Tag: fashion

Bold and beautiful dresses

Rue 114 is a Ghanaian fashion brand that caters for the plus-size woman. Launched in 2011 by Serwah Asante, the brand celebrates beauty in all shapes and sizes.  Forget ‘forgiving’ black and boring pastels – their latest collection in particular is bold, beautiful and anything but understated.

Fun, colour, print and a flair for the dramatic are what this collection is about. This is not for the wallflower or for a woman with low self-esteem … it’s for the curvy woman who knows she’s beautiful, and flaunts it.

Rue 114’s Spring-Summer collection, called Prints ‘n Scribes, takes its cue from colour blocking and pushes the boundaries of African fashion. The pieces are available for purchase online; prices range between $40  to $440.

The "Roshni" cute-as-a-button dress
The “Roshni” cute-as-a-button dress
The "Kiki" glam rock blazer.
The “Kiki” glam rock blazer
The "Tasha" print block bustiere with the "Joyce" prints n tulle ruffle skirt.
The “Tasha” print block bustiere with the “Joyce” prints ‘n tulle ruffle skirt
The "Dalita" afro rock skinny jeans
The “Dalita” afro rock skinny jeans
The "Kara" mint print sweetheart dress
The “Kara” mint print sweetheart dress
The "Zeljka" sweetheart 'n tulle dress
The “Zeljka” sweetheart ‘n tulle dress
The "Ayana" Cut-outs and Prints dress
The “Ayana” cut-outs and prints dress
The "Shantel" afro rock mermaid gown
The “Shantel” afro rock mermaid gown

 

Fashion Week kicks off in DR Congo

While the army is battling rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s unstable east, models prepared to sashay down the catwalk at the first Fashion Week in the capital Kinshasa.

Gloria Mteyu (29) told AFP that she had organised the three-day catwalk and fashion exhibition “to show that in Congo, there is not just war”.

Back-to-back wars that ravaged DR Congo from 1996 to 2003 have given way to a complex web of rebel groups still terrorising the eastern provinces, which are rich in mineral assets.

Even the world’s largest UN peacekeeping force has not managed to stop atrocities including the killing of civilians, using child soldiers and rape on a scale that has given the country the label of “rape capital of the world”.

Mteyu, who lives in New York, said ahead of the catwalk that beyond showing another side of DR Congo, she also wanted to give homegrown talents a platform.

“Because I myself am a designer, and since I have had the chance to go to other countries on several continents … I wanted to come home, do the same thing and organise a catwalk to showcase our talent, our Congolese style,” she said.

“We have not seen many Congolese at other Fashion Weeks so here is the first chance to showcase Congolese designers who work well,” she said.

(Pic: Kinshasa Fashion Week's Facebook page)
(Pic: Kinshasa Fashion Week’s Facebook page)

Twelve Congolese designers including Okasol, who dresses Papa Wemba, one of Africa’s most popular singers, and eight foreign designers including South Africa’s David Tlale, have been invited.

According to the event’s Facebook page, the organisers also made a casting call for models in Kinshasa this month.

Local residents however complained that ticket prices to the show were out of reach to most in the country where two-thirds of inhabitants live on less than a dollar a day.

A regular seat costs $150, while a package including two nights of catwalk and access to exhibitions costs $300.

“It is shocking. No one has access, only the rich are targeted. There is no chance for everyone to experience this. Even the middle class can’t go,” said Clarisse, who earns $200 a month.

Decrying the “astronomical prices” on the show’s Facebook page, Muriel T. Munga asked: “Who are you targeting? The Kinshasa High Society? If that’s who you’re targeting, then you have succeeded.”

“The first three rows will be packed… but the other rows will be empty,” she said.

Habibou Bangre for AFP

In search of Africa’s next catwalk queen

Inspired by Tyra Banks’ America’s Next Top Model, Africa’s Next Top Model is a new reality TV contest in search of the continent’s next Iman, Alek Wek or Oluchi Orlandi. It will be shot on location in South Africa, with Nigerian supermodel Orlandi hosting and producing it.

Twelve aspiring models will be chosen during auditions to compete for the top prize – a coveted modelling contract. They’ll spend several weeks living together, receiving fashion training and being judged on weekly challenges. Auditions open soon in Angola, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa and Tanzania and the series will be broadcast on M-Net Africa Magic channels later this year.

Sudanese fashion: The Darfur Sartorialist

When I came to Darfur in 2009 to work with a United Nations agency that supports internally displaced people (IDPs), I spent a long time in IDP camps. There I grew increasingly intrigued by the incredible variety of colours and patterns of women’s clothes. Like many westerners, I had a preconceived idea of Darfur and Muslim women in general, and was amazed at how different reality turned out to be. I started photographing their fashion to show my friends back home. Eventually, it became apparent that this was a story waiting to be told from an angle the media rarely shows, and so I created The Darfur Sartorialist.

In Sudan, men’s fashion mostly consists of a white jalabiya (arab tunic) with or without a turban, and white or sometimes leopard-patterned shoes. Urban Sudanese men will often wear westernised outfits with pressed trousers and un-tucked shirts in soft colours.

Women’s clothing is much more diverse (as is often the case!). There is a mix of the traditional abaya (arab tunic), the toub (many metres of colourful cloth wrapped around the body and head), and western-influenced fashion such as long dresses with tight shirts underneath to cover the skin, or denim jackets and skirts to match the headscarves. You often see cheap versions of designer clothes, even in IDP camps, like this fake Chanel belt on a young woman.

chanel

Most of the photos I take are of either internally displaced people living in IDP camps, or Darfuris working with humanitarian agencies to assist them. It’s not always easy to distinguish between the two. I know most of the people in the photos, either because they were working with me or because I spent a long time in the camps and became friends with some of the residents.

Culture plays a big role in the expected behaviour from women, so if you ask someone you don’t know directly for a photograph, their natural reaction is to refuse. Curiously, if I photograph children, it’s the mothers that come and ask enthusiastically to be photographed as well! For the most part, though, I have not encountered any problems – people are often flattered that a foreigner wants to photograph their clothes. It’s true that government is often suspicious of foreigners, and I was indeed questioned a couple of times for taking photos. However, most of my photos were taken in the camps where I worked side-by-side with security officials who were fine with it.

women

I did not expect The Darfur Sartorialist to be a success. I thought it would be a short-lived curiosity; people would see it and then move on to the next novelty. The fact that there has been constant media interest since its inception in June 2012 has come as quite a surprise. I’d say the highlights of the project so far have been the four-metre-tall exhibits of my photos at the Sines World Music Festival in Portugal in 2012, and a recent feature in the Guardian.

The fact is that my photos do not fit at all with the image most of us have of Darfuri African Muslims. I hope this will launch a discussion within us about whether the reality most media convey about the world is correct or complete. I hope the project gets people to question the reality they know. When we assimilate entire countries to one single idea (of Sudan, of Afghanistan, of Africa), we lose a lot of the complexity and paradoxes that exist in those societies. We forget that Burkina Faso, a poor country, has a thriving cultural scene with some of the best jazz and film festivals in Africa, or that Somalia and South Sudan have produced world-class rap musicians.

Click on the first image below to view the gallery. Pics: Pedro Matos

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Fashion to dye for

Christie Brown is a Ghanaian-based luxury women’s fashion label aimed at the contemporary African woman. It was founded in March 2008 by creative director Aisha Obuobi and named after her grandmother Christie Brown, a talented seamstress.

Obuobi’s creations extend from bespoke gowns to statement pieces to accessories, all inspired by African culture and art.

They’ve featured on the runways of Africa Fashion Week and Paris Fashion Week, and in the pages of Vogue Italia, Harper’s Bazaar, Black Hair and Glamour.

Obuobi worked with tie-dye and batik for her latest collection, Resort 2013. It’s flirtatious, whimsical and part of a collaboration with Grace of Grazia Fabrics, who has built a 20-year-old batik/tie-dye business.

Click on an image below to view the collection.

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