By bringing together institutional delegations from China and Russia, potential private partners from Algeria and brands from Tunisia, Portugal, Italy, Russia and France, at the gateway to the Sahara, in the phantasmagorical setting of an arty, industrial salt lake, the producer of Tunis Fashion Week, Anis Montacer, presents Tunisia with a strategic place on the international fashion scene.

On April 21, at the Chott el-Jérid, between salt structures and gigantic industrial machinery, stood the catwalk of Tunis Fashion Week. Unlike other fashion weeks, however, the event is not all about the catwalk. This desert setting, a cross between the films Star Wars and Mad Max and the works of Basque sculptor Eduardo Chillida and Tunisian artist Nadia Kaabi-Linke, also serves as a backdrop for brands and fashion editors invited to carry out their own photoshoots.

Tunis Fashion Week 2024 / Outa Credits: F. Julienne

In fact, part of the day is devoted to capturing fashion imagery that the brands orchestrate with the assistance of the production team, which manages the models' booths, make-up artists and hairdressers, dressers and the technical staff. Tunis Fashion Week has the support of the Tunisian Tourist Office, which has been involved in this project since the first editions, keen to show that Tunisia is a country on the move, modern and free.

Bringing together people from the four corners of the world in a desert setting

While it may seem like a chaotic organisation, it's also a unique opportunity to network in a timeless atmosphere. It was a chance to meet, for example, Chen Mo and Mercy Chen, from Beijing, representatives of the China Fashion Association, which will be presenting at Paris' Tranoi trade show in September 2023. For this national organisation, registered with the Ministry of Civil Affairs of the People's Republic of China, the main aim is to discover Tunisia's potential, both for investment and for the establishment of Chinese brands.

TNFW 24 / China Fashion Association Credits: F. Julienne

Renata Gilmanova, from the Russian Fashion Council, an organisation committed to developing the fashion industry in Russia, is even more committed to this trip. After inviting Anissa Aïda, a Tunisian fashion house focusing on slow fashion, to parade at Moscow Fashion Week in March 2024, it's now the turn of two Russian brands to present their collections, Vestiaire and Büro Unique, the shows of which were held as the light became softer over Chott el-Jérid.

TNFW 24 / Russian Fashion Council and Karim Bonnet. Credits: F. Julienne

Büro Unique (which literally means "office of unique things"), created in 2017 by designer Alena Chipura, offered up a semi-couture autumn/winter 2024/2025 collection, named 'Secret Garden', evoking a floral theme. Dresses, tops, ensembles and skirts in fishnet, tulle, lace and organza were all decorated with ruffles, flowers and embroidery. All the textures and decorative elements were entirely handmade.

TNFW 24 / Büro Unique Credits: TNFW / Laurent Viteur

Beyond the shows, the international dynamic of Tunis Fashion Week is at stake

Other guests at this fashion week were the directors of the state-owned Textiles & Leather holding company Getex Spa. Speaking to FashionUnited, Hamdi Mansour Abdelkader, assistant to the CEO, explained why he had come: "The Algerian government has allocated us a budget of nearly three billion dollars to benefit from cutting-edge industrial facilities. We have a workforce of 8,500, mostly women, spread across the country. But we want to optimise our technical expertise in terms of design. Here, we are looking for creativity and stylists with whom we can develop brands."

TNFW 24 / Getex Credits: F. Julienne

The stakes are therefore very high for the brands taking part, be they Tunisian (La Flamme, Anissa Aïda, Kontakt, Sea Design Lab by ATFP, By Massara, Perfection Luxury X Hamasset Fannya Jewellery and Souraya Sahraoui), Portuguese (Luis Carvalho), Italian (Fisico, IU by Rita Mennoia, Oscalito and Pin-Up Stars), Russian (as mentioned above) or French, as in the case of Arsynoé and Bunkheur jewellery.

Bunkheur, a company founded by Lucie Benhamou, a young student straight out of Lisaa Mode Paris, came to rub shoulders with an international public, both amateur and professional. It was by the swimming pool of the Hôtel Résidence, in Douz, that the finale of this fashion week, which has the art of renewing itself year after year, always creating a surprise, was played out.

"Tunis Fashion Week aims to be an international fashion laboratory for countries with high growth and fashion potential," concluded Anis Montacer. "It's a concept based on proposing unusual venues for fashion shows."

TNFW 24 / Bunkheur Credits: TNFW / Laurent Viteur

This article originally appeared on FashionUnited.FR. Translation and edit by: Rachel Douglass.