Hailing from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Allana Finley has an extensive background in the fashion industry. Before making South Africa her home, Finley worked her way around the fashion world, first by interning at Donna Karan in New York during her university days. From there she went on to hone her craft as a fashion stylist, focusing on product placement and the marketing of fashion brands through celebrity client relationships where she dressed the likes of Candice Bergen, and Tasha Smith while working for Oxygen Media. She has also worked  for such brands as Eileen Fisher, Tiffany & Co and Gucci America.

 

For the past 14 years Finley has been focused on using various forms of media to tell the story of the African continent in innovative ways while consulting for companies like CNN, Stoned Cherrie and African Fashion International, the convenors of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Joburg/Cape Town/Africa.

 

Allana specializes in developing and producing breakthrough, innovative tools for communication and building brand awareness. Her approach is rooted in collaborating with a consortium of the top practitioners across various fields enabling her to offer turnkey solutions that unlock value for corporates and brands across a multitude of platforms. Allana's experience and passion for the continent has recently brought her to focus on collaborations with African designers and a malaria elimination initiative supported by Nandos called Goodbye Malaria.