About Africa Fashion Week Maryland & Maryland Africa Fashion Week (AFWMMAFW) Is more than a fashion event—it is a powerful cultural and artistic movement created to spotlight Maryland’s growing influence on global style. AFWMMAFW exists to elevate fashion as culture, art, and economic opportunity, while positioning Maryland as a rising international destination for creativity and tourism.
At its core, AFWMMAFW empowers designers, models, artisans, creatives, and entrepreneurs to grow, thrive, and achieve international success. Through world-class runway productions, exhibitions, and cultural showcases, we provide a platform that connects talent to opportunity, visibility, and global markets.
Maryland is a state with undeniable fashion potential. Its communities are passionate about style, culture, and self-expression—and AFWMMAFW was created to harness that passion. Our mission is to transform Maryland into a fashion-forward hub and a nationally recognized center for style, creativity, and innovation, while driving economic growth across the state and its counties.
Rooted in rich cultural heritage and supported by a dynamic arts and fashion ecosystem, Maryland deserves a prominent place on the global fashion map. AFWMMAFW serves as a bold international platform that builds a vital bridge between African and diaspora designers, artists, and the U.S. fashion market, while celebrating heritage, identity, excellence, and innovation.
Africa Fashion Week Maryland & Maryland Africa Fashion Week proudly invites small businesses, government agencies, industry leaders, and professional organizations to partner with us as sponsors and collaborators. Together, we can elevate Maryland’s global presence, strengthen tourism, empower local communities, and grow our county and state economies—one cultural moment at a time.
AFWMMAFW is not just an event. It is a movement. It is culture in motion. It is Maryland on the global stage.
Presidential Address
Temitope Kayode
President & CEO
African Cultural Fashion Heritage (ACFH)
Maryland Fashion Week & Fashion Week Maryland (MFWFWM)
African Cultural Fashion Heritage Academy (ACFHA)
Africa Fashion Week Maryland & Maryland Africa Fashion Week (AFWMMAFW)
Delivered at the 4th Annual ACFH Event – June 2025
Good evening, family.
With a heart full of gratitude and a vision rooted in purpose, I welcome you to this historic celebration of culture, creativity, and community. African Cultural Fashion Heritage is more than an event—it is a movement, a mission, and a call to action for every Black, African, and Caribbean soul who believes in unity, heritage, and economic empowerment.
I stand before you today as the Founder and President of ACFH, Maryland Fashion Week, our Fashion Academy, and AFWMMAFW because I believe in the power of togetherness. When we celebrate our brilliance, honor our roots, and wear our culture with pride, there is nothing we cannot achieve.
I envision Black communities united—not only through culture, but through love.
I envision African and Caribbean people trusting one another, supporting one another, doing business together, and growing together.
I want us to celebrate ourselves—our beauty, our style, our genius, and our strength.
To value our products, our fabrics, our languages, and our voices.
To wear our identity like royalty—because that is who we are.
I want to see Black men uplifting Black men.
Black women supporting Black women—not in competition, but in true community.
I want our young people to dream boldly, and our elders to stand proudly as guardians of legacy.
Let us be proud of who we are.
Let us empower one another.
Let us build businesses that serve and sustain our people.
Let us create a world where our children no longer have to fight to be seen, heard, or respected.
Through ACFH, MFWFWM, ACFHA, and AFWMMAFW, we are laying the foundation for that future—one runway, one classroom, one artisan, one designer at a time.
To everyone here today: you are the movement.
To every sponsor, model, creative, mentor, volunteer, and supporter: you are the legacy.
Let us love one another.
Let us build together.
And let us leave behind a powerful, beautiful, and lasting legacy for generations to come.
Thank you.
— Temitope Kayode
President & CEO
ACFH | MFWFWM | ACFHA | AFWMMAFW
