aphia created a new unique piece for the v&a show, inspired by the ghana s first prime minister and president, kwame nkrumah. so the kwame nkrumah piece was inspired by the straws and then the mask. with the mask, you see a face, which represents kwame nkrumah, and the star, which represents the star of africa. so the straws are black, which represents the black race. so putting this together represents african unity. retail outlets such as the lotte in accra have become showcases for this new breed of creative stars. stocking the great and the good of contemporary fashion from across africa, both local clientele and tourists serve to promote design excellence. so i started the lot in 2019, and at the time, there was a lot going on in the african fashion luxury space but there wasn t a space where people could actually come in a one stop sort of shop to experience african
culture, music and fashion. dr christine checinska is the curator in charge of the show. she and her team have dedicated the last two years to discovering the key creatives, stories and historical legacy of african fashions. so christine, i know we caught you in the middle of installing the exhibition. what is your ambition for the show? the ambition for the show is really to give a platform for these wonderful creatives on the continent to showcase their work in the way that they would like it to be seen. i am always conscious that there are many stories that can be told about the african fashion scene, and our story, the story we want to tell, is one of unbounded creativity and the idea of fashion as a self defining artform. well, this looks fabulous. you ve got your mixologists, as it were, your co creators. have you put the exhibition
fashion, wasn t he? why was that? i think because he wasn t frightened of doing the unusual and pushing boundaries. i love this piece in kente, but of course, it wasn t the thing to do to tailor kente when he was working. he is seen as one of the first people to tailor and cut and make a garment from kente. traditionally, it would have been wrapped. in this period, it would have been wrapped. the other thing that i love is that apparently he made a pair ofjeans in kente which must have been scandalous then, because you re not supposed to do it. kente, originally, it s the fabric the aristocracy. the fabric of the aristocracy. the significance of cloth in many african countries is the focus of a particular section of the show. you can t think about african fashions without first thinking about the place of the cloth. of course, the african continent has this long and industrious history of multiple fabrics and textile traditions,
so, the impact the recognition has could bring, or might be so, the impact, the recognition has could bring, or might be bringing, is for me to challenge myself to not think i ve arrived or i ve made it in life, even though there s some sort of portfolio beauty. i think, for me, it s like, how do i challenge myself to do much more better than i did last year or two months ago? so i m every day, you know, you know, constantly thinking what story i can develop. featured in the v&a show as one of nigeria s most exciting photographers, producing images that are both cutting edge and original, he encourages viewers to rethink their perception of african style beyond the stereotype. people should perceive fashion or african ads from that or african art from that headspace of ensuring that, you know, there s a lot of intellectual property
of doing the unusual and pushing boundaries. i love this piece in kente, but of course, it wasn t the thing to do to tailor kente when he was working. he is seen as one of the first people to tailor and cut and make a garment from kente. traditionally, it would have been wrapped. in this period, it would have been wrapped. the other thing that i love is that apparently he made a pair ofjeans in kente which must have been scandalous then, because you re not supposed to do it. kente, originally, it s the fabric the aristocracy. the significance of cloth in many african countries is the focus of a particular section of the show. you can t think about african fashions without first thinking about the place of the cloth. of course, the african continent has this long and industrious history of multiple fabrics and textile traditions, whether that is kanga, kente, ajare, print cloth.