Africa: The Fashion Continent

From catwalks in Lagos to music festivals in Casablanca, and from “image makers” in Marrakech to influencers in Johannesburg, a new generation of African creatives — fashion designers, photographers, bloggers, and hair and makeup artists — are redefining the continent’s aesthetic grammar. Bold, witty, and rebellious, this young, talented vanguard draws on its heritage in order to revalorize it, while adopting an ultra-modern approach. Their revolution forms part of a continent-wide demand for cultural reappropriation and the invention of a language exclusive to Africa.

This book celebrates the ebullient creativity of a generation that is overturning codes and narratives on the African continent to write a new chapter in fashion — one that is already inspiring the world.

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From the runway in Lagos and the Afropunk festival in Johannesburg, to the “image makers” of Marrakech and the influencers of Dakar or Accra, a new generation of African fashion designers, photographers, bloggers, and artists are redefining the aesthetic contours of the continent.

Audacious, humorous, disruptive, and innovative are the bywords of these young creatives who, while drawing upon and revalorizing their heritage, offer an ultra-contemporary new perspective. The revolutionary designers ― from Senegal to Nigeria to South Africa ― are reinventing their textile and historical traditions: bazin fabrics blend with plastics, stretch gives body to woven cloth, mesh beading inspires knitwear designs, and the traditional adire print ― championed by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Michelle Obama ― embellishes silk dresses and pencil skirts. Body artists transform their face or hair into an ambulant social manifesto, and photographers ― using clothing and accessories ― shed new light onto questions of identity, gender, and color.

This volume celebrates a creative, effervescent generation, which ― by breaking the rules and rewriting the narrative of the African continent ― is inventing a new and resolutely African chapter in the history of fashion that is now resonating across the globe.

About the Author:

Emmanuelle Courrèges has contributed to magazines including Elle, Marie-Claire, l'Express Styles, and Vogue Italia. She was born and raised in western Africa (Cameroon, Senegal, and the Ivory Coast), where she lived for twenty years. She founded LAGO54, a platform that supports and promotes contemporary African fashion designers in France.

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