African Fashion news and archive

Nigeria's in vogue handwoven fabric makers resist automation

In Iseyin, a sleepy town in southwestern Nigeria, shaded spaces under trees, makeshift sheds and narrow alleys double as production hubs for aso-oke, a handwoven fabric indigenous to the Yoruba ethnic group. Demand for the fabric has recently soared at home and abroad, boosted by Nigerians in the diaspora and the rising global popularity of the...

Fashion

New programme brings together African and UK designers for skills exchange

A new programme launched by the British Council is pushing to encourage skill sharing and sustainable creative partnerships between designers from African countries and the UK. Together with Paul Smith’s Foundation and Projekt, the ‘Create DNA x Studio Smithfield’ exchange programme, running from March 16 to 23 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, has...

Fashion

Gabon fashion designer brings traditional raffia to Paris runways

Strands of raffia dry outside in the sun at the studio of Gabonese fashion designer Chouchou Lazare, who has made a name for himself using the natural fibres to craft his award-winning garments. The natural material derived from palm leaves -- and traditionally reserved for Gabon's nobles and village chiefs -- gained international attention on...

Fashion

Africa Fashion Up opens applications for 6th edition in Paris

Africa Fashion Up, a Paris-based platform dedicated to promoting contemporary African fashion, has opened applications for its sixth edition. Organised by the Share Africa Association in collaboration with the Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, the 2026 programme will accept submissions from February 17 to April 17. Founded in 2020 by...

Fashion

The Kinshasa 'fashion lab' harnessing Central African talent

In an abandoned hangar surrounded by dusty trucks in Kinshasa, young student models strut down a catwalk of artificial grass, showcasing their first-ever collection to their Congolese fashion school peers. Container ships rumble outside in the Democratic Republic of Congo's capital, but the room holding the makeshift runway in the Regional...

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Fashion

Fifteen years on, Addis Ababa sharpens its focus and looks inward

Hub of Africa Fashion Week (HAFW) has never been about spectacle. Founded by Mahlet Teklemariam, it is an intimate, boutique platform built on care, conversation, and genuine human connection. Today, it stands as the third-largest fashion platform on the African continent, yet its strength has never come from scale alone. Its power lies in...

Fashion

Nigerian designer embraces 'clashes' and 'chaos' at Lagos Fashion Week

Models strutted down the runway, their beaded and sequined dresses evoking the traditional facial scarring still done in some parts of Nigeria. Others donned outfits paying homage to adire, a traditional Yoruba indigo fabric long prized for its craftsmanship. Kanyinsola Onalaja's show kicked off Lagos Fashion Week in style, in what has been a...

Fashion

From waste to runway: Kenyan designers transform used clothes into art

In a dusty alley in the heart of Kenya's largest open-air market, fashion models strut down a makeshift runway in bold, upcycled outfits made from waste collected at dumpsites and market cast-offs -- proof that even trash can dazzle. Every year, thousands of tonnes of used clothes from Europe, the United States, and beyond make their way to...

Fashion

Nigerian designer pushes 'Afro-lux' onto the global fashion scene

Its modern architecture complemented by latticework inspired by local Yoruba textiles, Alara, west Africa's first fashion and design "concept store", is an imposing sight in Lagos, Nigeria's bustling economic capital. Founder Reni Folawiyo is now 10 years into forging what she calls "Afro-lux", Alara serving as a homebase for designs that "play...

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Fashion

In S.Africa, Madiba shirts keep Mandela's legacy alive

Johannesburg - In his workshop stocked with piles of fabric and sewing machines, Sonwabile Ndamase is proud that the Madiba shirts he designed for Nelson Mandela 30 years ago endure as a legacy of South Africa's first democratically elected leader. Worn untucked and without a jacket, the loose Madiba shirts remain a favourite among South African...

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Fashion |Interview

IFM to support Benin's emerging designers through incubator programme

In collaboration with the Institut Français de la Mode (IFM), the Sèmè City programme, initiated by the Beninese government to promote innovation and local creative industries, is launching the FLY incubator. Over a twelve-month period, fashion professionals will support and mentor emerging designers from Benin and other African countries. Over...

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Culture

Chanel's le19M to host three-month long exhibition in Dakar, Senegal

After Chanel showed its Métiers d’Art collection in Senegal’s capital city in December, the Maison’s craftsmanship hub, le19M, is launching a three-month international programme in Dakar. In a statement le19M said the entire country of Senegal is replete with artisanal expertise, a heritage to which le19M is particularly sensitive. In...