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 lo
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
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
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, b
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