attention of the international fashion elite – from legendary fashion guru Suzy Menkes, International Editor of Vogue Online, and Fern Mallis creator of New York Fashion Week, to the late Franca Sozzani who dedicated a whole issue of Vogue Italia to showcasing African designers and models.