3/25/2023 0 Comments Fashion through the ages![]() In order to avoid another tale of exploitation, designers must also learn to be business savvy, putting the correct infrastructure in place for the manufacture and sale of their products. The future is bright for African fashion, but only if they take hold of the narrative and get in front of the current boom. Certainly, seeing in real time how Africans dress and the variety of styles available makes people want to connect with African culture and style. Social media has also played a huge role in familiarizing the world with African fashion. With our collections we also want to showcase the richness and variety of culture in Nigeria, unseen anywhere else in the world. Through this, we breathe new life into the cloth. We use the fabric to create beautiful modern jackets and trousers, which we coin “African Denim”. ![]() The essence, traditional meaning and design of the material have been preserved. Our use of Aso-Oke, an indigenous hand-made Nigerian fabric, is testament to this. ![]() Through the heritage of the Creative Director and our involvement in art, design and culture, we aim to show the beauty of Nigerian tribes through our designs. For example in beaded aprons, capes, headbands and shoes.Īt U.Mi-1 we want people to connect to the heartbeat of Africa. Beads, shells, and buttons were adopted on garments, either as an embellishment or used as the entire garment. Africans coveted them and decorated local cloths with them. Uncommon items arrived from far and wide. They used techniques handed down generation by generation for centuries.Īround the 15th century, shipping routes opened up between Europe, Africa, and the East. Tribes prided themselves on the quality of their hand-made cloth. Fur, skins, bone, animal tails and hair, raffia, wood, grass, bells and pressed metal all contributed to a rich and embellished costume, used especially for ceremonial purposes.Ĭolours and patterns, created in printed and dyed cloth woven fabric strips and beaded attire distinguished one ethnic group from another. This consisted of more intricate jewellery and headgear fashioned from seashells, bones, ostrich eggshell pieces and feathers. Likewise, they used accessories to adorn the uncovered parts of the body. Soon, Africans began using raffia to sew separate pieces of bark cloth together. According to some traditions, young women wore just skirts, and when they got married, they would wear full body wraps and cloaks. Garments communicated status or marked a ritual or passage of time as people moved from one state to another. Similarly, women draped the cloth over the belt to hide the front of their bodies. Males simply wrapped the bark cloth that passed between the legs over a belt. The first forms of clothing were bark cloth, furs, skins and hides, and the rest of the body adorned with beautification marks and colour pigments. Loin cloths or aprons were sufficient for men, while women wore wraps around their waist or breasts. The majority of Africans did not dress for warmth, due to warm climates of the continent. Photo Credit: Ceremonial Dress ‘bwaantshy’, Kuba King Zaire As a result, the variation of the African fashion story that exists is influenced by a myriad of societies, and the status of individuals or groups within that community. However, the source is never regarded as much as the derivative.Īfrica is a large continent. Why African fashion is in the spotlight nowįor a long time, African fashion has been misconstrued as ‘tribal’ or ‘exotic’ and simplified to leopard skins and mud cloths.Africa as a reference point in fashion and art.The history of African fashion, from bark cloths to wax prints. ![]() We discuss the source of African fashion, why it is in the spotlight, and what African designers can do to capitalize on the current moment.Ĭredit: Yves Saint Laurent African Collection For decades, the global fashion industry has referenced African fashion, but it has not always done so in the right way.
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