Fashion Cities Africa
Edited by Hannah Azieb Pool
Publication date:
01 April 2016Publisher
Intellect BooksDimensions:
229x229mm9x9"
ISBN-13: 9781783206117
In a searing 2012 Guardian op-ed, Hannah Azieb Pool took Western fashion designers to task for their so-called African-inspired clothing. 'Dear Fashion,' she wrote, 'Africa is a continent, not a country. Can you imagine anyone describing a fashion trend as "European-inspired?" Of course not. It’s meaningless.' Now, with Fashion Cities Africa, Pool aims to correct the misconceptions about African fashion, providing key context for contemporary African fashion scenes and capturing the depth and breadth of truly African fashion.
Tied to the Fashion Cities Africa exhibition at the Brighton Museum, the book gives much needed attention to four key African fashion scenes: Nairobi, Lagos, Casablanca and Johannesburg – one from each region of the continent. Filled with interviews of leading African fashion designers, stylists and commentators, alongside hundreds of exclusive street-style images, Fashion Cities Africa is a landmark book that should be celebrated in fashion houses the world over.
Tied to the Fashion Cities Africa exhibition at the Brighton Museum, the book gives much needed attention to four key African fashion scenes: Nairobi, Lagos, Casablanca and Johannesburg – one from each region of the continent. Filled with interviews of leading African fashion designers, stylists and commentators, alongside hundreds of exclusive street-style images, Fashion Cities Africa is a landmark book that should be celebrated in fashion houses the world over.
'This book is a model for understanding contemporary African fashion. It shows the necessity of local fashion history using voices from each city. Africans and the African diaspora are the ones telling the fashion story; it is no longer a story about Africa being told only by Europe and the North America. I hope that it encourages more Africans to chart contemporary fashion scenes and to write the history of fashion in all African cities and countries.'