will take until september to come up with a winner. now on bbc news — africa fashion: on its own terms. brenda emmanus explores the global impact of african fashion. african creatives are shifting the landscape of fashion by simply being themselves. there has evolved a single—mindedness when coupled with creativity has produced a generation of innovators who have caught the world's attention and on a trip to ghana i got to understand why. i think it has a very kind of fresh energy, a very vibrant energy. we are just in a period now that african brands are just owning that, owning what we have and projecting it in however they see fit. africa has been shaped by diverse histories, cultural positions and influences. these have also served to create an exciting contemporary fashion scene which is as dynamic and eclectic as the continent itself. this ever—evolving creative scene and booming fashion industry has inspired a landmark exhibition at the victoria and albert museum in london, highlighting this explosion of creativity, while celebrating the designers, the ingenuity, and the unstoppable global impact of 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 in sections that tell the story that you want to tell? absolutely. so, the exhibition is split across two floors. we're up here on the mezzanine floor at the moment. but downstairs, the exhibition jumps off from the era of independence. downstairs we have cloth from independence, we have the vanguard designers from independence. we have the photographers, so this idea of self—definition through cloth, through fashion, through photography downstairs. so, the historical period is from 1957 to the mid—1990s to coincide with the end of the apartheid era. the story of agency begins in that swell of creativity that was the cultural renaissance. archive: my name is africa. gather round me. gather round my writers, musicians, artists. the 1966 film by william grays of the first world festival of black arts. this groundbreaking event featured over 2,000 writers, artists and performers from africa and the african diaspora. and was viewed as a mark of the cultural renaissance taking place at a period of time when fashion, music and the visual arts formed a key part of africa's moment of self—definition. over 50 years on from the dakar festival, the v&a will again explore africa's ambition to define itself, but this time through fashion. over 250 objects will be on display including some new acquisitions for the museum. this is one section that you are just about finishing now. what do we have here? this section, we are calling it our mixology section. it is this idea of showcasing the diverse nature of the fashion aesthetics on the continent. this one is about showcasing designers for whom it is about mixing every pattern in the pattern swatch book, mixing every colour, drawing on many different cultures to create these really unique looks. on the one hand you have the mixologists mixing everything up. you have the minimalists, very clean, architectural cutting, but 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 way african fashion and african designers have been able to influence global fashion. i think for a long time the perception was always that trends and fashion kind of moved from the global north towards the global south. i think we are all aware that in many cases there has also been times when fashion has moved from the global south towards the global north, although its movements and influences are usually not credited properly, not compensated properly and often appropriated. i think from aesthetic perspective, the continent hasn't really been given an opportunity to present its aesthetic and design offerings in the way that it currently is, and i think we are seeing a lot more of that and there is a kind of really fresh and vibrant energy because we are able to see the work from designers from different corners of the continent and because the continent is so diverse in its culture and its aesthetics. there really is a unique and diverse variety of aesthetic offerings that we are seeing. there is such an effort and such a push back against this idea of bold colours. or wax print. we are seeing people whose work is extremely minimalist, we are seeing people whose work is maximalist. we see people who are kind of creating this new aesthetic that is unique to themselves or unique to their areas. and to me all of that is valid and all of that is african. we travelled to ghana, a country's central to the story the v&a plans to tell, intent on experiencing first hand some of its famous landmark sites and tourist spots while meeting some of the creatives making waves at home and abroad. first stop, the buzz of makola market, the heart of commercial activity in the city and the place to find almost anything, including the traditional kente, the vibrant coloured handwoven cloth associated with this region. chic shops and cool restaurants are constantly opening up around the capital, and as a journalist covering fashion culture and the arts, it is easy to see why ghana's creatives have been inspired by this magical blend of the trendy and the traditional to produce work that has brought some of them global success. with both fashion and ghana being close to her heart, i paid a visit to lady ashley adjaye, wife of the internationally renowned architect, david. the couple left london to make ghana their home. we have seen constantly african designers making their mark on an international level. but it's not in a way where they're recreating or reinterpreting what has been done by western designers, they're holding onto their own culture and identity and history and legacy, do you think that is the distinctive thing about it? i think that is an important aspect of it. i think there is a lot of hybridisation. i think social media has allowed for so much of an exchange. i think ghanaian designers are learning from nigerians who are learning from the senegalese and togolese. we are all, like i said, there is a synergy, we are all bouncing off each other and learning from each other. there is a confidence that has grown out of the continent. do you think that ghana has a specific spirit and energy about it? yes, exactly. i love how when you walk down the street, you see women who are in tailored clothes. you don't see that in many places around the world. there is a sense of pride in how you dress and clothes that fit you for your body. it is not, generally, off—the—shelf. and so, i think at any scale, at any budget, you have people who are really wearing their bodies and their clothes as a presentation and as a celebration. so yeah, i think that that spirit, is now, the world is seeing that and thinking, "oh, wow, "those colours, those shapes. "those creations are really inspiring." in order for the world to really receive it and understand it, they need to come to west africa. this shouldn'tjust be an export, but this should actually be an entry into this place and space, so you can really see how it is part of the larger culture. the adjaye's traditional wedding garments are one of several items in the london exhibition sourced from a public call out for objects, photographs and clothes that represent personal artefacts and memories of the continent. kofi ansah is an extraordinary designer. he was an extraordinary man. he passed away before, i think, the world got to see how extraordinary he was. i am thankful that i could have a piece, that i commissioned a piece that can be shared and that his legacy can live on alongside the kofi ansah foundation. it is important to share traditions and yes, it was a very personal day, but it was important to me for other, particularly black and brown kids to see, you can wear, on your special day, you can wear your own tradition. you can wear something that speaks to who you are, and not to an international ideal of what that day might be, or what beauty is. 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 studies 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 will 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 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 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, whether that is kanga, kente, ajare, print cloth. we wanted to show a glimpse of that breadth of techniques and that long history within the exhibition. traditional cloth and artisanal craft are revisited in the modern designs of aisha ayensu's christie brown label. her architectural silhouettes have resonated with a global audience and seen the ghanaian designer dressing celebrities and entrepreneurs with her new take on power dressing. africa fashion once again defining itself. the whole idea around the brand is to use our, our tradition — or inspiration from our tradition, our culture, our textile — and all this, all this influence that we see around us every day. and create, like, interesting pieces — modern, contemporary pieces that women all, the whole world round gets to experience and love, because it fits into her closet seamlessly, but still pays homage to that african heritage. there was an interesting period in african history, when you think about it, in like 2008, around that time there was all this talk of the continent rising, there was a sense of optimism, and everyone was, you know, just in a certain spirit of seeing the continent in the best light, portraying the content in the best light — and i needed to be a part of that movement. so that is why i decided to start a fashion brand that spoke to that, that spoke to the new africa — or the africa that i knew. it's not clothes, but bold accessories that have defined the success of another ghanaian creative, aphia sakyi. on a mission to inspire the next generation of artisans and keep her craft alive, she has trained 50 young apprentices at her creative design school based at her studio in accra. her work has graced catwalks, been featured in magazine editorials, films and theatre productions, and she's attracted royal and celebrity clientele, drawn to her statement pieces inspired by iconic historical and cultural leaders. there are a lot of people outside africa who always want to connect and know more about who they are, where they come from. so incorporating the artefacts in fashion helps them connect. there was a collection we designed, which was till i rise, which talks about african history and how we've been able to rise from slavery. how we've been able to fight and still standing tall and not letting our history define who we are. so that collection talks about our ancestors and how far they've fought for us. that's wonderful. so this is part of her collection, but she made this... aphia created a new unique piece for the v&a show, inspired by 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 people where people could actually come in — a one—stop sort of shop — to experience african luxury and to see brands from all over the continent. so i think a lot of it has to do with — well, i guess, social media. so now there's a lot more access to see what's on offer before you actually experience a product. and in ghana there's been a huge influx of people coming from all over the world, africa, europe and britain, so especially for the lotte, we have a lot of travellers who have seen or heard about the store through that time as well who come in, yes. the digital world has accelerated the expansion of the african fashion industry and provided its creatives with a host of platforms beyond retail outlets and catwalks to define what african fashion can be. focus has also turned on a new generation of photographers and image—makers like nigerian stephen tayo, who is highly regarded for his unique vision of african style. 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 art from that headspace of ensuring that, you know, there's a lot of intellectual property involved, there's a lot of, you know, critical thinking involved, there's a lot of creative thinking involved. stephen is amongst a number 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. 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. and these are wonderful photographs that are staged in their bedroom. really? so you get these wonderful backdrops that are set up, but it's about exploring non—binary identities — non—binary muslim identities — and i think they're fabulously engaging works. and you see this wonderful mix of textures, the jewellery that they use, and there's also a reference to many different cultures as well. also challenging perceptions in a radical way is a nigerian designer and founder of orange culture, adebayo oke—lawal. designing since the age of ten, he's admired by fashion editors and consumers for his androgynous creations that combine traditional nigerian patterns with modern style. his clothes explore intersectional identities and critique toxic masculinity. this idea of how gender is supposed to be perceived, and stereotypes around gender, i've always been passionate about and it's something that i'm also challenging as well. i think even just challenging the issues that we face as nigerians, talking about things that we experience. as a creative, i think it's part of ourjobs to sort of fight for our community, and speak about issues we face, and our communities face, and i think that that's something my brand has always been doing and will always continue to do, because i think, you know, this is our community, this is who we are, and so we cannot have a deaf ear when things are happening, you know? we have to be passionate enough to fight for our people. so i like the idea of creating clothes — i mean, for anyone and everyone, yes, in that sort space of, like, community and unity — but also i like the idea of creating clothing for people who don't necessarily fit into the stereotype — into the norm — people who are looking for clothes that add more, that are more exciting, more adventurous, that have a story to tell. but talent alone doesn't guarantee his success. adebayo believes that resilience and a clear vision has put him and his peers centre stage. so many of us, myself, all these artists, we've been nominated for awards internationally, we've shown in different countries, we've spoken about what we do, about our country — in a positive way, despite the fact that maybe things are not 100. we're still pushing to build something here for ourselves. and i think that's where you can see the resilience of a nigerian — we always find a way to push. even just around quality, people are always so, "africans, their clothes are terrible, they're badly "made, oh, it's slow fashion, they cannot be good, "they cannot scale up." and now a lot of us are selling in different places around the world. people are buying our clothes. people are wearing our clothes everywhere. so even that perception, as well, is something that me and other designers like myself are trying to change — we're producing locally, but we're still able to sell to people. it might not be, you know, the way it is in different countries because they have all the facilities, but with the small we have, we're looking to build something. we have this idea of where we want to go and we have this idea of where nigeria could be, and what our fashion industry could be, and we're building towards that. with its spotlight on talent from over 20 countries, the v&a has shown the potential of fashion to tell great stories, challenge perceptions, and inspire innovation, while it's providing a glimpse of the glamour, politics and history of what is an ever—evolving and globally influential contemporary scene. if you look at the history of exhibitions that have taken, that have taken place at the v&a, it ranges from mcqueen to dior to balenciaga. and so to be able to have african designers and their work kind of sit within that space is, is very validating. i believe, you know, african creators in general — whether it's in music or art or fashion — are just really owning their space. we're not waiting or knocking on doors. we're not waiting for acceptance. we're not waiting for anyone to say, "it's ok, you can, "you canjoin the cool club now." we'rejust being. and it's beautiful to watch. the continent is this - wonderful place of diverse cultures and histories. i think fashion could be - a catalyst with which to tell those. so i hope that people - are inspired enough to find out more, and perhaps think about the continent - in a more expansive way. this exhibition is amazing because people finally see more about us than just malaria or music, you know? it's finally like there's so much more, and people are finally able to experience us in a very, very beautiful way, you know? through our actual talent. through us as human beings. so i think, for me, that's what's exciting, you know? so yeah. hello. for quite a few of us, it isjust a little cooler and fresher than it was 2a hours ago. and we do have some slightly lower temperatures in prospect over the next couple of days, but that is not the end of the heat, farfrom it. look at this on wednesday afternoon in southern spain. we saw temperatures up to 45 degrees, and some of that heat is on the move thanks to this area of low pressure to the west of iberia. as this drifts northwards, it will act as a pump. the winds around that low will pump that hot air in our direction. the heat likely to peak around monday or tuesday with temperatures in the mid to possibly high 30s celsius. hence this amber extreme heat warning from the met office covering large parts of england and wales. the risk to health, the risk of disruption to transport and infrastructure. but in the shorter—term, yes, we do have some slightly cooler conditions out there, 10—16 degrees for thursday morning. through the day, we will see some spells of sunshine, the best of that down towards the south, where it should stay dry. parts of north wales, the north midlands, maybe east anglia could catch the odd shower, and certainly there will be some showers for northern england, for northern ireland and for scotland. the odd one of those could be on the heavy side. temperatures, well, 17 degrees for aberdeen and glasgow, 19 in belfast. still some heat in the south east corner, 27—28 degrees, but probably not exceeding 30. now, as we go through thursday night into friday, again, relatively cool and fresh. we will see more cloud, though, rolling into northern ireland, parts of scotland with some splashes of rain. and friday morning, temperatures generally between 10—14 degrees. through friday, then, we have this frontal system pushing its way south—eastwards, quite a weak affair. it's running into an area of high pressure, but it will still bring some cloud and some outbreaks of rain. these cloudier skies pushing south—eastwards as the day wears on. the odd splash of rain here and there, but north—westerly winds keeping the most intense heat away to the south for the time being. still 27 degrees there for london, but a little cooler and fresher further north and west. however, watch those temperatures climb through the weekend and into the start of next week. scotland and northern ireland around the middle 20s, northern england into the middle 30s. and further south, well, this is the forecast for heathrow. it'sjust an example, highs of 37, but we could get a little higher than that. we could get quite close to the all—time uk record. welcome to bbc news, i'm kasia madera. our top stories: chaos reigns in sri lanka, after fleeing abroad the ousted president goes back on his promise to resign. the security forces, the police, all the armed guards — they are nowhere to be seen. another public building here in sri lanka which has now been occupied by the people. joe biden insists america's commitment to israel's security is unshakeable, as he arrives there on his first middle east tour as president. and then there were six. two candidates are eliminated after the first vote to choose britain's new prime minister. and, the man 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