MaFashio goes to Sweden!

This past month, Lady of MaFashio, Kii, got to travel to Sweden under the Zambia Fashion Council, on invite by the Swedish Embassy in Zambia and the Swedish Institute.

The visit ran from the 13th to the 19th of september, :)

 It was... Amsterdam to Stockholm. :)

Bon Magazine:

The first meeting was in Stockholm, at Sweden's own 'Bon Magazine'!
Bon has been in existence for 13 years and is a Bi-annual Fashion and Lifestyle magazine.

Chaleca Fashion:

Next, it was off to Chaleca fashion; a Swedish knitwear brand established in 2012 that works in
sustainable fashion and works with a cooperative of women in Bolivia.

Uniforms for The Dedicated:

Uniforms for The Dedicated is a menswear brand, based in Stockholm and carried in 20 countries 

that aims to 'Make recycled fabrics interesting', 
they also happen to be the winner of the Rookie prize given at Stockholm Fashion Week.

Gudrun Sjorden:

Next we were off to Gudrun Sjorden, a women's wear brand that was originally founded as a 
mail-order label back in the 70's and has now expanded to 18(!) stores and includes interior design.

Exploring Stockholm (And lunch!!!)

Beckmans College of Design:

Our next visit was to the largest design college in Sweden, which turned 75 this year, 
and is known for its contemporary and experimental approach to teaching.

School and Association for Arts and Crafts/Swedish Fashion Council:

We then met the director of the Swedish Fashion Council, Lotta Ahlvar.
who also happens to be a director of the 'School for Arts and Crafts', we got a tour around the school,
learnt about its history in relation to women's suffrage and its success as a textile school.

IBEYO Studio/ PR Agency:

Our next meet was at the IBEYO Public Relations agency and consultancy,
where we learnt the art of tailoring events to specific clients and got a chance to look at the coolest in
urban fashion and Swedish design.

Swedish Agency For Economic and and Regional Growth/Tillvaxt Verket:

Our next stop was the 'Swedish Agency For Economic and Regional Growth/Tillvaxt Verket',
which is a government run department that works to strengthen the Swedish industry and
increase regional growth.

Our Legacy:

We then went to the men's wear brand 'Our Legacy'. This brand is characterised by interesting fabrics and accessories.
Take a look at those amazing sunglasses, perfect for our Spring/Summer here in Zambia. :)

Just Africa Butik:

We had a visit to a Swedish boutique that stocks African wear and art,
imported in from several countries, including Burkina Faso and Tanzania!
We would totally rock this bag. ;)

Textile Fashion Center: 

After a train ride from Stockholm and amazing lunch, we had a guided tour around the textile fashion
center, a building in the textile manufacturing town of Boras that houses a textile showroom, 
and research project called 'smart textiles'; a school of textiles, 'ModeInk', 
an organisation helping young  designers start a business; as well as 'Marketplace Boras', 
a member organisation working to promote local business in the textile industry.