The Evolution Of African Fashion Design

Legend has it that man found a way of clothing himself with leaves when he first realized he needed to. That could be considered the first fashion design attempt known to man. Over the years, every country has managed to take its traditional attire and make completely new fashion statements out of them. African fashion design also joined the ranks of international fashion houses years ago.

When it comes to African fashion design, many of the designs have evolved from the weather of the country. People had to remain comfortable and materials were selected based on the harshness of the climate. This lead to the use of several kinds of materials that may not have been used in mainstream designing. Keeping these materials and designs alive has been the work of several members of the African fashion design industry.

There has been a huge tribal influence both on the runway’s, photo shoots and street style and we will do our best to bring you some of our favourites to complete a tribal look. We just had these African inspired sandals sent to us via email, they look cute but we are loving the brown peacock plume sandals the most. You can shop here at Anthropologie.

Ghanaian designer Diva Delicious new swirl collections featured in the new Ghanaian movie Adam’s Apple by Shirley Frimpong Manso. The sound track for the movie is by EFYA titled Sexy Sassy Wahala check it out below to see all the African inspired designs and get ready for the Launch of Diva Delicious Swirl collections. Shadders is proud of designer Sandi owusu of Diva Delicious as she takes her collections to another level.

African fashion design originally began with a lot of animal hides and fur. All of this is a necessary part of one’s attire and cultural background. However, with time, these evolved into internationally accepted and sought after designs. Today the response to an African fashion show is tremendous. Among the kinds of fibre used for clothing is raffia palm, jute, flax and silk. Natural dyes from vegetables and minerals are used to create the unique hues of colour.

African fashion design incorporates the use of ceremonial attire such as Ashanti Kente cloth and Ankara etc. Some of the great names in the African design world are Seidnaly Alphadi (the child of the desert) and Sara Abera from Ethiopia. Oumou Sy too has made a name in the ready-to-wear line of clothing and fashion accessories and more recently Deola Sagoe, Jewel by Lisa, David Thale and many many more designers.