Africa Fashion

Can fashion be art and does it belong in a museum? Certainly! After all, art enables us to express our individuality in connection to the time and place we live in, and so does fashion. London’s Victoria and Albert Museum (V &A) has the largest, most comprehensive collection of dress in the world. But this collection has been very Eurocentric, except for some important items from India, China, and Japan. The V & A is now trying to redress this imbalance with a major exhibition on African fashion, celebrating the imagination of African designers from over twenty countries. The exhibition is very much of the present moment: in response to Black Lives Matter and #MeToo, many people across the arts are pushing for finally giving a much greater voice to groups that have been marginalized in the past, such as persons of colour and women. Africa fashion is the first exhibition in the V & A’s 170-year history to focus on African creativity. The exhibition also explores the connection between fashion and politics: the rise of African designers is closely connected to the end of colonialism and the rise of independent African states. Africa Fashion will be on show at the Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington, London, until 16 April 2023.

Here are some photos to give you a flavour: