This month, from September 28-30, 2026, the fourth installment of the BRICS+ Fashion Summit will be hosted in Moscow.
In recent years, it has emerged as the premier gathering for the Fashion Business of Fast-Growing Economies and is now regarded as a significant event on the global industry calendar.
Recognized as an accredited BRICS event, the previous season witnessed participation from over 15,000 attendees and representatives from more than 60 nations.
The 2026 Forum will highlight a diverse array of African participants, emphasizing the critical importance of this year’s Summit agenda for the continent.
Representing South Africa will be Stephen Manzini, the CEO of Soweto Fashion Week, alongside Colleen Eitzen, co-founder of the well-known retailer The Space, as well as leaders from major fashion industry institutions across the continent.
Among them are Susan Sabet, Board Member and Secretary General of the Egyptian Fashion & Design Council and a BoF 500 member; Mahlet Teklemariam, Founder of Hub of Africa Fashion Week and a BoF 500 member; Hind Joudar, Founder and CEO of Maroc Fashion Week; Nana Addo Tamakloe of Accra Fashion Week; Brian James Kihindas of Kenya Fashion Council; Mmantlha Sankoloba, CEO of Botswana Exporters and Manufacturers Association; Kalistu Ramos Mukoroli, Director of MTC Windhoek Fashion Week; Tery Carola, CEO of Seychelles Fashion Week; Dawson Deng, Co-Founder and Executive Director of South Sudan Fashion Week, and many other vital figures.
Throughout the three days of the BRICS+ Fashion Summit, African brands and manufacturers will have the chance to collaborate, network, and share experiences with peers from the continent and with representatives from rapidly growing economies in Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America who will be coming to Moscow.
For South African enterprises, the BRICS+ Fashion Summit presents avenues for export and new entry points into other fast-growing economic markets.
Participants from Africa at the Forum already have a commendable track record: The Botswana-based brand House of Ditso is exploring opportunities to establish itself in the Russian and CIS markets, while MTC Windhoek Fashion Week is negotiating with Moscow Fashion Week on a designer exchange initiative, among other outcomes.
Brian James Kihindas, Director of Nairobi Fashion Week and part of the Kenya Fashion Council, facilitated a pivotal gathering at the summit in Moscow, uniting fashion week organizers from East, West, Southern, and North Africa at the same table for the very first time.
With fashion sectors across the continent largely evolving in silos, primarily focused on cultivating local talent, the potential for cross-border commerce, designer mobility, and unified negotiation strength has historically been fragmented.
This gathering was an essential milestone for change, paving the way for African fashion leaders to connect, collaborate, and pursue a more unified approach to developing the continent’s fashion industry.
“In Moscow, inspired by the broader BRICS framework of multilateral cooperation, we made a collective decision: To build a unified umbrella body for African fashion week conveners. What started as a pivotal meeting in Moscow has evolved into an active, everyday network driven by our dedicated digital community hub: conveners regularly exchange insights on production standards, buyer acquisition, sponsor engagement, and event logistics suited for African markets,” Brian James Kihindas explains.No stranger to the BRICS and Fashion Summit, Soweto Fashion Week and South African Fashion Association CEO Stephen Manzini returns to Moscow for the 2026 edition and describes the Summit’s role in Africa’s creative industries: “The BRICS+ Fashion Summit is a critical communication platform for emerging countries, especially for Africa. It provides a rare space where our voices, stories, and design philosophies are seen and respected on equal footing. For African creatives, it’s a gateway to connect with like-minded partners from the Global South, share our cultural richness, and position fashion as both a creative and economic force”.
Alongside the BRICS+ Fashion Summit, the new season of Moscow Fashion Week is scheduled to occur from September 26 to October 1, 2026, in Moscow, Russia.
The agenda for this exciting new season of the major global event for burgeoning fashion will showcase over 70 runway presentations from brands hailing from more than ten countries – ranging from Türkiye to Sri Lanka and spanning from Spain to China.
