Cape Town, South Africa: ONEOFEACH, a mother and daughter luxury African fashion brand located in Cape Town, has announced it is expanding the Garment Construction and Fashion Accessories program to launch The African Academy of Fashion. The upcoming program led by Pauline and Tamburai Chirume is supported by the Fashion Impact Fund, a charitable fund committed to advancing women-led initiatives that accelerate the fashion industry’s transition to a sector that values people and the planet. The duo has trained over 100 women since 2019 and helped to place 60% of them in employment in the fashion industry.
With over 40 years of cumulative experience, Pauline and Tamburai Chirume have developed The African Academy of Fashion, an academy that focuses on practical and hands-on training using the African Fashion Curriculum, a first of its kind, to equip participants with the fundamental principles, techniques, knowledge, and a set of start-up tools that will enable them to utilize the rewarding skills of constructing garments and accessories from start to finish.
The program, specifically designed for young women (under the age of 40) from underserved communities, will improve and extend the provision of high-quality learning opportunities in order to diversify the South African fashion industry - making it more inclusive. It also enables better anticipated current and future skills needed in the textile, clothing and fashion sector.
Tamburai Chirume, Co-Founder, ONEOFEACH, states: “Ultimately youth unemployment is growing rapidly in South Africa - currently sitting at 66.9 % and we believe that we have a responsibility to upskill people to start their own businesses or become available and equipped to work in creative businesses. We are excited and grateful to have partnered with the Fashion Impact Fund to move closer to contributing to this change.”
Pauline and Tamburai’s collaborative journey led to the creation of a strong brand - ONEOFEACH in 2014. Tamburai comes from a fashion retail and styling background, having worked with major fashion magazines such as ELLE Bulgaria. She then joined the banking world of wealth and investments, which helped conceptualize the ONEOFEACH dream to become a business reality. Her mother, Pauline is a fashion designer and contemporary visual artist with over 35 years' experience. Together, they promote a spirit of creative authenticity - where modern fibers meet ethnic traditional prints from all over Africa.
Kerry Bannigan, Executive Director, Fashion Impact Fund, shares: “In 2019 I met Tamburai in Europe where I learnt about the vision and mission of her work. Beyond a fashion brand, ONEOFEACH is a training facility that provides a program in the fashion and creative business sector to boost employment of local women while reinvigorating the traditional artisanal craft and manufacturing industry in Africa. The Fashion Impact Fund is pleased to support the upcoming program to strengthen the capacity of fashion job training and enhance women's economic empowerment.”
About the Fashion Impact Fund: The Fashion Impact Fund supports women entrepreneurs leading educational initiatives that accelerate the fashion industry’s transition to a sector that values people and the planet. The charitable fund is committed to advancing women-led media, knowledge and skill-based programs that harness education as a transformative tool to evolve an equitable, inclusive, and regenerative fashion ecosystem.
