Afro-West Slow Fashion: Weaving cultures, designing futures
Welcome to Afro-West Slow Fashion, a cultural bridge born in Dublin that connects Africa and Ireland through textiles, storytelling, and innovation. We champion slow fashion, empowering artisans and celebrating identity, heritage, and purpose. Join our journey towards a more meaningful and sustainable world.
Our vision: A cultural bridge through fashion
Afro-West Slow Fashion began at the Innovation Academy, University College Dublin, as more than just a creative project – it's a sustainability movement. We blend the vibrancy of African prints, the rich heritage of Irish textiles, and the precision of West craftsmanship to reimagine fashion. Our core mission is to celebrate identity, empower artisans, and champion slow fashion, inviting you to wear heritage, memory, and purpose. Explore how we’re building a new ecosystem connecting two vibrant cultures.
Princess Alero McDowell: Where Heritage Meets Innovation
Every movement has a heartbeat.
Every heartbeat has a story.
For Afro‑West Fashion Fusion, that story begins with Princess Alero McDowell — our Irish‑born muse whose presence embodies the very essence of cultural connection, sustainability, and creative rebirth.
Princess Alero steps into our narrative wearing an ensemble that carries generations within its threads. The Aso‑Oke draped across her shoulder is not just fabric — it is a treasured piece from her Nigerian grandmother’s personal collection, lovingly preserved and passed down.
A textile with memory.
A textile with lineage.
A textile with soul.
In a gesture that mirrors the heart of our movement, she pairs this heirloom Aso‑Oke with Irish linen, a fabric rooted in her birthplace. The result is a breathtaking fusion — a West silhouette crafted with precision, elevated by African heritage, and grounded in sustainable intention.
This is not fashion for fashion’s sake.
This is identity made visible.
This is heritage reimagined.
This is sustainability with a heartbeat.
Princess Alero represents the world we are building — one where cultural pride and environmental responsibility coexist beautifully. In her look, three continents converse:
- Africa, offering ancestral textiles and storytelling
- Ireland, offering craftsmanship, linen traditions, and place
- The West, offering structure, tailoring, and modern design
Together, they create a garment that honours the past, celebrates the present, and imagines a more conscious future.
This is the spirit of *Afro‑West Fashion Fusion* — a creative sustainability movement born in Ireland, shaped by the global African diaspora, and committed to circularity, cultural storytelling, and ethical fashion.
As we prepare for our Sustainable Fashion MVP Experience, we extend an open invitation to:
- sustainability organisations
- designers and artisans
- cultural institutions
- educators and students
- community leaders
- funders and partners
- and everyone who believes in a more responsible fashion future
Join us as we co‑create a movement that stitches together identity, community, and climate consciousness.
Princess Alero stands as our symbol — a reminder that when we honour where we come from and where we are, we create something extraordinary.
This is your invitation to walk with us.
To collaborate.
To imagine.
To build a future where fashion carries memory, protects the earth, and connects us all.
Call To Action
Meet Ada Ní Bhraonáin, a face of our Afro‑West Fashion Fusion movement — a symbol of what becomes possible when Nigerian heritage and Irish craftsmanship meet with intention, beauty, and sustainability.
We’re inviting collaborators, creatives, and curious minds to join the Afro‑West Fashion Fusion Pilot Experience — a 3‑Day celebration of culture, climate awareness, and co‑creation.
Expect:
- A Time Capsule of textile stories and climate reflections
- Fascinating co‑creation sessions blending African and Irish materials
- A joyful, creative showcase of circular fashion and cultural fusion
This initiative, led at the UCD Innovation Academy, re-imagines fashion as a bridge between cultures and a tool for climate storytelling. Ada’s gown — a fusion of lacey Asooke and Irish linen in a modern bridal silhouette — captures the heart of our mission.
We’re building something beautiful.
Will you be part of it?
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