The coronavirus has had a historical impact on industries worldwide, and industries are making compromises. The fashion industry is not left out. One example of this is the 3D digital runway show by the fashion house, Hanifa to launch their new collection, Pink Label Congo.
Interestingly, she had this idea even before the pandemic! In an interview with Teen Vogue, Hanifa’s designer, Anifa Mvuemba, stated that she had plans to launch the collection with a digital show online long before the pandemic but wondered if it was still the right move seeing how the virus had affected people’s lives.
“The news came out about how serious things were, and I started to feel a bit anxious about everything going on. I started feeling like maybe it would be insensitive to create and share a new collection online while people were facing very difficult realities.”
With her designs, Anifa Mvuemba wants to celebrate the beauty of Congo, while drawing attention to the
issues faced by people in the locale such as illegal mining.
Using 3D models is a natural next step for Mvuemba, who told Teen Vogue, “designing content using 3D models and now an entire collection has been a complete game changer for me.” And making the launch entirely digital has only been positive for the brand, as the designer revealed, “My decision to keep going could impact our customers for the better in ways I never imagined. That’s when I knew it was time.”
Instagram is also the great leveler when it comes to fashion, as Mvuemba explained, “We know that some people may never experience a fashion week or Hanifa showcase, so we wanted to show up for our audience where they show up for us on a daily basis. That’s when Instagram became the obvious choice.”