These are hand weaved fabrics.

In our modern contemporary society, most African people (African-American, African-Caribbean, African-British, etc.) wear western-style clothing, and if they identify with their ancestral roots, they relegate wearing their traditional clothing only for special occasions. As we emphasized, the fact that colonization, slavery and later integration made the African a stranger to his own culture. It is important to note that just as difficult as it is for the modern day African to transition back into wearing some type of African cultural attire, the process that established this alienation was also a very formidable endeavor. In modern day African (Ghana, Cote D’ Ivoire, Dakar, South African etc.) it is a rather strange sight to see a majority of Africans wearing western clothing, however, it is much understood, given the degrading colonial process. It has become an unwritten rule that is basically practiced by the minority groups, especially Africans and Africans in the Diaspora, that allows various social pressures to dictates that they must conform and assimilate to the dominate culture in order to survive. Due to hundreds of years of oppression, this subtle unconscious process make the African feel uncomfortable, not to mention, the consequents that is encountered as a result of not conforming to the prescribed dress code.

ASHANTI TRADITIONAL DRESS WITH KENTE FABRIC

In Africa, missionaries in the early 19th century established schools and begin to coerce and influence the African into wearing western clothing. This cultural transformation took several hundred years, but has proven to be enormously effective. The slave experience was also a unique demonstration of this conditioning process which compelled the African to conform to wearing western-style clothing. Through such debilitating psychological process, the African taste for his own traditional culture/clothing was transformed, he now preferred the western style culture/clothing. This transforming process was direct at time and extremely subtle (subliminal suggestions) at other times.

Another factor in the decline of the African fabric market was demonstrated when the European Traders brought imported fabric to trade in the African markets which eventually began to replace the trade of African fabric. This came about as a result of various reasons. Subsequently, during this early period, African fabric was made primarily for family members, members of the village and occasionally for trading with other countries. Because this was a handmade product, production was much slower and could not keep up with growing demand for quickly produced fabric/clothing. Whereas Europe had establish its industrial capacity and could produce their fabric in a much larger quantity and at a much faster rate. Therefore, as a consequent, the African markets were/is saturated with western style fabric/clothing.

Early 20th Century Fashion

THE TRANSITION: FABRIC TO CLOTHING

The transformation of converting fabric into clothing is a unique process, especially when it comes to African fashion. The subject of fashion in African has only been a relative marketable concern over the last several years. However, it is often argued that this term fashion is an attribute of western capitalism and is contrasted to the so-called “traditional societies”. As a result of the creativeness and the imagination of today’s African fashion designers, clothing has become a bit more accepted and worn in contemporary society. However, it is the cultural nuances of the broader African society that dictates whether or not a particular style of dress will be accepted. Accordingly, clothing traditions are defined by each African ethnic group. Each society has its own name for different types of clothing made out of traditional fabric, particular as it relate to that group. Consequently, one finds similarities across cultures which reflects the experience of migration and social interactions over a period of time. In this manner, it is demonstrated how various ethnic groups have adapted and shared similar customs of dress. For example, you may find someone from East African wearing designs that have been integrated with both East and West African. Since we now live in a global market, this is a very common sight, especially in the African American cultural comunities.

Once the fabric is transformed into clothing, in our modern contemporary environment, style become a relevant factor. Even though, the traditional dress is honored and respected and is still much desired. The younger generation of designers seek to combine the traditional style with a contemporary variation. For instance, the current style of clothing vary from the simple, plain shirt and wrap, to an intermediate stage in which there is the beginning of design and slight detail; to a more complex stage, in which there are more details or a very formal outfit. Fundamentally, clothes includes tops and bottoms or a single unit, such as a Bobo/Kaftan. Different groups have their own name for particular pieces of clothing. For example, the Ashanti calls a male top a Dashiki, the Hausa call a top Riga.

FROM TRADITIONAL TO CONTEMPORARY DRESS

In African societies, traditional clothing continues to be honored and occupies its own esteemed place in the culture. However, African contemporary clothing began to evolve more and more into the consciousness of African people. In the twentieth century, especially in the years since the 1960 when many African nations reclaimed their independence, there were a dramatic increase in the interaction between Europe and America. Also during this time period in American there were a dynamic conscious cultural shift from those who had once identified themselves as Negroes or colored to now seeing themselves as Black or African American. With this cultural shift, Blacks in the United States began to identify more with African culture, which included African dress/fashion. In recent decades the global exposure of urban communities through magazines, television, video and most recently the internet and satellite television have had an enormous impact on African fashion designers. The impact of these developments on African clothing goes beyond the selective adoption of new materials such as synthetic fibers and lurex (a thread of aluminum coated with plastic). Many African designers working in the global market are creating a unique appeal by utilizing traditions of weaving and textile design in contemporary dress styles. As a result, this act of creativity provide a form of new demands to the producers of these clothing which often leads to a modification in the design and in some cases to the creative exploration of new design directions. When we observe the growing number of designers which have been extremely active during the 1990’s we clearly see and understand how they have created a new cultural paradigm. These new cultural designers have been influenced by the global interconnectedness. Having as there vantage point the dynamic fashion markets of Paris, Dakar, Abidjan, Niamey, Accra, Chicago, New York and San Francisco. Designers who have reached a prominent place in the contemporary fashion world such as the late Chris Seydou, Xuly Bet, Alphadi, Kofi Ansah, Brenda of Damali’s Afrika Wear, and U-Shaka Ra-Nebu Anpu of U-Shaka, Inc. have moved African contemporary fashion in a new and excited direction.

In a global world in which African designers on the African continent search for creative and affordable ways to attract customers at the street level, they find themselves utilizing imported and second hand clothes from Europe and the USA in a rather unique way. The tailors and seamstresses have learn to modify the Western/European designs by adding African fabric into a new culturally acceptable vogue. Therefore, the local interacts with the global in an interesting but unpredictable ways. Using this same model in the USA, U-Shaka has taken a popular contemporary item, like the T-shirt and added Kente or Mudcloth fabric to the garment, thereby giving it a distinctive cultural appeal, that is not only affordable but quite attractive. Below you can see examples of this new fusion of traditional fabric (Mudcloth) with contemporary designs.

SUMMARY

From one generation to the next as Africans (African-American, American-Brazilian, African-Caribbean, African-British, etc…) having gone through the trauma of the physical pain as well as the psychological conditioning process of colonization, enslavement, migration and integration; we emerges as a people from such experiences weaken, fragmented, and alienated from ourselves and our culture. However, according to Dr. Amos Wilson, each generation find the necessity to continue the healing process which empower us to become the kinds of people we must become if we are to secure our right to be free. He strongly believes that the answers lie in the direction of reclamation of our African identity and the reconstitution of our African-centered consciousness which must be supported by a strong African-centered cultural. A culture that reflects the inner consciousness of who we are, and how that identity is manifested through an outward expression of how we feel about who we are and is thereby translated and expressed through our dress and/or what we wear. In short, for African people, the goal and the continuous struggle is to Africanize or heal our spirit through the cultural expression of African clothing/fashion.

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