Plussize Fashion Week Africa 2018 Press Conference

There is an age-long stigmatization against the plus-size woman. Women above size 10, categorized as plus-sized, rarely find fitted clothes designed and tailored for their body, instead, they are left to make do with dresses that are quite ill-proportioned to their bodies. In order to bridge this gap and stop the alienation of plus-sized women across Africa, Temi Aboderin-Alao, Creative Director of JPKouture by Hadassah — which is a high end plus-size fashion brand — founded the Plussize Fashion Week Africa (PFWA).

PFWA Press Conference

Speaking at the press conference in Lagos on 28th September, Aboderin-Alao talked about the challenges her team faced during the first edition of the PFWA; support was far less than they had hoped for, not may designers had the plus-size woman in mind, and it was a struggle to get plus-sized models who could comfortably walk the runway. This, however, did not deter her team, who went ahead to host the very first fashion runway show dedicated to plus-size models and apparels. Panelists and PFWA influencers, also took turns to talk about their support for the movement and encourage plus-sized women to wear whatever they feel comfortable in, irrespective of what people have to say about curvy women. The PFWA is set to hold on the 3rd and 4th of November 2018 at the Main Banquet Hall of the Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos. The event will feature exhibitions from designers around the world, business talks, diet talks, and, of course, a runway show. The second edition of the search for Africa’s Next Plussized Model was also announced — a competition that will see successful participants get a chance to grace the runway at the PFWA, and will also be signed, trained and developed by JPKouture’s modeling division, Golden Curvy Agency.