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The largest Exhibition of ‘African Fashion’ In the United Kingdom Is Set to Open in London

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Britain is gearing up to host the world’s first and most comprehensive exhibition on African fashion in London, offering a glimpse into the continent’s cultural heritage and designers.

“Africa Fashion,” which opens on Saturday at the Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum, is the country’s first exhibition dedicated to the medium.

The show will provide a “glimpse into the glamour and politics of the fashion scene,” according to project curator Elisabeth Murray.

Celebrating Africa’s amazing fashion scene today, the exhibition has 250 objects, sketches, photos and film from across the continent, starting from the African liberation years in the 1950s to 1980s to up-and-coming contemporary designers.

Senior Curator Christine Checinska described the exhibition as “part of the V&A’s ongoing commitment to highlighting work by African heritage creatives.”

Global anti-racism movements, such as Black Lives Matter, have compelled the United Kingdom to reconsider its contentious colonial past, from museum collections and public monuments to history education in schools.

The V&A was founded in 1852, as Britain expanded its global empire under Queen Victoria, including in Africa in the decades that followed.

Checinska, on the other hand, claimed that African creativity had been “largely excluded or misrepresented in the museum, owing to the historic division between art and ethnographic museums arising from our colonial roots and embedded racist assumptions.”

Celebration

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The scene is set with a section on “African Cultural Renaissance,” which highlights protest posters and literature from independence movements that evolved alongside fashion.

The central attraction is “The Vanguard,” which features iconic works by well-known African designers such as Niger’s Alphadi, Nigeria’s Shade Thomas-Fahm, and Ghana’s Kofi Ansah.

Featured is work by @lagosspaceprogramme, a non-binary, luxury design project exploring African futures with a focus on craftsmanship and a dedication to slow fashion created by Adeju Thompson. Others included in this celebration are African designers like @awameitedesign, @imane_ayissi, @thebemagugu, @nkwo, @iamisigo, @lisafolawiyo, @christiebrowngh, @maisonartc and many more.

Other exhibits, such as “Afrotopia,” “Cutting-Edge,” and “Mixology,” look at fashion alongside issues like sustainability, gender, race, and identity.

The centerpiece, created especially for the exhibition by Moroccan designer Artsi, is a highlight.It’s a work inspired by the British trenchcoat and Muslim hijab that explores how to “present Africa in England,” he told AFP.

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