THURSDAY 27 NOVEMBER 2014 • [email protected] • www.thepeninsulaqatar.com • 4455 7741 inside Michelin-star Japanese COMMUNITY chef works magic at • MediaOne show Sharq Village and Spa to feature history of television P | 5 P 6 | ROBOTICS • Deregulation at heart of Japan’s new robotics revolution P | 7 Mention African style and the fashion crowd thinks FILM Lagos, or Johannesburg. But Uganda’s emerging • Before you see Mockingjay, here’s what you need to designers — using a mix remember from Catching Fire of local craft and global savvy — are hoping to give P | 8-9 them a run for their money. HEALTH • Hookah smokers are inhaling benzene P | 11 TECHNOLOGY • Tech shopping: Video games for adults and children UGANDAN P 12 | DESIGNERS LEARN ARABIC • Learn commonly used Arabic words MAKE A MARK and their meanings P | 13 2 PLUS | THURSDAY 27 NOVEMBER 2014 COVER STORY Ugandan designers seek cut of Africa fashion market By Amy Fallon ention African style and the fashion crowd thinks Lagos, or Johannesburg. MBut Uganda’s emerging designers — using a mix of local craft and global savvy — are hoping to give them a run for their money. Fashion in the east African nation may be viewed as frivolous by many, with the industry under resourced and local designers facing fierce competition from cheaper secondhand clothes and Chinese imports. But tickets for Kampala’s first ever Fashion Week earlier this month sold out swiftly, with models strutting the catwalk showing everything from sequined hot pants to accessories made from cow horn, to a dress made from the country’s unique bark cloth. “In so many ways anything to do with being artistic is a struggle here, people don’t take it seriously,” said Ugandan- born designer Jose Hendo, now based in Britain, who showcased her work in Africa for the first time at the show. It follows similar successful recent fashion weeks in Burundi and Rwanda, while Kenya’s opens this week in Nairobi, as east Africa moves to boost its stake among the continent’s designers. The show had international backing, with the same production crew — LDJ Productions — who provide technical support for New York fashion week helping out in Kampala. PLUS | THURSDAY 27 NOVEMBER 2014 3 LDJ Productions CEO Laurie De Jong, whose team have Hendo’s collection for the also helped Mumbai, Miami, Toronto and Los Angeles get fashion weeks off the ground, said New York’s version was show featured jackets, now one of the city’s top three revenue-producing events. trousers, coats, headpieces De Jong said Uganda’s talented designers and others working in the industry could offer the country a “huge, and other accessories huge economic boost” if supported more. The Kampala Fashion Week show featured 10 Ugandan made out of the bark cloth women and menswear designers, many self-taught, and marked a comeback for Natasha Karugire, the daughter from local trees, mixed with of President Yoweri Museveni. cotton, silk and denim. “My prayer and hope is that Ugandans will all wear our own clothes and that the second hand clothes market will fizzle out of our society,” said Karugire, whose label J&kainembabazi sent out bright, floral dresses with tra- ditional beading at the collar. ‘Big earner’ Hendo’s collection for the show featured jackets, trou- sers, coats, headpieces and other accessories made out of the bark cloth from local trees, mixed with cotton, silk and denim. The award-winning ethical designer came up with the idea of using bark cloth after a 2001 trip to Uganda with her family. “I spoke to my mother and realised there’s so much to it, it is not just about making tourist souvenirs,” said Hendo, who has developed far more complex designs than the ubiquitous bark cloth hats and place mats usually on sale. “What is exciting is that it is organic, the process of making it has never changed in 600 years.” In Uganda’s royal kingdom Buganda, bark cloth is worn for coronations and other important cultural ceremonies. Making it is an ancient craft, listed on Unesco “Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.” Hendo is now selling her creations in Uganda and Britain, where she has three shops. Kampala’s show ended with Ugandan model Stacie Aamito strutting the runway in Hendo’s breathtaking “fairy dress”, featuring a bodice made from bark. Aamito, 21, had a “humble” upbringing in northern Uganda, before winning the African franchise of the “Next Top Model” reality TV show earlier this year. The beauty is now signed to an elite agency in New York, where she lives. But she said her family had been doubtful of her career choice at first, telling her that “’you need to be a lawyer, you need to study and be something, because if you’re a model you’re not anything’,” she said. “Most people do not take fashion seriously” in Uganda, she said, but insisted the trade could “definitely be a big earner” for the nation. Ankole cow horn Kampala Fashion Week founder Gloria Wavammuno, 29, said her tailor aunts, who lived during the era of dictator Idi Amin — a time of “very long skirts and no trousers” — were supporting their families through the local trade. “One of my aunts is sending her children to very good schools, two of them have gone to college in America and Canada,” she said. Some designers travel to China to source their fabrics but Wavammuno wants to support the local sector. Wavammuno, who interned for British men’s designer Ozwald Boateng and has participated in fashion weeks in New York and Paris, showed off her jackets, raincoats and “woolly things” made from “furniture materials for sofas and curtains.” They were teamed with sandals, handbags and collars created from Uganda’s famous giant Ankole cow horn and fish, sheep and cow leather. Designers are hopeful, even though Wavammuno admits Uganda’s fashion industry is starved of resources. “Our fashion school doesn’t even have a seamstress,’ she said. “It doesn’t even have machines.” AFP Right: A model presenting a creation by designer Martha Jabo during the first fashion week show held in Kampala. 4 PLUS | THURSDAY 27 NOVEMBER 2014 CAMPUS HEC Paris welcomes the Class of 2016 EC Paris School of Management, the region’s leading hub for Executive Education, held Han event recently at the Tornado Tower to welcome the newest batch of participants enrolled in its Specialized Master Degree in Strategic Business Unit Management as the Class of 2016. The Class of 2016, comprising 50 participants, includes 28 women and 22 men. With an average age of 30 years, the participants represent a variety of nationalities and are high-potential professionals from various industry sectors such as education, finance, oil and gas, healthcare, telecoms and more. The event was attended by many including Eric Chevallier, Ambassador of France to Qatar, Marina Kundu, Associate Dean of Executive Education of HEC Paris, and Guillaume Chalmin, Managing Director of Total in Qatar. The Academic Director of the programme Professor of Strategy Dr Wolfgang Amann recently joined HEC Paris as its first full-time faculty mem- ber. He has been designing and delivering executive education seminars for over 15 years and holds a doc- An official addressing the students torate in International Strategic Management from during the welcome ceremony. the University of St Gallen. Professor Dr Amann has published 15 books for executives and compiled more than 100 case studies for his executive educa- Paris in Qatar. “With 80 percent of our new partici- development of the participants’ managerial skills, tion seminars. pants coming from Qatar and majority of whom are leadership and talent.” “We are truly delighted to welcome the Class of women, indicates the growing popularity of HEC “I wish the class of 2016 the best throughout 2016 of our Specialized Master Degree in Strategic Paris and its programmes in Qatar. We are privi- the 18-month programme and look forward to the Business Unit Management programme,” said Prof leged to be contributing to the Qatarisation process growth of these participants to become future busi- Laoucine Kerbache, CEO and Academic Dean of HEC and to the knowledge-based economy through the ness leaders,” he added. The Peninsula Skills Development Centre celebrates 12th anniversary kills Development Centre (SDC), Scentre of fine arts and performing arts, located at new Salata, celebrated its 12th anniversary with a variety of cultural programmes. Two-day long event hosted ‘Arangettams’ (debut stage perform- ance by students after years of train- ing) by 50 students. A total of 200 second day’s celebrations. SDC officials and guests at the inauguration of the students performed on stage as part Muhammad Issa Al Jaber, cul- event. TOP: A dance performance by the students. of various programmes. tural consultant from Ministry of The Indian classical dances, clas- Culture and Arts, Kareem Abdulla, sical music renditions, fusion pro- former President of ICBF, C V Rappai, grammes by SDC faculties and Chairman of Birla Public School, classical and western instrumental Ushas Andrews, President of Indian music were some of the main high- Woman’s Association, were among the lights of the event. guests. Special cultural programmes by the SDC’s contributions to promote parents and a karate demonstration by Indian arts and artists over past 12 Sensei Shihabuddeen and a team of well- years was commended by the guests trained students were also part of the itin- during their speech. erary. The event was telecast live through Representing the Faculty team centre’s website and Facebook page. Kalamandalam Devi (classical dance) There was also an Indian food court and Pandit Santosh Kulkarni (Tabla) arranged by SDC, for supporting the honoured Ajayan.