In Dubai, African Designers Set the Tone for a Global Conversation on Luxury
Last month, the opulent halls of the Mandarin Oriental Jumeirah in Dubai pulsed with creativity as the AFRA World Fashion Confluence 2025 brought together designers from across the globe under the evocative theme Echoes of the Oasis. At the heart of it all was a landmark partnership between AFRA World and the Lulubell Group, led […]
Africa Day 2025: The Legacy and Future of African Unity
Every May 25th, the African continent unites to commemorate Africa Day—a celebration of independence and a long and complex journey toward unity and sovereignty. At its heart lies the African Union (AU), a continental body born from the vision of a self-determined Africa, free from colonial dominance, economic subjugation, and foreign political interference. Understanding the […]
1-54 New York 2025: African Artists Reshape the Narrative
Over the past decade, 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair has evolved from a niche satellite event into a mainstay of the international art circuit. This year marked its tenth anniversary in New York, as the fair returned with its most ambitious edition yet, opening from May 8 – 11 at the Halo on 28 Liberty […]
Thuku-Benzinge’s Umutoni: The Jewelry Brand Crafting Its Own Luxury
Umutoni Thuku-Benzinge is curating her own definition of luxury. One deeply rooted in her Kenyan and Rwandan heritage, and grounded in her passion for jewelry, social impact, and craftsmanship. As a fashion entrepreneur, she is the founder of the eponymous jewelry brand Umutoni, known for its East African storytelling and minimalist design language. Born and […]
What We Saw at the Best African Runway 2025 in Dakar
Dakar, perched at the western edge of Africa, is no stranger to spectacle. But on the eve of May 2nd, 2025 beneath the resolute gaze of the Monument to the African Renaissance, it played host to something more than a fashion show. It became a stage for a movement. The second edition of the Best […]
Threads of Influence VI: The 2025 Met Gala Host Committee – Tailored Bold
The 2025 Met Gala’s “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” celebrates Black dandyism—a legacy of elegance, resistance, and identity that Guzangs has traced across centuries in its Threads of Influence series. From pre-colonial African regalia to modern-day suits steeped in story, this theme lands squarely in our archive. Beyond co-chairs Colman Domingo, Lewis Hamilton, A$AP Rocky, Pharrell […]
Threads of Influence V: Met Gala Co-Chairs in Focus
The 2025 Met Gala isn’t just a red carpet — it’s a cultural reckoning. With the Costume Institute’s theme, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” this year’s gala centers the sartorial legacy of Black men across the diaspora: from Harlem dapper to Savile Row rebels, Zoot suits to modern minimalism. It’s about how Black style — rooted […]
Threads of Influence IV: The Elegance of Defiance
The art of tailoring has long been a site of Black resistance, elegance, and reinvention. From the studied poise of precolonial kings to the audacious flamboyance of the Sapeurs, tailoring has shaped how the world sees Black style — and how Black people see themselves. The 2025 Met Gala theme, Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, affirms […]
The Future Feels Different Here: 7 African creatives who are reshaping design on their own terms
On April 21, the UN observed World Creativity and Innovation Day. But for many African designers, artists, and architects, that kind of thinking isn’t tied to a calendar. It’s just how the work gets done. Across the continent, new ideas are taking shape. Quietly. Experimentally. Sometimes defiantly. Some are working with buildings left unfinished for […]
The Power of the Collective: Artisans Behind the Runway
In Ghana’s Bonwire village, kente weavers thread vibrant narratives into silk-cotton cloth. In Ethiopia’s Amhara region, women’s cooperatives spin cotton into minimalist elegance. In South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal, Zulu beadworkers craft intricate patterns. In Mali’s Bamako region, indigo dyers create mud-dyed bogolanfini. In Kenya’s Kitui County, the Shalom Pride community weaves raffia into sustainable basket bags. […]