How Colonial Morality Still Polices African Fashion Akamba Warrior (Kenya): Image No. 10768. Courtesy of Penn Museum Archives. Before colonial rule, most communities wore practical, hand-made garments: woven cotton wrappers in West Africa; smocks and robes for traders and farmers; leather and beadwork in parts of the Sahel and southern Africa; wool and barkcloth where […]
African musicians have long used fashion to reflect their cultural roots and global ambitions. In the early 2000s, as genres like Afrobeats gained momentum, artists championed local designers, wearing traditional fabrics like kente, adire, and kitenge to celebrate heritage and support homegrown talent. As their fame crossed borders, many embraced Western luxury brands like Louis […]
Walking into Africa Fashion in Montreal feels like arriving at the latest stop in a global conversation — one that began in London, traveled through Brooklyn, staged in Melbourne, and now lands here to shed new light on diasporic and local voices. Originally mounted at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London from July 2, […]
Ifebuche Madu believes fashion storytelling must move beyond surface optics, and it’s what led her deeper into curating “In the Beginning, There Was Cloth”—a textile exhibition that brings this truth to the fore, tracing the layered narratives woven into Adire, Akwete, and Uli. “It is a journey that takes us back to our ancient times […]
There’s a particular kind of confidence that comes from wearing something made with intention—clothing that carries weight beyond its fabric. Kwasi Paul’s latest collection, “Imported Treasures,” understands this implicitly. Founded in 2020 by Samuel Boakye, a first-generation Ghanaian-American, the brand has built its reputation on creating menswear and womenswear that refuses to choose between tradition […]
At this year’s 80th United Nations General Assembly in New York, fashion was not on the sidelines. In the Goals Lounge, hosted by the UN Office for Partnerships, and in the SDG Media Zone, fashion leaders, innovators, and UN officials put textiles, circularity, and culture squarely into the conversation on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). […]
At 26, Makhan Sakho already understands the quiet power of an image — how a frame can hum, sing, and speak louder than words. Guinean, Malian, and Congolese (DRC) by heritage, Parisian by address, Sakho has moved through modeling, styling, production, and creative direction. Yet it is behind the lens, orchestrating color, texture, and composition, […]
Luxury is not always new. Sometimes it is the silken whisper of a scarf once worn by a grandmother. Sometimes it is a talisman fashioned from a lover’s forgotten tie, reborn as a necklace that rests close to the heart. This is the world of Bolé Dakar, a brand that refuses the disposable tempo of […]
New York set the tone this month—craft got louder, tailoring relaxed, and street codes sharpened. With Lagos Fashion Week locked for Oct 29–Nov 2, 2025 and Dakar Fashion Week slated for Dec 3–7, 2025, here’s what emerged from NYFW and how it might translate on the continent in the coming weeks. Craft with muscle (Diotima) […]
The most transformative moments in African fashion over the past decade have been defined by strategic collaborations that elevated the industry to unprecedented heights. Yet this remarkable ascent was only possible because African designers first established an unshakeable foundation: placing culture at the very heart of their creative vision. What distinguishes African fashion from its […]