Tag: African Beauty

Style and skill abound, but experts claim that until Africa invests in its textile sector, it will never reach its full potential.
The designers and tailors at a tiny Lagos fashion company are hard at work carving precise lines through the large rolls of cloth. Designer Oroma Cookey-Gam, co-founder of This is Us, says, “Cotton T-shirts were the first item we produced.”
The company uses locally grown cotton to create modern Nigerian designs, such as oversized shirts, jumpsuits, and kaftans.
Cookey-Gam travels to the Funtua textile mill, one of the few fully functional mills in the nation, in Katsina, the northern region, once a month to get the cotton.

The cloth is then hand-dyed into colors of indigo for up to eight hours in the Kofar Mata dye pit in Kano, the oldest pit in Nigeria, a three-hour trip away.
Cookey-Gam used to buy cotton from Turkey and Morocco, but she started a year-long quest in 2016 to find suppliers inside her nation.
Even though cotton is grown in two-thirds of African countries, with some of the continent’s biggest producers located in West Africa, more than 81% of it is exported from sub-Saharan Africa, leaving little for domestic use.
According to recent Unesco research, the region’s economic prospects were being negatively impacted by exports, which were limiting the expansion of the textile and apparel sectors.

Ernesto Ottone is the assistant director-general for culture at Unesco. “Africa is exporting something that could create a huge industry and an enormous number of jobs,” Ottone adds.
Like other African countries, Nigeria’s textile sector flourished in the 1960s and 1970s before collapsing when a flood of secondhand and foreign-made clothing entered the continent as a result of trade liberalization measures.
Nowadays, sourcing materials presents significant hurdles for companies such as This is Us.

According to Cookey-Gam, Nigerian ginsneries, which extract the seeds from cotton, deal with big orders and are hence less interested in selling to fashion companies. “The mill didn’t take us seriously when we initially visited there. She explains how she teamed up with other businesses to generate large purchases, saying, “They said they can’t work with fashion because the orders are not big enough.”

African-made products have become more and more popular throughout the world in recent years, thanks to the rise of Afrobeats and contemporary cultural representations of the continent like the Black Panther movies. Beyoncé, Naomi Campbell, and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie are among the well-known black individuals who have supported the work of regional and diaspora designers.

Younger people have adopted modern twists in African architecture and materials in fashion. Burkina Faso-born designer Sébastien Bazemo has contributed to the resurgence of fashion for the vibrant Kôkô Dunda cloth. Additionally, there are currently over 30 fashion weeks held annually around the continent.

According to businesswoman Omoyemi Akerele, who oversees Lagos’s yearly fashion week, “it’s a season of ownership.” “In the past few years, creators and designers have doubled down to communicate and re-emphasize who they are in a way that’s true to themselves and the communities they represent. Before now, [the African fashion industry] pandered a bit to the Eurocentric gaze.”

“Made in Africa” campaigns have gained popularity recently, particularly among the continent’s expanding middle class. However, African designers claim that their creations are still too expensive for many Africans to purchase because of the high expenses associated with producing and importing basic materials, which has an impact on final prices.
The primary customer base for This is Us comprises African diaspora residents and Nigerian creatives, with items priced between 50,000 and 150,000 Nigerian naira (£50 and £150).
Famous Nigerien designer Alphadi (Sidahmed Seidnaly) is in favor of proposals for African nations to increase the production of non-cotton textiles and restrict textile imports.
Even though the fashion industry on the continent is becoming more well-known, he claims that policy and investment assistance are still lacking.

Citing well-known European designers, he claims that “investors, buyers, and policymakers, who can make African fashion take off, do not understand the difficulty of being an African designer.” “People wager on them, and in this industry, that can mean the difference between success and failure.”

The designer, who operates in the city of Niger, Niamey, as well as in the Ivory Coast and Morocco, claims that he has had to invest a significant amount of his cash to continue in business, even though he is one of the continent’s fashion pioneers.

African fashion investors claim that while funding individual designers is popular, fundamental problems like local manufacturing capacity that financiers and legislators need to address for the sector to thrive are not addressed. They assert that in the absence of such steps, investments would only result in transient success as opposed to long-lasting, expandable companies.
“We need to look at building the infrastructure and giving the capacity for designers to thrive—for them to access different textiles locally,” says Roberta Annan, creator of the Impact Fund for African Creatives (IFFAC), an organization that invests in creative enterprises across Africa.

To grow the industry, IFFAC provides grants and investments of up to £1.7 million to sustainable fashion enterprises. To boost domestic textile production, it recently purchased a government-owned mill in Ghana.
Such initiatives, according to designers, have the potential to be revolutionary.
According to Cookey-Gam, “African fashion is still very young, and we need [various] elements to make things at high quality.” “Fashion is a tool we can use to improve people’s lives and employs a lot of people.” It has the power to alter the continent.

Content Courtesy of The Guardian & NFH

The African Student Association is hosting its inaugural African Royalty Fashion Show, a cultural event aimed at educating, enlightening, and embracing African beauty and variety. It is open to students, professors, staff, and the community. Everyone is urged to dress to impress by the organizers.
In previous years, the Tour of Africa was our yearly hallmark event that featured a night of entertainment and cultural celebration, including a fashion display that lasted for maybe five minutes at most.

However, it wasn’t a fair representation of it, according to ASA vice president Ojuolape Folarin.
We’ve made African fashion a stand-alone major event this year. We have the chance to highlight African design from throughout the diaspora at this unique event, which also explores what it means to be black or African in the United States, said Folarin.

On Saturday, December 9, at 7 p.m., the UMC Glenn Miller Ballroom will open. Guests may enjoy traditional meals made in the Ghanaian, Nigerian, Kenyan, and Ethiopian styles. As the presentation rotates between fashion, music, and dance acts, four distinct groups, including Alpha Phi Alpha, will stroll down the runway after the olfactory feast.

At 8 p.m., Emmanuel Nwaneto (E.M.E.) performs his newest song, “Drago,” backed by dance choreography by Yasmine Lawson, to begin the evening’s fashion and performance segment. Four fashion walks will be followed by one-of-a-kind performances.

At the conclusion of the free event, which is supported by the Cultural Events Board of CU Boulder, everyone will be invited to celebrate with Boulder’s very own DJ Ambitious Boy.

Participate in ASA activities
African students at CU and anybody else looking to network with like-minded individuals come together through the African Student Association.
The ASA promotes gathering, sharing, and enjoyment of culture. “Very tight with African Americans, respecting that we are all brothers and sisters,” is how the organization characterizes itself.
The ASA meets every other Wednesday in Abrams Lounge (third floor of the C4C). Information about meetings and events can be found on Instagram and TikTok: @asacuboulder.

Content courtesy of The University of Colorado & NFH

President William Ruto’s favored outfit was outlawed for breaking legislative dress regulations, along with other traditional African clothing.
The speaker declared that a Western suit and tie are appropriate clothing. In recent years, the Kaunda suit has gained popularity among African politicians, celebrities, and the elderly. William Ruto, the president of Kenya, is one such convert.
Primarily worn with matching pants, the single-breasted safari jacket features patch pockets and either long or short sleeves. It gained popularity in the 1960s thanks to Kenneth Kaunda, the first post-colonial president of Zambia.

However, last week, the Kenyan Parliament outlawed the Kaunda suit as well as other traditional African attire, including women’s form-fitting apparel. The speaker of the Kenyan parliament declared that this kind of clothing is not allowed under the code, which mostly follows the fashions of a contemporary Western working wardrobe.

The Speaker of the Parliament, Moses Wetangula, stated in a speech on Tuesday that a fashion trend such as the Kaunda suit “does not accord with the seriousness of the proceedings of the house and its committees.”
He stated that “a coat, collar, tie, long-sleeved shirt, long trousers, socks, shoes, or service uniform” is appropriate attire for males entering the legislative chambers.

The decision incited a social media backlash, with many people questioning why suits and ties linked with colonial powers would be preferred in an African government building over proudly African garb.

A Kenyan human rights activist named Abdullahi Halakhe said in Swahili on X, previously Twitter, “Truly, colonialism is still deeply embedded in our minds.” He included a link to an article that featured a picture of the speaker of Parliament donning the white robe and wig that date back to the British colonial era.

The flap occurs at a time when Afrocentric fashion is becoming increasingly popular on the continent and beyond, on movie screens, runways, and among consumers who are drawn to black culture and style.

The Kenyan speaker also declared that women should wear business, professional, or smart casual attire with skirts and dresses that fall below the knee, and she outlawed headgear and caps in the legislature. He said it was forbidden to wear sleeveless blouses. Both lawmakers and visitors to Parliament are subject to the restrictions.

“I am aware that some of you may find these instructions uncomfortable,” Mr. Wetangula, 67, stated. Nonetheless, pain is required for members’ comfort, security, and order.
One of the edict’s most notable targets did not seem to be paying attention.

President Ruto met with the CEO of NBA Africa the day following the announcement in Parliament. In June of this year, President Ruto donned his first Kaunda suit in public.
One day following the declaration made in Parliament, President Ruto who had worn a brown Kaunda suit for the first time since taking office in June of this year met with the CEO of NBA Africa. He wore a variation in sky blue to a government ceremony on Thursday.
Wearing a pink Kaunda suit has made him stand out.

It has become evident to many contemporary African leaders that people value politicians who are prepared to publicly embrace their ethnic background and traditional garb.
Although Goodluck Jonathan, the former president of Nigeria, frequently wore a wide-brimmed fedora-style hat that was favored by the tribal leaders in his area, Nelson Mandela, the former president of South Africa, was known for wearing his characteristic “Madiba” shirts in bold designs.

In an effort to promote the “Made in Rwanda” initiative, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda dons apparel created by local designers.
The short-sleeved suit was adopted by Mr. Kaunda of Zambia, the leader of his country in Southern Africa from 1964 to 1991, as a representation of African freedom and independence. The fashion had its beginnings in Australia and bore a striking resemblance to a Chinese silhouette that Chairman Mao popularized.

The Kenyan legislative speaker, Mr. Wetangula, referred to the Kaunda suits as “Mao Zedong coats” when he banned them.
The speaker is a former senator who held the position of foreign affairs minister for ten years until stepping down due to accusations of corruption. Mr. Ruto, 56, a former vice president who became well-known for being a cunning political operative and businessman, has had him as an ally.

In September of last year, he took office following a close electoral victory.
Amidst mounting public outrage and demonstrations about his administration’s performance—particularly in light of the soaring cost of food and gasoline and rising taxes—there is a ruckus in Parliament regarding the clothing code.
The president’s preference for Kaunda suits, according to Mr. Ruto’s tailor, Ashok Sunny, stems from a desire to support regional producers and designers.

He’s demonstrating that we don’t have to spend our days in suits. In an interview with TV47 in Kenya this year, Mr. Sunny stated, “We can wear the African cut, representing the African look.” “They call it the dictator look most of the time because the Kaunda suit was once popular with most old dictators,” he continued.

Fashion decisions have caused controversy in Kenya’s parliament before.
Former Nairobi governor and senator Mike Sonko was expelled from Parliament in 2011 for using ear piercings and sunglasses.
At the time, Mr. Sonko, a colorful politician renowned for his opulent lifestyle, denounced the decision, claiming he was dressing like the nation’s youth.

Content courtesy The New York Times & NFH