What the Met’s 2026 Theme Means in an African Context, and the Designers Shaping the Narrative
As the Costume Institute prepares its “Fashion Is Art” spring exhibition, two African designers — Chelsea Jean Lamm and Sevon Dejana — make the case that the conversation has been alive on the continent all along.
Guinea: A Textile Civilization in Four Systems
Guinea: A Textile Civilization in Four Systems By Mariama Camara & Oury Sene King of Kindia, c.1910, with two wives in Basse-Guinée textiles (tie-dye, weaving, embroidery). Courtesy of Duncan Clarke, antique postcard and African textile dealer. Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is rarely understood through its material systems. It is more often described through […]
Material Literacy: The Knowledge in Cloth
Mariama Camara on authorship, ownership, and the distance between admiration and accountability.
Twenty Years of Mozambique Fashion Week: The Cherry Before the Cake
Each edition of Mozambique Fashion Week opens with a poem. Written by Mozambican poet and artist Sonia Sultuane, it calls attention
The Sustainability Checklist: African Fashion in the Age of Green Demands
While African fashion practices have long been inherently sustainable, designers are now navigating a global system where sustainability means compliance
Homegrown to High Fashion: African Musicians’ Style Journey and Cultural Pride
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Burna Boy (@burnaboygram) Burna Boy in Ozwald Boateng at The Met Gala 2025 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 […]
Trans-continental Collaborations Opened New Markets for African Fashion — Why Did They Pause?
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 […]
What Makes a Brand African? Rethinking Made in Africa Fashion
While African fashion has reached greater heights—the question of what makes a brand “African” resists easy answers. It can’t be answered through surface-level aesthetics or generic motifs, but instead, it demands a deeper interrogation of history, structure, and power. At first glance, one might say an African brand is one founded or designed by an […]
The Designer Turning Senegal’s Waste Crisis into a Luxury Brand
Designer Moctar Ba transforms discarded materials into premium accessories while proving sustainability can drive African luxury In his Dakar workshop, Moctar Ba holds up a vibrant advertising banner that once promoted a telecom company across Senegal’s capital. Within weeks, it will become a €250 backpack sold to customers in Paris and Brussels. This transformation from […]
The Zimbabwean Fashion Scene: A Quiet Renaissance
Zimbabwe’s fashion industry is undergoing a nuanced but profound evolution. While the country may not yet be considered a global fashion capital, its creative community is asserting itself with authenticity, innovation, and resilience. Rooted in a rich cultural legacy and shaped by decades of economic and political flux, Zimbabwean fashion is moving from survival to […]