4 African Designers you Need to Know

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African designers you need to know.

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Now to our regular scheduled blog post.

The Why

Why would I want to discuss only African fashion designers in this blog post?

Two reasons.

The first is that I follow @Clarabelletoks on Instagram.

Clarabelletoks posts videos that basically flip the script on racism, and it got me thinking about fasion week and the buzz around fashion week in the western world.

Designers come from every continent on the globe, not just western culture and I wanted to know why Paris, London, Milan and New York fashion weeks are the only ones that we really ever hear about.

Fashion week surely has to happen in other parts of the world, doesn’t it?

Has a country in Africa had a fashion week before?

These were the questions that were swirling around my brain, so much so, that I decided to write a blog post about it…..

African Fashion Month

October is typically African Fashion Month, not week…..

A month.

Yass girl.

An entire month of fashion by African designers.

Vogue Business covered Africa’s Fashion Month, November of 2020 and stated that due to Covid it wouldn’t be a thing IRL but would be taken digital.

African Fashion Month usually takes place in the fashion capitols around the African continent…..

Including the longest standing OG of African Fashion Week’s that takes place in South Africa.

Where are the Fashion Capitols on the Continent of Africa?

I am glad you asked.

Think Lagos, Nigeria and Dakar, Senegal……just to name a few.

Fashion Capitols on the continent of Africa are vast, just like on the continent of Europe.

You’ll have textile capitols, population dense capitols and fashion scene hubs all throughout the continent of Africa just like you would in Europe and in the U.S.A.

African fashion and African designers have the talent, but they are at a disadvantage due to a lack of funding, publication coverage and demand like their western counterparts.

How to Help

The main issue I have found in researching this topic is that the funds are not really there for African designers…..

In the same way that scholarships and buyers from major retailers are available to western designers.

Scholarships and buyers exist, but it tends to be more complicated.

One way to help is to ask major retailers to leave a portion of their buying season open until November to purchase directly from African Designers.

This buying and investment model is already being done by Aurora James who founded Brother Vellies and the 15 percent pledge. .

There are other ways to do this as well…..

Another way is to encourage fashion industry insiders to explore and promote African designers.

The next obvious way is to buy directly from African designers.

4 African Designers You Should Know

The first African designer I would like to mention is Lisa Folawiyo.

Lisa Folawiyo’s prints are sometimes muted, sometimes vibrant but always very structurally sound, classic and adventurous.

A very cool designer to follow.

Ophelia Crossland is another designer I really like because her designs are very traditional to her country, but are also very modern.

She does this through her prints and the shapes she uses.

The photos on her website show her customer at every stage of life (if you go to her homepage) and her collections are diverse, which I love.

Sober Design House is next in my favorite line-up of African fashion designers.

This designer can be found locally in boutiques in South Africa, which is pretty cool.

The final African designer I would like to mention today is Imane Ayissi.

I think Imane’s designs are classic, colorful, structural and super futuristic while just being very exciting pieces to look at.

Any of these designers could easily hold their own in western society if given the coverage of other brands.

African Fashion Month Final Thoughts

I hope this blog post opened a new perspective on the richness of African textiles and fashion and inspires you to branch out to include more diverse designers than your typical everyday “designer favorites.”

Africa has a natural backdrop, beautiful people and a beautiful art scene all on its own and it deserves a chance to compete in the world market its natural resources support everyday.

Where would we be without the continent of Africa?

Feel free to leave a comment in the comment section of additional designers you feel I missed in this blog post.

Talk to you soon.

-Nikita