R6138/5 Shirt; Dashiki
This dashiki, called kitenge in Kenya, belonged to Collecting Panel member Tony Kalume. Read More …
Tag: Postcolonialism Pan-Africanism & Resistance
R6138/4 Shirt; Dashiki
This dashiki tunic from the 1980s belonged to Judith Birya who used it for everyday wear. Dashiki, called kitenge in Kenya, is a distinctive colourful textile which is popular in East and West Africa and the African diaspora. Collected by Tony Kalume as part of the Fashioning Africa project. Place: Kaloleni, Kilifi County, Kenya, East Read More …
R6138/3 Shirt; Dashiki
This dashiki tunic from the 1980s belonged to Beryl Adhiambo who used it for everyday wear. Dashiki, called kitenge in Kenya, is a distinctive colourful textile which is popular in East and West Africa and the African diaspora. Collected by Tony Kalume as part of the Fashioning Africa project. Place: Kisumu County, Kenya, East Africa, Read More …
R6138/2 Dress; Tunic; Dashiki
This dashiki tunic was worn by the owner, Tracyter Mutala, to a wedding in Bungoma County, Kenya where she coordinated her look with other female members of the groom’s family. Tracyter customised the tunic with a red lace trim. Collected by Tony Kalume as part of the Fashioning Africa project. Place: Bungoma County, Kenya, East Read More …
R6138/1 Shirt
This shirt was bought by the Kenyan owner Casbery Omurunga as a plain black button down shirt. He had his tailor add dashiki fabric to the front, shoulders and cuffs, and wore the finished shirt to his nephew’s baptism. Dashiki, called kitenge in Kenya, is a distinctive colourful textile which is popular in East and 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 …
R6129/10 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 …
R6044/7 Badge
This pin badge features the acronym for the South West Africa People’s Organization, a political party and former independence movement in Namibia. Namibia gained independence from South Africa in 1990. It formerly belonged to Charles Makhuya. In the 1970s Charles was a guerrilla / freedom fighter with the Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA), the armed Read More …
R6044/6 Badge
This pin badge features the acronym for the South West Africa People’s Organization, a political party and former independence movement in Namibia, which gained independence from South Africa in 1990. Collected as part of the Fashioning Africa project. Creator: unknown Place: Namibia, Southern Africa, Africa Date: 1970s