Michelle Ngonmo is the founder of Afro Fashion Week Milan, an annual event that presents leading and emerging collections by black designers.
Its mission is to showcase diversity in style, celebrate its creators, and encourage investment in Black creators. Afro Fashion Week will also feature workshops, exhibitions and social events featuring photographers, bloggers and influencers.
In this interview, Michelle tells us more about her business and life in Italy.
Michelle Ngonmo, founder of Afro Fashion Week Milan
What made you decide to start Afro Fashion Week?
Growing up in Italy, I never felt like the country fully acknowledged its xenophobic and colonial history in Africa (Ethiopia, Eritrea, Libya, etc.). This may explain resistance to immigration and to imagining themselves as multicultural.
I founded Afro Fashion Week because the mainstream media and the fashion industry did not reflect the society I lived in.
There are more than 1 million people of color in Italy. There are a lot of black people in Italy and I have seen firsthand the fashion and creative talent that black designers bring to the table.
However, there were not the same opportunities for them when it came to representation, coaching and career possibilities.
What is the “Unseen Profiles” project?
When I was in college, I was the city’s student body president. During that time, I built relationships with many students and former students of color who were studying specific courses in school but doing something completely different professionally.
This is because they were unable to pass interviews for jobs in their actual field of study. So they ended up doing something else because they finished school and obviously had to pay the bills.
From this moment on, I started to realize that something was wrong and that these people, these resumes, were actually invisible to society. It was like it didn’t exist.
I came up with the idea of calling this project “Unseen Profiles” because there’s always something on the surface, but there’s more beyond that. That’s why I collaborated with Vogue Italia to create The Unseen Profiles, a platform that connects Italian professionals of color directly with local and international companies across all industries, including fashion, architecture, sports, engineering, maintenance, tourism and more. ” was launched. .
What do you enjoy most about living in Italy?
There are many reasons to love Italy. Food, wine, language, architecture, design, history, landscape, beaches… the list is endless… Italy is home, even if someone thinks it’s not Italy or that I don’t belong here!
What challenges have you faced as a business owner?
Being underestimated because of the color of my skin or because I am a woman is a daily occurrence. The biggest challenge I have had to face on my journey is being underestimated.
Being black and a woman can be a huge disadvantage in a predominantly white, male-dominated society. Usually people underestimate my education level and experience.
They often believe that my objective information and analysis is not based on deep research in my area of expertise. Over time, experience taught me to ignore it and focus on my work.
What do you think about diversity in the fashion industry?
Do you mean true diversity or a mere facade? (laughs) After the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, the fashion industry vowed to make changes. We have entered 2022, but there is still a long way to go.
I know I can’t say that things will change in a day, but in 2020 the fashion industry brought big changes and was keen to bring change to the table, but now there’s less talk about it. I feel like that. It is important and more important than any other trend to follow.
Most people in the fashion industry still need to understand what diversity really means. Fortunately, a small number of people are truly open and seeking cooperation and understanding to build solid and better workplaces and opportunities for everyone.
Tony O. Lawson
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