Tradition meets new ideas: Trends in African fashion

Through her art, Berlin-based illustrator and textile designer Diana Ejaita reconnects with her Nigerian heritage. In this illustration she pays tribute to Nigerian photographer J.D. 'Okhai Ojeikere (1930-2014). He was most famous for his series, spanning four decades, of black-and-white photos documenting how women in the country style their hair into intricate sculptures.

Beninese conceptual artist Meschac Gaba is renowned for his installations combining African and Western cultural references. In his series "Perruques d'Architecture" (Architectural Wigs), he plays with Africa's long tradition of braiding and towering hairstyles to represent landmarks such as the Berlin TV tower.

Senegalese fashion designer Adama Amanda Ndiaye is behind the label Adama Paris and knows that for African or black women, wearing their hair in its natural state has become a political statement. While she proudly does so herself, she also pushes the debate by claiming that wigs too can be an accessory to express freedom and beauty.

In her photographic work, artist and curator Ken Aïcha Sy from Senegal offers her visual interpretation of Afro-futurism by combining traditional codes and an imaginary narrative. Her double tryptich depicts figures symbolizing Adam and Eve, or Djissene and Awa, at different stages of life.

Bull Doff designers modernize traditional cloth by giving it an experimental, high-fashion edge. Inspired by punk rock and by weaving patterns from various African countries, they offer a commentary on the past and the future of ancient rituals having to do with birth, death and marriage.

British fashion designer José Hendo, born in Uganda, has specialized in designs using barkcloth, an ancient non-woven Ugandan fabric made from the bark of the mutuba tree. The ancient craft was declared an Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO in 2005, and she draws from it to address current questions on sustainability in contemporary fashion.

The colors on the designs by the label Njola Impression all come from materials collected from the streets, such as abandoned flip flops. Njola plans to establish a shop with her designs within the coming year. The exhibition "Connecting Afro Futures. Fashion — Hair — Design" is on show at Berlin's Kunstgewerbemuseum (Museum of Decorative Arts) from August 24 to December 1, 2019.