Evolution of African Fashion

Africa is mainly associated with customs of cultural entities in rural settings. Recently, this one-Dimensional Eurocentric perception has been contested by growing range of African fashion designers who are creating modern-day fashion in a cosmopolitan urban context. The actual fact that fashion is a worldwide phenomenon is definitely overlooked in the Western Africa served simply as backdrop for the traditional western creativity about the incredible pattern.

Over the past years, the one-sided perception of fashion belonging to the west has changed gradually. Moreover, Africa is among the most 'Fashions new Frontier'. That is due to the fact of growing volume of fashion designers and product labels that are being successful in the global world. Another good reason is the recent increase in metropolitan Africa; vibrant and diverse fashion scenes of local and importance are suffering from in many African cities. Fashion manufactured in Africa, (which range from haute couture to street-wear) is becoming equally popular by young African city-dwellers as well as in the diaspora with international fashion shows.

The rise of fashion design in Africa is carefully from the rapid procedure for urbanization all around the continent. Whereas Johannesburg and Lagos have already belonged to the principal fashion metropolitan areas in African and beyond for a while, new local fashion moments like those in Douala are rapidly emerging recently. The comparability between fashion designers from these three places highlights the structural, ethnic and aesthetically characteristics of the existing methods in Africa's fashion world. The comprehensive lack of fashion organizations assuring creation and advanced schooling in Africa, whether state or private owned leads to a situation where many African designers taught themselves their professional skills or through apprenticeships and stage abroad. Having less materials and widespread informality of African cities correspond with the standard education. Moreover, a similar picture is visibly connected to the production and distribution of fashion. However, usually the street-wear designs face fierce competition from secondhand clothes of the west and cheap imports from China.

Finally, Its important to know that Africans are more multiple color minded with regards to fashion, therefore most designs tend to have color mix, with this particular concept most designers are becoming even more creative combining artistic skills and imagination, thereby creating unique colorful designs which are admired all over the world. Nevertheless, globalization of the world has helped the development and commercialization of African clothing, that elements of the popular culture are fused to a genre of music, news or literature. Famous artists, stars are also influencing the trends.