Happy snow day! With the negative wind chills and outrageous amounts of snow outside, I decided to do some research on African fashion. In my About tab, I mentioned that I would introduce worldly fashion along with my insight to it. By sharing it with you all, I gain much more knowledge about the fashion industry as well, which makes writing about it even more exciting!
African fashion has a wide variety of traditional and modern wear. The clothing usually involves vibrant colors that catch the eye of many. Common ornamentation used in clothing are: embroidery, beading and brocade. The patterns are sometimes created with tie-dye or batik, which is applying wax to the fabric before dying it. Amongst the variety of clothing, head pieces are also a huge fashion statement.
Traditional wear is worn depending on which region of Africa people come from.
For example:
- In Nigeria, women wear head ties.
- In Sahelian Africa, an array of the dashiki (colorful loose-fitted pullover men's garment, with a V-shaped collar and embroidered neck/sleeve lines), the Senegalese kaftan (pullover men's robe with bell sleeves), and the grand boubou (flowing wide sleeved robe worn by men).
- In East Africa, women wear the kanga (a printed cotton fabric wrap) and the gomesie (colorful floor length dress).
- Zimbabwe is known for their safari shirts.
- South Africa is known for their madiba shirts (silk shirts adorned by bright and colorful print).
Modern wear has been more defined with the increase of years. Africa fashion week has been known throughout the years and is very popular amongst many places worldwide. For example, the African Fashion Week London (AFWL) is the biggest African event in Europe. They provide catwalks and exhibitions which include well known African designers. These fashion weeks are not only a big hit in Europe, but as well as North America. New York and Toronto have extravagant events involving the African Fashion Week (AFW) and feature outstanding amounts of buyers/investors.
For more info on these events, check out:
Some of the well-known African designers:
- Duro Olowu
- Korto Momolu
- Jewel by Lisa
- David Tlale
- Deola Sagoe
- Kofi Ansah
- Mataano
- Tiffany Amber
Enjoy!
Till next time,
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