The National Gallery of Victoria houses the largest collection of African fashion, telling the political history of the continent through clothing, textiles and photography. (Image credit: NGV/Imane Ayissi, Maganga Mwagogo and Atong Atem)
Africa has long been overlooked in the contemporary fashion world. But in a new exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria, Fashion in Africa, Dr Christine Checinska, senior curator at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London, hopes to show the “abundance, not the scarcity” of African creativity.
“It’s about showing the world that we’ve always been international, we’ve always been creative, we’ve always been making art, we’ve always been having a global impact,” she said.
“It’s about being yourself, away from the white gaze,” says Dr Christine Checinska, NGV’s African fashion curator. (Credit: NGV/Eugene Hyland)
Developed by the Victoria and Albert Museum and exhibited in Melbourne in conjunction with the National Gallery of Australia, Fashion in Africa brings together 200 pieces from more than 50 designers, covering the fashion styles of more than 20 countries and regions on the African continent from the mid-20th century to the present.
By combining editorial, drawing, photography, ready-to-wear fashion, textiles, film and music, the exhibition is not only a visual treat, but also tells the political history of African fashion.
Here are five key pieces to check out (and maybe bring some more African-inspired design to your wardrobe).
Queerness and fashion hand-in-hand
The 360-degree Afrotopia room is filled with ready-to-wear accessories, suits, dresses and suit-dress hybrids that explore political issues in Africa.
South African designer Neo Serati Mofammere’s rainbow-hued suits epitomize the unisex brand’s style: chaotic, fun, bold, exciting, youthful and sociopolitically optimistic.
“Imagine a world where you can wear short shirts, see-through tops, and have African men wear pink,” Mo Farmer said.
Nao Serati is a fashion brand based in Johannesburg, South Africa, that explores the boundaries of gender, art and sexuality. (Image credit: NGV)
The ruffled set’s mix of colors was meant to celebrate gender fluidity and represent the invisibility of non-binary Africans.
“It refers to the union of masculine and feminine .. it represents your pride in who you are,” Dr. Ciesinska said.
Wearing as a political act
The “Politics and Poetics of Fabric” room tells the story of African leaders using textiles to protest colonial rule.
Commemorative cloth has historically been used as a symbol of political resistance in Africa. Nelson Mandela’s calico was mass-produced and proudly worn at rallies in South Africa in the 1990s. (Image credit: NGV Lillie Thompson)
The Nelson Mandela ANC Memorial Cloth is a screen-printed cotton fabric produced in the 1990s for the African National Congress, South Africa’s anti-apartheid political party.
The photo was taken to an African National Congress (ANC) rally in London to raise money for Nelson Mandela’s fight for his freedom.
The exhibition features portraits of prominent members of Australia’s African diaspora community. Francis Acquah AM has been made a Member of the Order of Australia for his services to mental health care and the community. (Credit: NGV/Suleiman Thomas)
This style of commemorative cloth is common in Africa and often features slogans, portraits of political figures and a flag printed on the edges.
Nelson Mandela’s banner reads “For a better life for all; working together for work, peace and freedom.”
“In many African countries, making and wearing traditional textiles became a strategic political act at independence,” Dr Checinska said.
Capturing change
James Barno was Ghana’s first fashion photographer and a pioneer in resisting racial prejudice in 20th century photography.
His photography is playful, cosmopolitan and black-proud.
The exhibition Capturing Fashion Change in Africa is on display at NGV International in Melbourne from May 31 to October 6, 2024. (Image credit: NGV Lillie Thompson)
In 1969, Barnes & Noble opened its first color processing lab in Ghana, but with one important difference. He did not use the Shirley card, a widely used reference card used to calibrate skin tones, shadows, and lighting during the printing process. Because it depicted a white woman, Kodak employee Shirley Page, photos of people with darker skin tones were rendered poorly and sometimes unrecognizable.
“He refused to use Kodak Shirley Card,” Dr. Ciesinska said.
“He is committed to authentically representing the richness, grace and diversity of black skin.”
Modern and timeless
Imagine African textiles intertwined with gender fluidity and you get the design project “Lagos Space Program.
The company’s founder, Adeju Thompson, uses Nigerian customs and textiles in his work, including Adiré, a cloth made using a dyeing technique by Yoruba women in southwestern Nigeria.
Thompson worked with a group of female dyers in the area and reintroduced this ancient tradition into modern practice in the masks created by David Gardner in the series.
Lagos Space Project is a non-binary sustainable design project that uses traditional African dyeing techniques and textiles in the context of queer stories. (Credit: NGV Lillie Thompson)
Big lips, long eyelashes and pearl necklaces, this is an ode to the eccentricity of traditional Nigerian masquerade.
As Dr Ciesinska explains: “Female roles can be played by males and male roles can be played by females, so there is always an inherent gender fluidity.”
Bridging Africa with the West
Designer Chris Seydou’s elegant ball gowns challenge Western perceptions of luxury fashion.
Seydoux learned his craft from his mother, a seamstress in the town of Maricati, before moving to Paris to pursue a career in fashion.
Designer Chris Seydou has pioneered the transformation of African textiles into contemporary designs. He is known for his use of bogolan, or mud cloth, a traditional Malian textile. (Nabil Zokot)
despite his change of residence, Saidu continues to incorporate traditional Malaysian bògòlanfini or bogolan (mud cloth.
Dr. Ciesinska described Seydoux’s work as “an expression of the enduring elegance of African women through evening wear.”
Chris Seydoux is widely known as the “father of African fashion”. After moving from Mali to Paris to pursue design, he founded an organisation called the Federation of African Ready-to-wear Designers (Fédération Africaine de Prêt-à-porter). (Image credit: NGV Lillie Thompson)
NGV African Fashion will be on display at the NGV International Pavilion in Melbourne until October 6, 2024.
