From WaxFashion to ZE DÉFILÉ: A Decade of Afro Fashion Turned Into Action in Paris

First conceived as a platform for cultural visibility, the WaxFashion association gave rise to ZE DÉFILÉ, the annual gathering dedicated to Afro and Afro-descendant fashion. From 2023 to today, the project has grown to make endometriosis its flagship cause.

On the posters, there are the lights, the silhouettes, the fabrics and the energy of a Paris evening. But behind ZE DÉFILÉ lies a deeper story: that of WaxFashion, an association that chose to treat Afro fashion not as a passing trend, but as a tool for visibility, connection and, now, awareness around women’s health.

In 2026, that story reaches a turning point. ZE DÉFILÉ, held on 25 April at La Palmeraie, in the 15th arrondissement of Paris, placed endometriosis at the heart of its fourth edition. The event brought together 15 designers, 80 models and more than 700 guests and spectators.

The result is more than a fashion show: a platform that owns its dual ambition — championing Afro and Afro-descendant creation, and reminding audiences that a disease affecting one woman in ten should no longer be an invisible pain.

WaxFashion, the foundation behind the show

WaxFashion is a non-profit association based in Paris, active since 2016 according to the project’s current presentation. Its purpose is to promote African art and culture through fashion, creating opportunities for designers, models, the public, media and partners to meet.

The word “wax” might suggest a project confined to a single fabric or image. The association’s ambition runs wider. Afro fashion, here, means an open creative space: African heritage, certainly, but also diasporic identities, urban influences, artisanal know-how and the new aesthetic narratives carried by designers.

From its early days, WaxFashion built itself as a structure for showcasing talent. It supports event organisation, connects models with brands, offers professional photoshoots, and seeks to open doors for a scene still too often pushed to the margins of the Paris fashion calendar. The ZE DÉFILÉ website even presents these photoshoot and management services as an extension of the project.

This logic matters. Before it’s a spectacle, fashion is an economy of visibility: being seen by the right audiences, finding collaborators, producing professional images, gaining access to networks. WaxFashion operates precisely at that level — giving existence to profiles, designers and aesthetics that don’t always find their place naturally within traditional channels.

In a 2024 sponsorship prospectus, the association described WaxFashion as both a cultural structure and an event concept dedicated to developing African art and culture through fashion. It stated that it devoted 5% of its revenue to humanitarian and charitable action.

2023: ZE DÉFILÉ is born

It was in 2023 that WaxFashion gave a name and a rhythm to its flagship event: ZE DÉFILÉ. The first edition launched an annual format designed for Paris — the world’s fashion capital, yet one that had long been less spontaneously associated with the diversity of Afro and Afro-descendant creation.

The choice of a runway show is no accident. The podium remains a place of consecration. It lets a designer tell a whole universe in a few minutes, a model embody a vision, an audience understand a collection in a way no screen can replicate. For young brands, it is also a real-world test: holding a coherent artistic direction, producing consistent silhouettes, owning an identity, creating desire.

With ZE DÉFILÉ, WaxFashion turns the runway show into a point of convergence. It isn’t just about presenting clothes, but about bringing a community together — which explains the space given to performances, encounters and moments of conviviality around the show.

2024: a Paris fixture takes hold

The second edition, held on 13 April 2024, confirmed that ZE DÉFILÉ was no one-off. Designers, models and professionals gathered again, while the event began building its network of partners and supporters.

This stage is about establishing roots. In fashion, consistency matters as much as spectacle: an event becomes credible once it returns, brings people together, and lets talent plan ahead. For Afro and Afro-descendant designers, ZE DÉFILÉ offered a recognisable Paris stage — distinct from the major institutional calendars, but open to visibility, media and professional encounters.

The event isn’t locked into an unreachable haute-couture model. It plays on a different register: community and emergence. The profiles on show can be established or up-and-coming; the models can be professionals or first-timers. The idea is to make the runway an accelerator.

2025: fashion takes a clear stand

The third edition, on 19 and 20 April 2025, marked a decisive shift. ZE DÉFILÉ explicitly paired its celebration of Afro and Afro-descendant fashion with a health cause: endometriosis.

The edition’s message was clear: “When fashion stands up for women’s health: endometriosis.” That framing matters, because it moves the event beyond pure representation. The runway becomes a medium — a stage from which information can circulate, a taboo can be broken, and solidarity can be built.

The choice is neither decorative nor opportunistic. Endometriosis is a chronic disease whose effects go far beyond menstrual pain: pelvic pain, fatigue, digestive issues, fertility difficulties, and consequences for intimate, social, academic and professional life. The World Health Organization estimates it affects around 190 million women and girls worldwide.

2026: scaling up and consolidating

On 25 April 2026, at La Palmeraie, ZE DÉFILÉ crossed a threshold. The fourth edition brought together more than 700 people, 15 designers and 80 models. Its theme confirmed the shift already under way: fashion as a vehicle for endometriosis awareness.

The evening ran through to an after-party, with a programme combining the runway show, encounters and a festive close. Standard and VIP tickets granted access to the show, with the VIP package including front-row seating and enhanced hospitality.

But it’s the overall momentum that deserves attention most. ZE DÉFILÉ now runs on an identified team: Lauriane as president, Lord Ray on management and Steeven as artistic director, supported by teams dedicated to coordination, entertainment, logistics and public relations.

The project has also drawn partners across varied fields. Among those listed on its site are Orange Money Europe, Jia Paris, Heetch, Africa Radio and the City of Paris. This diversity is a telling signal: it shows ZE DÉFILÉ seeking to connect culture, mobility, media, funding and institutions, rather than remain a stand-alone event.

Why endometriosis gives the project its meaning

It’s worth weighing what this pairing of fashion and health really means. In France, endometriosis is estimated to affect between 1.5 and 2.5 million people. Public strategy has progressed: dedicated care networks in every region, professional training, research funding and the supervised rollout of the Endotest in certain medical situations.

Still, a medical diagnosis can’t be delivered from a stage. ZE DÉFILÉ’s role is different: helping people recognise certain experiences, put words to a pain, and, where needed, seek medical advice. Debilitating menstrual pain, recurring pelvic pain or cyclical symptoms that affect quality of life deserve to be raised with a healthcare professional.

This link between culture and health may seem unexpected. It is, in fact, well-judged. Fashion reaches audiences that institutional campaigns don’t always reach. It can open a conversation without dramatising it, and make a cause visible without diminishing it — provided it stays rigorous about the medical facts, it offers an accessible language where silence has long dominated.

2027: a fifth edition already announced

WaxFashion is now preparing ZE DÉFILÉ’s fifth edition, expected in April 2027. The association has announced that applications for designers and models will open from September 2026, with castings in Paris in January 2027.

The project’s future will hinge on its ability to grow without losing its meaning. Growing isn’t just about raising the number of spectators or partners. It means continuing to offer a useful stage for designers, creating opportunities for models, representing a diversity of bodies and stories, and giving lasting space to the fight against endometriosis.

From 2023 to today, ZE DÉFILÉ has changed status. Born from an association committed to Afro fashion, it has become a Paris fixture where creation carries a social message. Clothing remains central, of course. But it is no longer alone. It now carries a larger story: that of a community that wants to be seen, heard, and an active participant in its own change.