Africa Fashion
edited by Christine Checinska
‘We face forward’ Kwame Nkrumah, 7th April 1960
From Amanda Gorman resplendent in kente cloth (courtesy of Virgil Abloh for Louis Vuitton) on the cover of US Vogue, to Michelle Obama’s repeated outings in Duro Olowu, African fashion exerts worldwide influence.
Africa Fashion discusses how radical post-independence social and political re-ordering sparked a cultural renaissance across the continent. Designers such as Shade Thomas-Fahm, Chris Seydou, Kofi Ansa and Alphadi drew on past traditions, recovered and reinvented them and so laid the foundation for today’s fashion revolution.
The authors then present the work of the new generation of creatives such as Nigerian fashion designer Lisa Folawiyo, Somali visual artist Gouled Ahmed, Ghanaian woven bag maker AAKS, and Kenyan jeweler Ami Doshi Shah. Their work shows that there is no one way to be African and no single African aesthetic. The contemporary African fashion scene is as diverse and dynamic as the continent itself, and crucially always has been.
With contributions from experts on cloth, fashion and cultural history as well as the voices of makers and designers, this inspiring and arresting book offers a window into one of the most innovative, exciting and thoughtful areas of fashion today. ‘We face forward’ Kwame Nkrumah, 7th April 1960 From Amanda Gorman resplendent in kente cloth (courtesy of Virgil Abloh for Louis Vuitton) on the cover of US Vogue, to Michelle Obama’s repeated outings in Duro Olowu, African fashion exerts worldwide influence. Africa Fashion discusses how radical post-independence social and political re-ordering sparked a cultural renaissance across the continent. Designers such as Shade Thomas-Fahm, Chris Seydou, Kofi Ansa and Alphadi drew on past traditions, recovered and reinvented them and so laid the foundation for today’s fashion revolution. The authors then present the work of the new generation of creatives such as Nigerian fashion designer Lisa Folawiyo, Somali visual artist Gouled Ahmed, Ghanaian woven bag maker AAKS, and Kenyan jeweler Ami Doshi Shah. Their work shows that there is no one way to be African and no single African aesthetic. The contemporary African fashion scene is as diverse and dynamic as the continent itself, and crucially always has been. With contributions from experts on cloth, fashion and cultural history as well as the voices of makers and designers, this inspiring and arresting book offers a window into one of the most innovative, exciting and thoughtful areas of fashion today.
Dr Christine Checinska is Curator of African and Africa Diaspora Fashion at the V&A. A creative designer in the fashion industry for over 30 years, including for iconic brands such as Margaret Howell, she is a Research Associate at VIAD, University of Johannesburg. Dr Christine Checinska is Curator of African and Africa Diaspora Fashion at the V&A. A creative designer in the fashion industry for over 30 years, including for iconic brands such as Margaret Howell, she is a Research Associate at VIAD, University of Johannesburg.
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