Documenting changing fashion in Africa post-1960
Women’s shawl made from traditional Mogagolwane blanket fabric, called Loballa, also called ‘scotch’ blanket because of the tartan-like design. These blankets are associated with, and popular amongst, people with Tswana heritage from Botswana and South Africa. They are often worn with outfits made of shweshwe (also called German print). This shawl belonged to and was Read More …
This skirt is made of shweshwe, the iconic printed cotton textile that is so popular it has become known as the denim of southern Africa. The name shweshwe is derived from King Moshoeshoe I of Lesotho (c. 1786 – 1870) who first popularised it. It is also known as German cloth after the Swiss and Read More …
This occasion or bridal wear woman’s outfit consists of a buba (blouse), iro (wrap skirt), pele (shawl) and matching gele (headwrap). It is made of hand woven aso-oke fabric, tailored and embellished with crystals. It was designed and made by Abiola Aso-oke, a generational aso-oke fashion business in Lagos. It took eight weeks to produce Read More …
This leather outfit was part of Clive Rundle’s collection entitled AFRIDESIA, originally presented at the New York Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in 2003. Each piece is a complex construction involving intricate processes. While his work has a sculptural quality, Rundle says it is the discipline of making garments to be worn on the body that motivates Read More …
This fitted dress and jacket was made for the donor, Fashioning Africa collecting panel member Lou Taylor, by British dressmaker Bill Pashley in 1975. The fabric was made by Alakiti Studio in Lagos, Nigeria, and bought by the donor’s father, Lord Elwyn Jones. Taylor wore the outfit to accompany her father to a diplomatic event. Read More …
This blouse and skirt outfit features puff sleeves and a peplum waist which were typical elements of 1980s style. The wax print fabric features sunflower, butterflies, and drooping lily motifs. This outfit was given to Fashioning Africa collecting panel member Lou Taylor by a Kenyan student of hers. Taylor is a dress historian and used Read More …
This skirt is made from adire eleko fabric. It was bought in Nigeria by Lou Taylor, a British dress historian and Fashioning Africa collecting panel member, who wore and loved it for many years. Adire refers to an indigo cloth that is produced by Yoruba women of southwestern Nigeria through a variety of resist-dye techniques. Read More …
This ‘Peacock’ dress is made from a wax print fabric decorated with brightly coloured beadwork. Eredappa Hart’s designs mix western silouettes with local print fabrics, such as wax print,which are layered with luxurious bead embellishments to create stunning three dimensional pieces. Collected as part of the Fashioning Africa project. Creator: Eredappa Hart Place: Lagos, Lagos Read More …
This jumpsuit is made from an adire inspired fabric decorated with brightly coloured beadwork. Adire is is an indigo fabric from south western Nigeria that is traditionally hand dyed using various resist techniques to create patterns. This version of the fabric is machine printed. Eredappa Hart’s designs mix western silouettes with local print fabrics, such Read More …
This blouse is part of a women’s kaba outfit. A kaba and slit is a two or three piece outfit worn by Ghanaian women, consisting of a fitted blouse with wide sleeves, a wrapper skirt, and sometimes a matching headwrap. This blouse is made from narrow woven kente strips, hand stitched together, and then tailored Read More …