Gele Tea and Fashion 2013 (London)

16 September 2013

Move over London Fashion Week, meet Gèlè Fashion, a visually stunning event full of colour & creative energy – all in celebration of the Gèlè & raising dementia awareness. The event was held on Saturday 15 September at the Double Tree Hilton, Victoria, with a special afternoon tea and exquisite Gèlè couture fashion show.

The the afternoon was tastefully called; A Sentimental Journey (or a trip in memories past and present). Style icon and Fashion Designer, Adebayo Jones (AJ) was our entertaining compère for the afternoon introducing stunning gèlè couture as exquisite as the gowns worn by models debuting in a series of collections from award winning designers including Kosibah, Clarisica Gill, Milliner Lyze Bamigbola Silas and AJ himself.

Prior to the event, ladies were asked to wear a Gèlè or hat (optional) and beautiful Gèlès were available for purchase and styled on the day by Juliet Onyeka Osodi (t: @OnyekaBeauty) and asked to make a donation with proceeds going to Dementia UK. We were spoiled with live music from inspirational singer and songwriter Lánre (T: ‏@iamlanre) who performed a couple of her beautiful songs; live art was enjoyed from the talented, Tondera (T: @Tonderai_Arts), and a delicious afternoon spread was put on whilst we were indulged in a series of stunning gèlè collections.

So what is a gèlè I hear you ask? I asked the same question when I first heard the word. A gèlè pronounced gaye lay, is an African head wrap/head-tie. Gèlès are indeed very beautiful and fascinating when tied (as pictured) – a visually stunning piece of headwear and fashion. I got the chance to see a lot of couture gèlès and fashion from some of the industry’s finest designers. Clarisica Gill’s collection was fruity, youthful and charming and AJ’s exquisite collection oozed with grace and definitely proved to us, diamonds are certainly a girl’s best friend!

A big think to MG (Madame Gele) for inviting me to the beautiful afternoon, I’m was extremely grateful and glad I could be part of something very special and so colourful. I left feeling inspired and it was lovely to meet and eat with the inspirational entrepreneur Jennifer Garrett, made new friends, discovered lots of new things about dementia and how it affects the carer & family members, then as tea draw to a close, I also danced until I was (slightly) out of breath too…

Below are some photographs I took (on my iPhone) from the colourful Gèlè Tea, they by all means do no justice to what I actually saw and experienced but I hope it gives you a taste. There was certainly a lot of meaningful joy & sentiment in the tea room that afternoon :) and I’m already looking forward to next year’s showcase, MG!

Living life from a notebook certainly does take you to nice places. So take note, we tend to remain silent about dementia in the community but it can happen to anyone of us. Gèlè Tea rocked my day – Missie Cindz

{photos by Cindy Cheung as shared on Instagram}