A hot topic that came up during Columbia’s forum was the idea that in order to be accepted by the “Western Mainstream” there is a pressure to mute out the “ethnic” influence in their clothes, or vice versa. However Aisha Obuobi, the Ghanian designer behind Christie Brown, did state that being based in Ghana, and trying to break into a western influenced market, she did feel a pressure to tone down the “ethnicity” of her clothes. In the middle of the spectrum was Nigerian designer Ituen Basi, who’s trunk show we attended. Though we didn’t chat it up with her, the collections that have been featured at Arise Africa’s Fashion week speak for her, with each collection fusing influences from both worlds. Panelist Mimi Plange, a designer who’s Boudoir D’Huitres label has been co-signed by Vogue UK, expressed an indifference to said pressure, stating that though she was born in Ghana, she was raised in L.A. and is mostly inspired by 17th century architecture.
Within the span of the last week and now we couldn’t help but be smacked in the face by the question of the future of African fashion. From the CNN’s look at the Nigerian Fashion Industry, to Columbia University’s African Economic Forum featuring a panel discussion on African Fashion Going Global, along with South Africa Fashion Week just wrapping up. The fact that this is a subject of discussion only concludes that African fashion is quickly establishing a name for itself outside the continent. With magazine’s like Arise sprouting up and websites like FashionAfrica.com being referenced by the New York Times, the above conclusion is fairly obvious. The question we ask is what will the African fashion industry have to do to leave the tents of Bryant Park, and land in the hands of the mainstream masses, and why that’s important.
Although we are aware of the presence of African designer, with price ranges of between $200 and $6000, the trend has been reserved to those ready to drop stacks like that on a relatively new line. We caught up fashion expert, and co-founder of FashionIndie.com Busie Matsiko, to break down the industry. “Its about branding,” said Matsiko “they have to understand who their audience is, that’s how they can cater to the wealthy.” Designers need to be able to justify the price of their clothes, i.e. making quality synonymous with their brand. As far as creating affordable clothing, designers working with small capital have to think from the top to the bottom. “You have designers who have tiers in their designs, an example is Ralph Lauren. You have the higher end Ralph Lauren line, and then you have Polo.” said Matsiko. Leading the pack in creating a line for the “less ballin’ ” woman is Folake Folarin-Coker of Tiffany Amber, announcing plans to create a more affordable line on CNN’s Marketplace Africa…
Despite questioning the future of the designers that have made it this far, we cannot forget to applaud them for even making this conversation possible. The impact the fashion world in Africa could have on the continent is endless, as it is now seen as a viable economic resource. As the industry continues to boom jobs will be created, as the designer continue their quest to lace up the continent up in fly gear.
Thanks for this piece. I was at Columbia's African Economic Forum and listening to the different authorities in the industry was great!