After months of chatting it up with Carla Fernandes, she’s become a virtual sister and friend residing in Africa. Born in Maputo, Mozambique – raised in Johannesburg, and after working at Jimmy Choo, South Africa, she began to gain exposure to luxury brands such as GANT and PRADA, as they were all under the South African holdings company AVI LTD. Carla also kept an online journal as a hobby (like most of us) and fell in love with online interaction and editorial.
After immersing herself in the culture of luxury and pondering Africa’s rich history she felt the need for a different kind of challenge. Her family still lived back in Mozambique so she decided to seek an opportunity there. Mozambique, of course came with the benefits of learning so much more about her roots. She indeed got way more than she bargained for–leaving South Africa entirely was probably the biggest challenge yet. So, she decided to prioritize education once again, and considers it her greatest investment to date. She is currently doing a BA in International Relations and Diplomacy and studying correspondingly through the University of South Africa (UNISA). She chose this degree due to her huge sense of leadership and passion for Africa, a better Africa, the evolving Africa. She hopes to someday be able to work with various foundations and organizations globally to help the fight against the devastating negatives that come with poverty in Africa. It’s the more serious and intellectual side of fashionable woman I know.
Her unquenchable thirst for helping her mother country fused with her love and passion for fashion surmises her daily life. When she left Cape Town, she felt as if she left everything behind…the thrill, the rush, the glitz, she missed it, I missed it all. Fashion, marketing, media and PR, all this left pending question marks…since she could not find a place or a platform to quench her thirst for more luxury, fashion and glamour in Mozambique, she decided to create one.
“After an online meet with POSHGLAM.com’s Kimberly E. Stone , I was most inspired to get on this venture. Started off as nothing serious until I realized the sort of impact it can potentially have in the Mozambican market and maybe even the African Market. This could ideally turn into my first business venture – so I thought.”
She is now a Young African Entrepreneur, Founder of Africa–Vogue.com – with this platform she hopes to fuse her two worlds. Whit that being her goal and to create an emphasis of the importance in Social responsibility and philanthropy along with her undying passion for fashion, lifestyle and Media PR. She strongly believes that if “We as Africans don’t create our own mediums to portray what is ours and tell our very own stories, someone else will…and probably not the right way.”
Carla hopes to aspire to inspire young female entrepreneurs, whether they are in the corporate field or in the fashion industry…
