Market Entry Is Not a Mood Board

Two models in hand-painted garments laughing as cream fabric billows between them, photographed outdoors against a wall covered in newspaper clippings and vintage car photographs.

Market Entry Is Not a Mood Board Why Brands Mistake Aesthetics for Infrastructure and What Credibility Actually Requires Photo: Carlos Idun In recent years, several major fashion houses have staged shows and campaigns across the African continent. Runway presentations in Dakar and Marrakech. Campaign shoots in Lagos and along the Kenyan coast. Capsule collections developed […]

The Scaling Gap

Editorial collage featuring Hanifa, Ami Colé, and runway imagery

Hanifa, Ami Colé, and what the industry’s love can’t build.

Bal d’Afrique, on African Ground

Multiple hands cradling Byredo Bal d'Afrique Absolu de Parfum bottle in golden light, photographed by Philip-Daniel Ducasse

Byredo’s new campaign was shot in Accra with a West African cast, a Burkinabè choreographer and a creative team spanning the continent and its diaspora. It may be the most structurally ambitious fragrance campaign of the year. Photography by Philip-Daniel Ducasse for Byredo Byredo’s new Bal d’Afrique campaign was shot in Accra, Ghana, and built […]

Best of Culture 2025

Best of Culture 2025 IMG 4583 2

2025 was the year African culture stopped explaining itself. The shift was visible