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Contemporary African Fashion PDF

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F afriC a . CuLturaL StudieS “Well written, highly readable, and very accessible . . . covers a whole G n edited by o range of topics relating to various historical, economic, social, and tt Suzanne Gott and the dynamiSm and artistic dimensions that constitute contemporary African fashion.” an a Kristyne Loughran d Creativity of —mary Jo arnoLdi, Smithsonian Institution a L o afriC an faShion u “Fashions globally focus on the here and now, embracing and emphasiz- g h C ing change. African fashions have existed across the continent much r a i longer than often imagined, and the complexity of the continent n itself—geographically, culturally, historically—means that readers r of this volume will quickly learn that fashion is not monolithic in contemporary Africa, but varied across regions and countries, even f within a single country.” s C —from the foreword by Joanne b. eiCher o a n African fashion is as diverse and dynamic as the continent and the peo- t ple who live there. While experts have long recognized the importance e of clothing as a marker of ethnic identity, life stages, political affiliation, m hy and social class, they have only just begun to discover African fashion. Contemporary African Fashion puts Africa at the intersection of world p r cultures and globalized identities, displaying the powerful creative force o and impact of newly emerging styles. Richly illustrated with color pho- r a tographs, this book showcases haute couture for the African continent. a The visual impact of fashion created and worn today in Africa comes to r life here, beautifully and brilliantly. r y i Suzanne Gott is Assistant Professor of Art History in the Depart- a o o ment of Critical Studies at the University of British Columbia Okanagan. f c o n t r i b u t o r s Her work focuses on fashion from the Ashanti Region in Ghana. r p Heather Marie Akou Karen Tranberg Hansen iC KriStyne LouGhran is an independent scholar who specializes in Elisabeth L. Cameron Kristyne Loughran African jewelry and fashion. She is editor (with Thomas K. Seligman) of a m Janet Goldner Hudita Nura Mustafa Art of Being Tuareg: Sahara Nomads in a Modern World. n Didier Gondola Leslie W. Rabine Suzanne Gott Elisha P. Renne e f Joanna Grabski Victoria L. Rovine AfricAn ExprEssivE culturEs a Rebecca L. Green Patrick McNaughton, editor S t h n i $27.95 o n P INDIANA Front cover illustrations: (clockwise from right) Haliatou Traoré Kandé’s rin n University Press fsaenmcbyl we ianx beongsoelmanbfilen,i pbhyo Btorgernadpah W byi nCshteiaarda, pRh. oBtiongir;a tpwho b-py iKecime D Joahmnsaolin e; n- ted in o Bloomington & Indianapolis Kandioura’s designs for Farafina Tigne Independence Day Celebration, C h www.iupress.indiana.edu photograph by Janet Goldner. Back cover illustration: black velvet ensemble in in 1-800-842-6796 modèle Mali style by Haliatou Traoré Kandé, photograph by Chiara R. Bini. a indiana C F n a a C i r sf a hy r a r i o o p m e t n n o C C o n t e m p Fas h i o n o r a r y a afriCan expressive Cultures f patrick mcnaughton, editor associate editors r Catherine m. Cole Barbara G. Hoffman i eileen Julien Kassim Koné C D. a. masolo elisha renne a Zoë strother n Fas h i o n eDiteD By suzanne Gott and Kristyne loughran foreworD By Joanne B. eicher inDiana university press Bloomington and indianapolis This book is a publication of This book is printed on acid-free paper. Indiana University Press Manufactured in China 601 North Morton Street To Roy Sieber and Sophia Sieber, Bloomington, Indiana 47404-3797 USA Library of Congress Cataloging-in- Publication Data who urged us to look left, right, www.iupress.indiana.edu over, and under, and who Contemporary African fashion / edited Telephone orders 800-842-6796 by Suzanne Gott and Kristyne Loughran ; taught us by example Fax orders 812-855-7931 foreword by Joanne B. Eicher. Orders by e-mail [email protected] p. cm. — (African expressive cultures) Includes bibliographical references and © 2010 by Indiana University Press index. All rights reserved ISBN 978-0-253-22256-5 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Fashion—Africa. I. Gott, Edith Suzanne. No part of this book may be reproduced II. Loughran, Kristyne. or utilized in any form or by any means, TT504.6.A35C66 2010 electronic or mechanical, including 746.9’2096—dc22 photocopying and recording, or by any 2010008141 information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The Association of American University Presses’ Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition. 1 2 3 4 5 15 14 13 12 11 10 To Roy Sieber and Sophia Sieber, who urged us to look left, right, over, and under, and who taught us by example contents Foreword by Joanne B. Eicher ix Acknowledgments xiii Introduction suZanne Gott anD Kristyne l ouGHran 1 PART ONe. FAShION WIThIN The AFRICAN CONTINeNT 1 The Ghanaian Kaba: Fashion That Sustains Culture suZanne Gott 11 2 The Visual City: Tailors, Creativity, and Urban Life in Dakar, Senegal Joanna GraBsKi 29 3 Secondhand Clothing and Fashion in Africa Karen tranBerG Hansen 39 4 Fashion, Not Weather: A Rural Primer of Style elisaBetH l. Cameron 53 5 Contemporary Wedding Fashions in Lagos, Nigeria elisHa p. renne 67 PART TWO. AFRICAN FAShION DeSIGNeRS 6 African Fashion: Design, Identity, and history viCtoria l. rovine 89 7 Using the Past to Sculpt the Costume of the Future: An Interview with Kandioura Coulibaly Janet GolDner 105 8 Intersecting Creativities: Oumou Sy’s Costumes in the Dakar Landscape HuDita nura mustafa 123 9 From Cemetery to Runway: Dress and Identity in highland Madagascar reBeCCa l. Green 139 PART ThRee. AFRICAN FAShION IN T he DIASPORA 10 La Sape exposed! high Fashion among Lower-Class Congolese Youth: From Colonial Modernity to Global Cosmopolitanism DiDier GonDola 157 11 have Cloth—Will Travel Kristyne louGHran 175 12 Dressing Somali (Some Assembly Required) HeatHer marie aKou 191 13 Translating African Textiles into U.S. Fashion Design: Brenda Winstead and Damali Afrikan Wear leslie w. raBine 205 Further Readings 221 List of Contributing Authors 227 Figure 0.1. Women dressed up for a “kitchen party” (bridal shower) in Lusaka, Zambia, 2002. Photograph by Karen Tranberg Hansen. f o r e w o r D J o a n n e B . e i C H e r Fashions globally focus on the here and now, embracing and emphasizing change. African fashions have existed across the continent much longer than often imag- ined, and the complexity of the continent itself—geographically, culturally, historically—means that readers of this volume will quickly learn that fashion is not monolithic in contemporary Africa, but varied across regions and countries, even within a single country. Changes in the way people dress, in so-called tradi- tional or ethnic garments (wrappers or pagnes, head ties, and boubous), are easily apparent when traced over time in fabric design and color, as well as variations in styling. Africans are well aware of fashions beyond the continent, too, and adopt them readily, as President Nyere of Tanzania did in combining elements of a Nehru suit and Mao jacket with Western-style trousers or as youth of both genders do in the twenty-first century in wearing jeans and T-shirts. In an earlier time, the farthingale had an impact on the forms of dress worn by the Herero women in Namibia and the gowns of the Efik women of Nigeria. Middle Eastern dress, caftans and hijab, are also found along with those called “Western,” but may be more appropriately termed world or global fashion (Eicher and Sumberg 1995; Akou 2007), although typically with local interpretations and variations. In this volume, examples of the early adoption of European clothes include Suzanne Gott’s discussion of the incorporation of European blouses into Ghanaian wom- en’s kabas and Elisha Renne’s description of the white wedding dress introduced in early twentieth-century Lagos. In addition, Africans have contributed fashions to the rest of world. African women brought head-covering customs to the Americas at the time of enslave- ment that have extended as fashion statements into contemporary times. In the 1960s U.S. Peace Corps volunteers in Nigeria adopted the Yoruba upper garment called dashiki and continued to wear it on their return home. Handcrafted textiles

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