of photographers and image makers reflecting the dynamism and eclectic nature of the continent s creatives. part of the story of the power of fashion on the continent, it s also about self representation. so you ll see, on both floors of the exhibition, photography features really strongly. so in this section we re looking at the contemporary photographers like sarah waiswa, who takes photos of festival goers i almost call them my festival flaneurs. so she she builds relationships with these wonderfully, dapperly dressed gentlemen and women, and then she ll follow them through the festivals, like afropunk, for example. she but it s wonderful that there s a relationship with her sitters, and i think you get these wonderfully intimate pictures of the fashions, the contemporary fashions. elsewhere, we re focusing on the designers. this is the wearer through the photographer s lens. so this work is by gouled ahmed, and gouled explores their identities.
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,
to create these really unique looks. 0n the one hand you have to mixologist mixing everything up. you have the minimalists, very clean, architectural cutting, you also have this section which is artisanal, showing the mark of a hand. whether it is handmade couture with hand cut bark cloth flowers, you have this hand organic cotton woven in mali. so all of the pieces in the artisanal section are here because they show the mark of the hand. it s notjust the designers that are serving to shape the narrative of contemporary african fashion. photographers, content creators and stylists, like kenyan sonny dolat have been central as storytellers of this current movement. over the past, i would say 10 15 years, i think there has been an interesting shift in the ways african fashion and african designers have been able
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.
what is your beauty, what is your heritage. so i m excited to share that. the v&a honour the late kofi ansah with a showcase featuring the designer s garments in the vanguard section of the exhibition. kofi ansah is known as the person that propelled ghana onto the international fashion stage. he studied at chelsea art school, created his first collections while working for other people in london, really kind of finessing his skill. but all the while knowing that he wanted to go back to accra, to have his own brand. i remember speaking to one of his sons, ryan ansah, and ryan said that he remembers his father s work being that piece that would get you noticed at a party, that it would be unforgettable. of course that meant you could probably only wear the thing once, it was unforgettable. he was renowned as the enfant terrible of ghanaian fashion, wasn t he? why was that? i think because he wasn t frightened