A masterful concentration of African fashion and history in the Africa Fashion exhibition
At the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, you can now discover a masterly concentration of African fashion and history. And it’s worth noting the exhaustive nature of the exhibition. Designers from the four corners of Africa, from north to south, east to west, have been brought together in an unprecedented exhibition. Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa are well represented, and the exhibition’s pedagogical commitment is particularly noteworthy. It’s not just a question of displaying pretty collector’s items. It’s about telling the continent’s story through its creativity, using clothing as a witness to the past, showing how major historical events have had a strong influence on the evolution of African artists’ creativity. The impeccable scenography, supported by a harmony of nudes and illuminated by a touch of neon pink, is an invitation to take a joyful stroll around the Victoria & Albert Museum.
The challenge of such an exhibition is to form a coherent whole with pieces from collections created at different times by different designers. We have to find the most appropriate means of expression to pay a fitting tribute to talented artists who are too often overlooked. Video projections, mannequin staging, photo hanging – all possibilities were exploited to accentuate the effect of multitude, accumulation and profusion. How to represent African fashion? How to represent an infinite sum of influences brought together in a continent 3 times the size of Europe? The work of curators is just as important here as that of designers. In Paris, museums regularly present retrospectives dedicated to great designers. Methodical, meticulous archiving of collection items, writings and sketches by artists such as Gabrielle Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli makes it possible to produce recurring, majestic exhibitions.
The arrival of fashion in museums has always been a matter of debate, as this discipline is not considered a major art form in the same way as painting or sculpture. The Africa Fashion exhibition is an event in itself, recognizing African creativity and offering it a grandiose showcase, a moment on the international stage and under the world’s spotlight.
Lisa Folawiyo – VA Museum
The links between fashion and African politics explained in the Africa Fashion exhibition
Doctoral student Christine Checinska is curating this ground-breaking event. Her thesis “Coloninzin’ in reverse”, published in 2009, explores the influence of the Caribbean on British men’s dressing and invites us to question the relative absence of cultural diversity in fashion and textile studies. Naturally, she collaborated with experts and artists based on the African continent to bring this exhibition to life.
From 1960 to the present day, the exhibition is presented according to an African chronology, with a symbolic start in the 60s when the first independent governments were formed. This pivotal moment of liberalization was synonymous with a creative explosion. Politicians seized on fashion as a means of expressing their hard-won nationalities. The exhibition opens with Prime Minister Kwame Nkrumah ‘s accession to power in Ghana in 1957. He proudly wears a typically Ghanaian outfit, draped in a kente, a traditional weave made by meticulous craftsmen. Each motif has a meaning and conveys a message.
Ghanaian clothing is to be seen here as an expression of national pride. There was no question of wearing a British 3-piece suit to present himself to the newly-liberated Ghanaian people and the rest of the world. We learn that Ghana’s new Prime Minister chose his designs with great care. The Adwini asa design, which means “I have done my best”, was one of his favorite motifs. This founding act, which might seem insignificant, helped to give Ghanaian craftsmanship its letters of nobility.
Designer Imane Ayissi, a guest member of the Fédération Française de la Haute Couture since 2019, uses Ghanaian kente in her collections, notably for one of her iconic pieces, the “Asseulènn” coat. Virgil Abloh has also paid tribute to the typically Ghanaian drape in his Louis Vuitton Homme collection presented in January 2021. Has Ghanaian kente made international fashion history? The question has been asked. The first Festival des Arts Nègres took place in 1966 on the initiative of Senegal’s first president, Léopold Sedar Senghor. The aim of this initiative was “to achieve better international and interracial understanding, to affirm the contribution of black artists and writers to the great universal currents of thought, and to enable black artists from all horizons to compare the results of their research”. More than a presentation of know-how, this exhibition puts African fashion into context. A collaborative research effort was required to authentically retranscribe a little-known fashion history without falling into clichés.
Africa Fashion – VA Museum
Contemporaries and deans together
The works of various artists are exhibited on two floors, with contemporary designers who regularly take part in Lagos Fashion Week on the second floor. The doyens of African fashion are housed in special alcoves on the ground floor. Alphadi, the Prince of the Desert and founder of Fima, the international festival of African fashion, is present alongside Chris Seydou, the Malian designer committed to promoting the traditional bogolan weaving of his homeland, and Naïma Bennis’s collections pay homage to Moroccan creations, in particular her iconic caftan.
The success of this exhibition lies in its quest for comprehensiveness without dividing lines. An Africa united in a space outside the continent to celebrate the richness of its creativity. An ambitious initiative to be applauded.
A remarkable ephemeral moment that made headlines in the fashion industry’s leading media. It’s high time such an undertaking was launched, marking the beginning of recurring quality events on the continent and around the world. There are a multitude of subjects to explore.
The museum’s blog features a series of detailed articles on the works on display. A beautiful book dedicated to the exhibition is available for sale online and in bookshops. Every detail has been studied to amplify the reach of this exhibition beyond the boundaries of time and space. The success of such an initiative is important in definitively convincing skeptics of the need for an exhaustive representation of all fashions, without value judgments or classification.
Maxhosa – VA Museum
Read also
