Afrosartorialism

Daniel Obasi (Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram) is a 23 year old stylist, photographer, and art director from Abia and now based in Lagos, who is being hailed as one a prolific representative of the New African Aesthetics movement. Daniel has shot and styled a number of iconic fashion campaigns and collaborated with national and international brands, most notably Vlisco on the …

I have meant to do reports on individual African countries for some time. Referring to African fashion in the singular doesn’t capture the market’s diversity and it doesn’t take into account the different speeds at which the industry is evolving in each country. It also reproduces assumptions that the styles from the continent fall into an homogeneous category, overlooking, among …

I love this editorial by South Africa-based photographer Luca Vincenzo featuring the Sudanese model Malaan Ajang. It captures the focus on black identity and the boho atmosphere of the afrosartorial aesthetic.   As a matter of fact, I seem to love all of Vincenzo’s works 🙂        

  I added a Resources page with links to relevant articles and books on African fashion and style. It is meant to be updated as my research evolves. Any suggestions are welcome. Enjoy and share!

Last week I was in Palermo for Resignifications: The Black Mediterranean. The conference was the last of a string of international events organised by Tisch School of the Arts, New York, Florence: La Pietra Dialogues, NYU Institute of African American Affairs, Harvard’s Hutchins Center for African & African American Research devoted to black art, cultural theory, and practice. Past conversations have included …

Peter Irungu is a Kenyan creative focusing on digital art. He specialises in landscape and cityscape photography, creating exciting timelapse shots of Nairobi, where he is based. I caught up with Peter via email to discuss his recent switch to fashion photography and what the future has in store for him.   Here is our exchange: *** You are primarily …

Anthony Bila, the photographer renowned for popularising South African street cultures across the globe, photographed his mother Ethel for Heritage Month, also known as Braai Day and Shaka Day. Mandela created it in 1996 to celebrate the diversity of cultures and beliefs of the country.     Bila portrays his mother in styles of her creation, which pay homage to …

This May Burberry released the final part of its 2018 Pre-Fall ad campaign featuring and art directed by the British-Ghanaian model Adwoa Aboah. The portfolio is set in the model’s homelands: Juergen Teller shot the first installment in London, Aboah’s place of birth, moving then to New York where she is currently based.       This last series follows the …

South African designer Marianne Fassler has just released the lookbook of the Autumn Winter collection “Concrete Flower”. The release is accompanied by a poem by Melissa Fontini. Her arms spike contrasting petals overhead you can tell she is different from the rest care-free and open to explore the crannies of our world optimistic is this unusual wild flower whose tongue …

Had I the funds to travel I’d attend one of these two events in May. The line-ups are interesting. Afrodyssée, the International Market of African Trends, will take place in Geneva on the 12th.   This yearly event provides African designers a space to showcase their fashion and accessory collections. There will be talks, a fashion show and a gallery …