Elevate Africa has opened applications for the Threads of Africa Fashion Film Prize 2026, a pan‑African initiative that invites fashion designers, filmmakers, students, and creative teams of African descent to document and reimagine endangered or forgotten African textiles, techniques, and garments through short fashion films.
Why Threads of Africa matters
African fashion remains one of the continent’s most underleveraged economic and cultural assets. While Africa is rich in textiles, techniques, and deep fashion heritage, many indigenous fabrics and craftsmanship traditions are at risk of extinction due to globalisation, weak intra‑African trade, limited documentation, and a lack of structured investment.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) warns that mass production and changing cultural conditions can erode traditional craftsmanship, while reporting from Nigeria and other African markets shows how imported textiles are displacing local makers and reducing apprenticeship pathways.
Threads of Africa, a project of Elevate Africa, was established to respond to this gap by redefining beauty standards, rebranding African traditions, and positioning African fashion as both a cultural and economic force on the global stage.
The initiative also serves as a platform to facilitate policy conversations, encourage intra‑African collaboration, and ensure that African stories are told by Africans, for the world.
Following the successful launch of its inaugural virtual fashion prize in 2024, which engaged hundreds of designers across the continent and validated the demand for a pan-African, culturally grounded platform, Threads of Africa 2026 expands its vision.
The 2026 edition is anchored on the theme “Stories of Rebirth”, and Elevate Africa calls on creatives across Africa and the diaspora to craft three- to five-minute microfilms that tell the story of an endangered or forgotten textile, garment, or technique.
Submissions should blend documentary-style storytelling with visual documentation of the creative process and present a compelling case for cultural and economic revival.
The competition is open to fashion designers, filmmakers, students, and creative teams of African descent across the continent and the diaspora. Individuals and teams are welcome to submit.
Elevate Africa has increased the prize fund for 2026, with up to $25,000 available in non‑dilutive grants. Beyond funding, winners will receive mentorship, visibility through a dedicated showcase at Elevate Africa’s 2026 Convening in Ghana, and promotion across Elevate Africa’s platforms and partner networks, as well as practical support to accelerate revival efforts and strengthen industry pathways.
Building on early success
Threads of Africa launched in 2024 and quickly demonstrated its impact. The inaugural edition attracted over 520 participants from Nigeria and other West African countries and awarded winners including Adeyoola Adenusi (Adeyoola’s Rehab), Tammytara Abaku (The Abiyetara Brand), and Philip‑Oppong Antwi (Phyll Quahsey). The 2026 programme expands that momentum and deepens the project’s commitment to intra‑African collaboration and cultural stewardship.
Threads of Africa is more than a competition but a movement to reclaim narratives, revive traditions, and rebrand African craftsmanship for the modern era. By connecting creatives, cultural custodians, and industry stakeholders, Elevate Africa aims to stimulate policy conversations, strengthen networks across the continent, and support a more integrated and sustainable African fashion economy.
Interested creatives can apply now by submitting a three- to five-minute fashion micro-film at https://www.threadsofafrica.org.