Documenting changing fashion in Africa post-1960
This batakari shirt was purchased by Sylvanus Akakpo in 2002, in Tamale in the northern region of Ghana, whilst he was attending a West Africa Network For Peace training event in the town. A batakari or Ghanaian Smock is a plaid shirt, made from hand woven strips that are sewn together and tailored into a Read More …
This batakari was made from narrow strip woven cloth that were woven, sewn together and tailored by the owner, Sylvanus Akakpo, in 1999. The machine embroidery around the neck was done by a local tailor. Akakpo made it to wear to the local Agotime Kente Festival, which he did from 1999-2015. A batakari or Ghanaian Read More …
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 kaba and slit is made from GTP (Ghana Textiles Printing Company) brand fabric, featuring a brown, purple, and blue wax print design. The Read More …
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, sometimes with a matching headwrap. This kaba and slit is made from GTP (Ghana Textiles Printing Company) brand fabric, featuring a brown and blue chinoiserie design. The fabric was Read More …
This T-shirt in support of UNIP was produced in Zambia for the 1991 election, the first multi-party election in the country since 1968. UNIP is an acronym for the United National Independence Party, a socialist party that had governed Zambia from its independence in 1964. The party comprehensively lost the 1991 election to the Movement Read More …
This fila was worn by Martin Sholagbade in his role as the Father of the Bride to a wedding. A fila is a Yoruba man’s cloth cap, worn with a matching agbada (large robe), and sokoto (trousers.Aso-oke translates as ‘top cloth’ or ‘high status cloth’. It is a formal cloth that is traditionally handwoven by Read More …
This man’s aso-oke agbada was worn by Martin Sholagbade in his role as the Father of the Bride at a wedding in 2009. It is an example of sanyan, a classic style of aso-oke, typically worn by celebrants and close family at weddings. Aso-oke translates as ‘top cloth’ or ‘high status cloth’. It is a Read More …
This white African lace buba (blouse), iro (wrap) and pele (shawl) was made in Nigeria and worn by Fashioning Africa Collecting Panelist, Edith Ojo, to a friend’s wedding in 2014. A buba and iro is a matching outfit worn by Yoruba women. African lace (actually industrially produced embroidery originally imported from Austria) is very popular Read More …
The pattern on these trousers is created using the adire eleko technique on white fabric. Adire is an indigo cloth produced through diverse resist dye methods by Yoruba women of southwesten Nigeria. The adire eleko technique uses casseva starch paste to create freehand or stenciled designs. Areas where the paste is applied resist the indigo Read More …
Tie-dyed sweatshirt from Zimbabwe. This long-sleeved cream sweatshirt formerly belonged to Charles Makhuya. In the 1970s Charles was a guerrilla / freedom fighter with the Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA), the armed wing of the Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU). Charles and the other recruits tie-dyed the shirts themselves to individualise them, using red ochre Read More …