This T shirt is one of many designs produced to celebrate Nelson Mandela becoming the first black, democratically elected president of South Africa in 1994. It features a portrait of Mandela and the new flag of South Africa designed that year to represent the end of apartheid rule and the new democracy. This form of ‘protest’ or ‘struggle’ T shirt became popular in South Africa during the anti-apartheid movement; wearing garments that make a political statement continues to be popular across Africa. Collected for the Fashioning Africa Project.
Creator:
Place: KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Date: 1994