Fashion teams: Two are better than one

At the recent Fashion Week Africa 2013, African-born fashion and accessory designers teamed up. The first of its kind, the Samsung #AmazeAfrica initiative required the seven pairs of creatives to draw inspiration from the mother continent .

Ghanaian designer Nana Brenu ,who collaborated with Kenyan Adéle Dejak, said: "As designers, we tend to design in a vacuum so collaborating with others opens up a world of experience, knowledge, techniques, skills and different approaches to design."

Here are the seven designer pairs:

Marianne Fassler and Quamta

Marianne Fassler created a brightly coloured and multitextured range to complement Quamta - the luxury accessories label's masterfully designed palm-size packages with exotic skin finishes.

Anisa Mpungwe and Doreen Mashika

Mismatching observable detail was a common theme in the designs, especially in the collaboration between Anisa Mpungwe of Loin Cloth and Ashes and her Tanzania-based partner, Doreen Mashika. Their ''hymenopteran meeting point" featured small-sized carriages complementing garments with tailored finishes in metallic hues and skilfully layered see-though fabrics.

Albertus Swanepoel and Black Coffee

Gifted New York-based milliner Albertus Swanepoel joined forces with Black Coffee to stretch their avialae (the extinct ancestors of birds) reference, combining a variety of feather-detailed headgear with the label's high-end designs.

Projecto mental and Rift Valley Leather

Kenya's Rift Valley Leather expertly crafted a collection of messenger-style sling bags made out of a blend of fine leather and wax print fabrics. These were showcased with flamboyant menswear suits designed by Projecto Mental from Angola.

LaurenceAirline and Missibaba

A few of the paired designer brands opted for a less eccentric approach, aiming for the type of client whose sartorial preferences centres on classical tailoring and fit, accentuated with unusual but complementary accessories. LaurenceAirline from the Ivory Coast designed a menswear collection with a signature A-line coat that was perfectly complemented by Cape Town-based Missibaba's jumbo-sized folder with woven leather in a geometric finish.

Nana Brenu and Adel Dejak

Ghanaian Nana Brenu of the 1981 label created fluidly tailored garments to walk down the runway accompanied by the East African handmade accessories brand, Adéle Dejak. They sourced inspiration from coleopteran creatures (a class of hard-winged beetles) and created a contrasting balance between hard-edged elements and a minimalist colour palette.

Taibo Bacar and Katherine-Mary Pichulik

Superstar designer from Mozambique, Taibo Bacar, took his design direction to new heights with an updated range of regal shift dresses tailored to perfection and paraded on the runway styled with beautiful bespoke bags and purses by Katherine-Mary Pichulik's eponymous accessories label.

The accessories are not currently available for purchase. However, there is the possibility they may be developed into a limited-edition range. Watch this space.