R6129/8 Wax Print Blouse and Skirt

This outfit, which also includes a matching belt and headwrap, belonged to Saundra Lang, an African American woman who has regularly visited West Africa since the 1970s. The blouse features hand-stitched smocking around the neckline which gives it a sculptural, three dimensional shape. Saundra recalls: “I love this outfit. I was walking in the Plateau(downtown Read More …

R6129/14 Wax Print Suit

This suit belonged to African American fashion enthusiast Saundra Lang, who purchased it from an Ivorian friend living in Los Angeles. This demonstrates the enduring popularity of wax print fabric (also called Dutch wax or ankara) across the African diaspora. As Saundra explains: ‘[My friend] commissioned a tailor in Abidjan to make several items of Read More …

R6129/13 Wax Print Dress

This wax print dress is actually a matching top and skirt. The outfit was made for African American collector Saundra Lang by a tailor based in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. Saundra spent several months in and around Abidjan in the 1980s, and remembers: ‘One of my friends recommended her tailor, M. Bah. He made many wonderful Read More …

R6129/11 Kaftan; Boubou

This woman’s boubou gown was made by Jean Kablan, a popular designer based in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, in the 1970s. It forms part of a capsule collection of outfits and accessories that African American collector and fashion enthusiast Saundra Lang aquired on various trips to West Africa, which the museum collected as part of the Read More …

R6129/10 Trousers

These trousers belonged to Saundra Lang, an African American fashion enthusiast who spent time in West Africa from the 1970s onwards. Saundra bought these trousers during her first trip to Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, in 1971, from a local tailor. The pattern represents cowrie shells as well as abstract geometric designs. The design was created by Read More …