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- Written by Wedaeli Chiversi
- bbc news
image source, Getty Images
Laduma Nxokolo can pinpoint the exact moment he became a man and how it influenced his unique fashion sense.
In 2004, he spent a month in the wilderness with young people from his community. This was all part of the traditional coming-of-age ceremony among the Xhosa people of South Africa.
According to tradition, Nxokolo and his fellow initiates were to rejoin society in new clothes after a month’s vacation.
“It was British gentleman type clothing, so the typical attire would be a hunter’s cap or a hat and jacket,” Nxokolo told the BBC.
However, Ngxokolo decided to create her own costume from scratch that was more reflective of Xhosa culture.
A maverick among his fellow initiates, the Amakuruwala, he has been wearing “accent colors around his calves, around his neck, around his chest…and lots of stripes” since he was a boy. I was wearing it.
Seeing first-hand the lack of high-end Xhosa-inspired clothing companies, Nxhokoro began developing MaXhosa Africa, a designer brand centered around knitwear and colorful Xhosa patterns .
Laduma Ngxokolo’s designs are rooted in his Xhosa culture.
Since then, MaXhosa has been endorsed by Beyoncé, worn by American musician Alicia Keys, featured in Vogue and will present a new collection at Paris Fashion Week on Sunday.
And it’s not just Nshokoro. Several African luxury designers have burst onto the global fashion scene in recent years.
Since 2019, three South Africans, Thebe Magugu, Luhanyo Mdingi and Sindiso Khumalo, have won the prestigious LVMH Prize for Emerging Talent. The following year, Beyoncé’s Africa-centered film Black Is King introduced major African brands to Western audiences.
Africa “holds all the cards to become the next world fashion leader,” according to a 2023 report by UNESCO, the United Nations cultural organization.
Imane Ayissi founded his brand in 2004 and his pieces have been worn by Hollywood celebrities like Zendaya.
The past month has provided some confirmation of UNESCO’s predictions. Alongside MaXhosa, brands from Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon are presenting new collections at the industry’s “big four” fashion weeks: Paris, Milan, London and New York.
After the Paris show, ballet dancer-turned-designer Imane Aisi told the BBC that there was a ‘visible increase’ in African work at European fashion weeks.
“Six years ago, there were no African designers at official Western fashion weeks,” he says.
Aisi, the son of a Cameroonian champion boxer and a beauty queen, sent models down the Paris runway wearing layers of taffeta and satin, incorporating kente (Ghana’s hand-woven fabric) and traditional fabrics from Burkina Faso. .
image source, shutter stock
Imane Ayissi’s latest collection juxtaposes materials such as satin with traditional African textile designs.
“The main inspiration is the way women in many African countries, primarily West and Central Africa, use simple fabrics to create something like a skirt that hangs around the waist and sometimes has multiple levels. ” said the designer. Say.
But why are these African styles and textiles becoming so popular these days?
There are many reasons for this, one of which is the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, says Frederica Brooksworth, chief executive of the International Council for African Fashion Education (CIAFE).
“Everything was online this time and not many people were able to attend things like fashion week, so it was a great opportunity to really make Africa’s voice heard,” she told the BBC.
She also points to the dizzying rise of the Afrobeats genre, the growth of successful fashion shows within Africa such as Lagos Fashion Week, and the influence of creatives in the diaspora.
Tolu Coker’s latest collection was an homage to West African street vendors
Breakout designer Tolu Coker, who was born in the UK to Nigerian parents, was one of the few members of the diaspora to showcase their heritage at London Fashion Week last month.
Her latest collection pays homage to the tenacity of West African peddlers who sell their wares at kiosks or brave traffic to deliver them to passing motorists.
“My mom had a pet hawk when she was young…that’s a really big part of her story,” Coker said. Her fans include Rihanna and Afrobeats star Tiwa Savage.
Stalls set up at the end of the runway for Tor Coker’s London show
Coker’s models marched down the Mayfair runway wearing razor-sharp tailoring, raffia bags and chic multicolored suitcases that paid homage to the businessman.
While defending Nigerian culture, Coker points out that designers in the diaspora like her are “privileged” and enjoy opportunities that are not often accessible to Nigerian designers.
Poor infrastructure, lack of formal education and investment are among the challenges faced by designers working in Africa, UNESCO said.
Ngxokolo attests to this assessment, telling the BBC that “luxury fashion in Africa is a very lonely space to operate in.”
“Initially, I didn’t feel supported. I went to banks, I went to government funding agencies. Most of the funding packages were for people working in mining, food businesses, agriculture. was.”
Bobby Collard, founder of Ugandan brand Bujiga Hill, whose collection was presented at Berlin Fashion Week, has similar complaints.
“I don’t think our government or our leaders understand the value of small businesses. If we could create 3,000 jobs at a time, they would be on our side. “Yes,” Corrado said. His fusion of fashion and activism intrigued him. Number of global media publications.
Bujiga Hill’s latest collection is inspired by Kampala’s workers
While the market for luxury clothing is certainly growing due to Africa’s growing middle class, African designer brands are currently only accessible to a “few wealthy individuals”, UNESCO said.
Some African governments are also taking steps to support designers. For example, the Kenyan government supported the launch of the Kenya Fashion Council, which is funded by some designers through initiatives from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Kolade emphasizes that there are other benefits as well.
For him, Kampala, the capital of Uganda, is a source of inspiration.
Bujiga Hill’s latest collection comes from city guards, tree surgeons and farmers who, according to Kolade, “don’t know how much stuff they have.”
Fashion weeks from Lagos to Johannesburg show that the continent’s growing middle class is willing to spend on luxury brands.
His words reflect a common ethos among African designers: keeping their culture at the center of their work even as they seek the attention of the Western-driven global fashion industry.
Twenty years after Amakuruwala’s fashion debut, Nxokolo is putting the finishing touches on its Paris Fashion Week shows and preparing to open its first New York store.
But Nxokolo insists South Africa has always been his “priority”.
“The loyalty and love that people give you is amazing,” he says. “This is a great form of sustainability for business.”
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