This exhibit sheds light on the history, complexity, and nuance of African fashion, offering a better appreciation for the work from a number of talented designers from across the continent as well as in the diaspora. (Consider how designers like Tory Burch and Stella McCartney have been accused of cultural appropriation.) Or else, it’s “an exoticized source of inspiration for designers of the Global North,” Checinska writes. She points out that African people have always traveled across Europe and Asia, bringing their fabrics, prints, and silhouettes with them, which then go on to influence local fashions across the world.Īnd yet, because of racism around the world, African fashion has often been misrepresented, being stereotyped as primitive, and portrayed as unchanging. “We hope the exhibition will give a glimpse of this abundant scene, recognizing that African fashion creatives are shifting the geography of global fashion,” says the project curator Elisabeth Murray.Ĭhristine Checinska, the museum’s first curator of African and African diaspora fashion, explains the long history of African fashion in a comprehensive book that accompanies the show. Installation view, Africa Fashion But perhaps most interestingly, it shows how African designers are influencing the global fashion industry with everything from their sustainable practices to aesthetic sensibilities.

The ambitious show, entitled “Africa Fashion,” captures the multiplicity of fashion across the 54 countries of Africa, tracing its roots from the ancient past to the postcolonial period. While many Western consumers are now embracing African designers, a new exhibit at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London makes the case that Africa has always had an influence on global fashion.

Fashion art prints