From red berets to full-on cosplaying, leaders across the continent have a robust relationship with fashion.
Fashion
Africans rising South Africa’s Thebe Magugu is the first African designer to win LVMH prize worth €300,000
26 year-old Thebe Magugu is the first African to win the prestigious LVMH prize. The fashion talent prize comes with a €300,000 cash award, and includes a year of “technical and financial support” from the luxury giant. The South African designer was part of 1,700 applicants from 100 countries who applied for the LVMH prize.
Lifestyle H&M partners with South African designer Palesa Mokubung in first ever collaboration with an African designer
Global fashion retail giant H&M has teamed up with South African designer Palesa Mokubung, unveiling its first-ever collaboration with an African label, Mantsho. Launched on August 15 online and in selected stores, including South Africa, the Mantsho collaboration features vibrant bold prints, creative cuts and confident styles.
Arts, Culture and Sport South African designer Lukhanyo Mdingi debuts at New York Fashion Week 2019
South African designer Lukhanyo Mdingi creates distinctive fashion for his eponymous label. His steady rise has led to his debut at the New York Fashion Week: Men’s and Women’s Fall/Winter 2019, adding greater inclusivity to the fashion industry’s catwalks.
Lifestyle Think outside the bra: Top startups reshaping women’s underwear
Emerging bra startups are challenging the status quo in women’s undergarments by addressing the issues that women encounter but have had no solutions for. These solutions range from skin-toned bras, shape-shifting bras that change with women’s breast size and no-strap, no-clasp bras.
Lifestyle Photo essay: GTBank Fashion Weekend
It is never too late to talk about fashion. In November we covered the GTBank Fashion Weekend. Explore the streets through the lens of Nigerian photographer Kamnele Obasi.
Lifestyle Skin appropriate brown and bronze ballet shoes for dancers of colour
Ethnic minority classical dancers had to use paint or foundation make-up to darken the standard-issue pink shoes that were the only option available to them. Now, for the first time on a large scale, ballet shoes will better match the skin colour of black and mixed dancers.
Lifestyle Black Dandyism and Africa’s gender fluid fashion
The youth of Africa today are positioned in an intermingling of cultural identities and there is a need to find a contemporary style that merges those identities. Black dandyism has helped curate an aesthetic that is well groomed, refined yet inclusive of African sensibilities. Most of all, it has ushered in the age of African gender fluid fashion.
Lifestyle Ties between African countries and China are complex. Understanding this matters
Not enough credit is given to the agency African governments have in their dealings with China.