"Being recognized by people in the field with experience energizes me to step out of my comfort zone."

In September, she won the MAD graduation prize and on November 30 this year, the Belgian Fashion Award in the category 'graduate of the year'. Leslie Nonvignon is definitely an ambitious emerging talent to keep an eye on. With her graduation collection named ‘Rite of Passage’, she creates a bridge between her identity quest as a creative mind and the representation of the past and present Africa to create a collection composed of ‘totem’ silhouettes. Leslie offers to our gaze a codified collection where symbols of her African culture come to life against a mystical backdrop. MAD had a talk with Leslie, about her awards, her future and her view on today's fashion world.