African influence in the west

Roberto Cavalli’s Spring/Summer 2008 collection called “La Ma Africa” in Milan.

Looks like designers are borrowing from African prints whereas before it was only about the Safari suit and animal prints looks like they are going deeper.

Jamhuri wear

Jeffrey Kimathi - Jamhuri Wear

Interview by Elias Mageto

Jamati: What inspired you to start Jamhuri Wear?
Kimathi: I felt there was a void in the way Africa was being represented in the Fashion industry, The continent was bringing the models, but not dressing them.
So we wanted to add on to the story.

Jamati: Are there any Designers you look to for inspiration?

Kimathi: Yes, cause once one is lifted others are inspired and these are the few that inspire me…Moshood, Oswald Boatang Fundi Frank, Ralph Lauren, Stone Cherry and of course Russell Simmons

Jamati: Now, the main reason I really wanted the world to hear about you is because of how well you’ve managed to place your products. I mean I’ve seen your T-shirts on everyone from Akon to Jay-Z. Who else wears Jamhuri themed shirts and who would you like to see wearing your T-Shirts?

Kimathi: Like you said , Jay– Z, Tom Morello, Akon, K’naan, and Damian Marley. Some one I would love to see wearing one of my pieces is none other than the future president of the free world himself Barack Obama.

Jamati: What’s in store for Jamhuri Wear? Do you have any intentions of
expanding the line?

Kimathi: Absolutely…we will get into the full range of outfits and divesity for our customers.. and just keep putting out that fresh dope stuff we have been known to bring.. It’s just a matter of time We’re also doing other things with the Jamhuri brand,though.

Jamati: Really, When and what can we expect to see next?
Kimathi: We believe that every story needs a soundtrack so we are doubling in Music and visuals as well, We are just as exicted to be able to do this.
Jamati: Besides fashion, what other things interest you?

Kimathi: A lot man; We are into infusing and attaching our heritage to repackaging that African IMAGE and promoting this Safari Lifestyle. We understand this will encompass a lot of facets of life…and we trying to get better at all this and still do it well, that’s the enjoyment of it cause we don’t have any boundaries…Its all about dignity to us.

Jamati: Bwana Kimathi, thanks for your time. Before I let you get back to
your busy schedule, do you have any advice for young entrepreneurial minds
like yourself that want to break into the game?

Kimathi: LIVE IT! LEARN IT! AND LOVE IT! That’s what I do everyday now.
I had a choice to work a safe career, but instead I took a chance. It’s not
easy but if you get joy out of it then go for it!


Jamhuri Wear LLC|New York, NY|Phone: 1 800 9 Jamhuri

Jamhuri@jamhuriwear.com
www.jamhuriwear.com
www.myspace.com/jamhuriwear

SAHARAN VIBE

Found this amazing blog by South Africa designer who I greatly admire here is the blog "Started up in 2001 by Vanya and Thando Mangaliso, Sun Goddess has now flourished into one of South Africa's most sought after labels. Vanya and Thando started the Sun Goddess fashion label selling skirts out of the boot of their car. Four years down the line Sungoddess had employed 30 people. The garments are designed and produced in Johannesburg."

South Africa fashion

The South African designers have a very rich environment to nurture such beautiful talent.

I like these

Tanzania

very pretty colors, incoporated print

Uzuri aaahhh nice

MIMI magazine

the t shirts are about loving who you are. very interesting see

http://www.mimimagazine.com/

African bride

It is my mission to create fresh looking designs inpired by Africa from the north, the south, east and west. Whats in the market right now is heavily influenced by beautiful west African fabrics, and maasai beads. We need a fresh unique look with a personality.

missing

this is nice, the jewelry gives it a lift.
www.tk-designs.com

beautiful!

Distance Nairobi to Sanjose

Distance from Nairobi to San Jose
Distance is 15,460 kilometers or 9606 miles or 8348 nautical miles
The distance is the theoretical air distance (great circle distance). Flying between the two locations's airports can be longer or shorter, depending on airport location and actual route chosen.

Interface Design Quotes

Interface Design Quotes

Bits of inspiration from interface designers, architects, authors...

“A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”
—Antoine De Saint-Exupery

“Truly elegant design incorporates top-notch functionality into a simple, uncluttered form.”
—David Lewis, 2006

“When you take technology and mix it with art, you always come up with something innovative.”
—Robert Rodriguez, 2006

“An enterprise's most vital assets lie in its design and other creative capabilities.”
—Samsung chairman Kun-Hee Lee, 2006

“Business success is always defined by the quality of the overall customer experience.”
—Forrester Research, 2001

“Websites that are hard to use frustrate customers, forfeit revenue and erode brands.”
—Forrester Research, 1998

“It's all about one thing: creative problem-solving to get the story out.”
—Robert Greenberg, R/GA, 2006

“The challenge is about taking things that are infinitely complex and making them simpler and more understandable.”
—Robert Greenberg, R/GA, 2006

“The product is the brand. You build brand in our industry through the product and the experience.”
—Jim Wicks, Motorola, 2006


“It's really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don't know what they want until you show it to them.”
—Steve Jobs, 1998

nzuri sana

colorful masai beads

Mzuri

Bag, Maasai, Kenya
Second half of the 20th century
Cow hide, glass beads, iron, plant fibre
53 cm (l) x 43 cm (w)
Patterns featuring half moons are found on many Maasai personal objects and ornaments.

White beads

Oh white beads Must be Maasai from Tanzania I noticed the color differences bettween Kenyan and Tanzania Maasai beads and clothing. Availability...I guess

African bride

african bride

African bride

Whenever I think of the African bride I think of rich colors and fabrics, warm hues, and the most beautiful jewelry. I am embarking on a journey to find just that all over Africa or... the web

Such rich colors from BBC Nigerian bride

OMG

Oh my Gosh, I finally found it.

The Hello Africa Trunk show, Bridal wear with an African twist also very sophisticated

http://www.adelewechsler.com/ my future competition its on girl!

African inspired bridal gown

message in the clouds

nature

I AM AFRICAN

If you want to donate money for a good cause the keep a child alive org. works towards helping children affected by the AIDS pandemic in our motherland. click on the link below

http://keepachildalive.org/

Harriets alter ego

I was surfing and accidentally stumbled upon Harriets alter ego. way to go girl!

also featured on Runway Africa.

http://www.runwayafrica.com

Structural

just absolutely love em, very inspiring.
her statement "Helena Hörstedt is a Swedish design label. It was created after my graduation from Beckmans School of design, Stockholm, 2004.
The label provides handmade garments with emphasis on structures and techniques, advanced details and classic tailoring.

I think the genuine work and the handcrafted feeling gives an irreplaceable value to the garment. The trade of handcrafting is always one of the most important sources for both construction of and inspiration for my design.
I want my garment to be a fascinating visual experience as much as a usable. I want them to build a desire, continuously expand and to surprise the beholder."

Tree

O.k is this strange... it looks androgynous too.

Duro Olowu

LONDON, February 12, 2007 – Duro Olowu's show has finally brought the talent that's been cooking away in his Portobello Road store, OG2, into full sight. A Nigerian with a sophisticated eye for mixing splashily printed vintage couture fabrics with seventies-style tailoring and hoards of exceptional jewelry, he has steadily built a business—and many friends—around the first signature wide-sleeved, high-waisted patchwork dress he designed two years ago. Today's violet and bright-green African-print velvet coats instantly captured the essence of his appeal in their exuberantly luxurious swing.

"I wanted it to have practical volume," he said, "a regal normality. I called it 'Bamako Pompadour.'" Bamako is the capital of Mali, which, he explained, "had an empire of huge wealth and intellect—and beautiful women."

If it was smart to lay a foundation for a couple of years before deciding to show, the move also raised the bar for Olowu, setting him the task of proving he can do more than just that one dress. He pulled that off by orchestrating a total look, from leather headband visors to necklaces made from recycled belt buckles and beads to shiny patent shoes and boots—all sourced from craftspeople he found around London. His new squared-off agbada dress, in fluid brown, black, and gray color-blocked jersey, had an easy, drapey elegance that looked fresh. And though a too long section of gamekeeper tailoring in the middle broke the spell a bit, that was only a minor beginner's demerit in a collection that brought a welcome shot of energy to London's shows.

– Sarah Mower

Respect yourself: The politics of black pride

While still thinking of African art...I came across this a article about black pride back in the 60's. The one thing that struck a code was the importance of identity,
or identifying with something be it, music, art, (culture) that you feel represents who you are. Sort of taking back what is rightfully yours.

Respect yourself: The politics of black pride

‘I suppose culture and style . . . [are] a symbolic aspect of our resistance,
our determination to be identified different from others, to have something
we can say is our own, that sets us apart from others.’ Linton Kwesi
Johnson, 1991

During the 1960s and 70s many young black people in Britain used
clothes to express the inequalities of racism and a sense of alienation.
It was a defining period in black British history, what Stuart Hall calls a
‘certain moment’ when an individual or group defines itself as ‘black’,
African or Caribbean following migration to a country that is
predominantly white.

Black people in Britain looked to the Civil Rights and Black Power
movements in the United States for guidance. They rejected Euro-
American notions of beauty and dress to express their black identity
and cultural heritage. Instead, they sought alternative dress styles
which included African textiles and embraced the ‘true’ beauty of
natural hairstyles such as the afro. The dashiki, the afro comb and
the leather ‘Shaft’ coat became key components of what Van Dyk
Lewis calls ‘the archive of black styles’, one which reaffirms black
resistance and black identity.

Simultaneously the music of Jamaican ska, jazz, soul and the
counter-cultural ructions of the ‘swinging sixties’ were other sources
of cultural inspiration. Black people mixed these references into their
dress styles to validate their cultural values and sense of personal pride.
(www.vam.ac.uk)

Fashion in Africa

More notable African designers.

Xuly Bet

Lamine Badian Kouyaté was born in Mali in 1962. Formerly trained as an architect in Paris, he turned to fashion and launched his first collection in 1989.

Working under his label Xuly Bet (“watch out” in Wolof), Lamine has created a young, urban and trendy style in which the body is moulded and idolised. He uses synthetic materials (sometimes hand-dyed in Senegal), lace, fake fur, T-shirts with provocative slogans, and the omnipresent red thread to keep track of an extravagant woman who has no inhibitions about flaunting herself.

Using the African tradition of recycling garments, he creates reknitted jumpers, dresses made of patchworked and painted T-shirts, and recycled army coats lined with fake fluorescent fur.

Lamine Youyaté was awarded with the prestigious Creator of the Year award in 1994 by the New York Times and received the ANDAM awards in 1996. His label is sold in Europe, America, Africa and Asia.
Joel Andrianmearisoa

Joel Andrianomearisoa was born in Antananarivo, Madagascar, in 1977. He entered the Fashion Academy of Antananarivo at the age of twelve. The first presentation of his fashion designs took place in 1995. He has been studying architecture at Paris University since 1998.

For his fashion collections, Joel experiments with materials like wood, metal, stone and plastics, ones usually associated with sculpture rather than fashion design. He applies the concept of 'archi-couture', using geometrical and radical forms and creating object-garments, mostly black. He also uses unusual and exclusive woven materials.

In 1996, he was distinguished as Young Talent '96. In 2000 he staged performances at the Centre Georges Pompidou and the Musée d'ArtModerne de la Ville de Paris. He lives and works in Madagascar and Paris, where he designs costumes and scenery for theatre, film and television.
Hassan Hajjaj

Hassan Hajjaj was born in Larache, Morocco, in 1961. Having arrived in Britain in his teens, he grew up amid the emerging club culture of London, absorbing the music and styles of reggae, hip hop and worldmusic. In 1984 he decided to forge a solid relationship with the New York scene and in the same year he launched his own clothing andaccessories label, RAP.

In his work, Hassan Hajjaj playfully applies new technologies to redefine the imagery that pervaded his childhood. From the fez to the camel, he takes on the European stereotypes of the North African world and turns them into a visual celebration of the 'souk with a twist'.

Hassan Hajjaj designed the stunning Salon Afrique interiors that graced the Royal Festival Hall during Africa Remix.

African art-precolonial nostalgia

I was looking at Art from Kenya, and...it seems as if most of the artists on the inside Africa art from Kenya have a very similar style. Sort of precolonial nostalgia or "tourist art" i dislike using that term but really comments please is it just me. I am caught up on the same thinking it seems look at my art. Its filled with a images from a not so distant past women with pots, how many times do you see this in Nairobi. As a matter of fact I have never seen a woman carrying a pot on the head. And then there is the maasai's love them. This culture is very alive and well I grew up in Ongata Rongai so this I have witnessed. I guess its pride, we are proud of our culture, so we are holding on to it and recreating it in our art. Shooo o.k that makes sense.