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.

Fashion texture

Chronology of Africa independence

My art is finally here

To see the rest go to http://www.furahachao.com