Award Winner
Malawi’s greatest fashion export and award winning design entrepreneur, Lilly Alfonso, has been honoured with a UMP Fashion Living Legend Award. The award presentation took place at the 2019 UMP Awards music and fashion blended event held on 14 December at the Crossroads Hotel, Blantyre, Malawi.
Speaking about this prestigious award, Lilly Alfonso said she was happy that this accolade had been achieved, highlighting that the years of work and progress made had been been recognized. She pointed out that to be called a ‘living legend’ went well beyond herself. Lilly commented: “For My work and contribution to the fashion industry to be recognized, it has only been possible because of other people who believed in me, recognized and supported me through out this journey. This simply means that I am proud of everyone who has been part of this journey with me and it is also an honour for them. My advice to young designers is believe in yourself, love what you do and follow your dreams. It’s a long journey that needs patience, hard work and persistence. Know that you can’t work alone but you need support from others. Lastly, be creative and find your own signature to be make yourself stand out.”
She further commended UMP for recognizing and awarding fashion designers and models, saying: “Fashion designers need these awards to be motivated. We used to have FAME which supported designers and models for some years. What we have now are many fashion shows but most don’t give models and designers recognition and support after the shows are done. I would like to take this opportunity to thank UMP for creating these awards for fashion. This will highly motivate designers and models to work extra hard in their field. Lastly, fashion is not only about fashion designers and models. There are photographers, stylists and make-up artists that work behind the scenes towards fashion. If these people could be recognized for their work too, it would push fashion in Malawi to an extra mile.”
The UMP Award comes just a few months after Lilly Alfonso was also honoured for her contribution to fashion and beauty at the International Fashion Awards Summer 2019 in Cairo, Egypt. At that event, Alfonso showcased at least seven of her beautiful designs, as well as delivering a speech on branding and her collection. Her focus has always been to position Lilly Alfonso as an international fashion brand. The Lilly Alfonso fashion design label has evolved over the years to become one of the top fashion labels in Malawi and is slowly becoming a global fashion brand, receiving regular industry accolades from around the world. The brand was founded in 2005 by Lilly Alfonso, who has come a long way from using her first sewing machine on a veranda to showcasing her unique designs on international runways. The Lilly Alfonso brand operates under the slogan: “Wear it. Feel it.”