Any change in the way people perceive the way they dress needs to start by defining the base from which this transition occurs. For an Authentic Fashion Renaissance, we need to look at the body, soul and spirit of the apparel. This holistic approach used in this article aims to show the idea that all the properties of a given fashion sense (physical, biological, chemical, social, economic, mental, linguistic, spiritual, political, functional, aesthetic, etc…) cannot be determined or explained by its component parts alone. Instead, the system as a whole determines in an important way how the parts behave. As Aristotle rightly put it; the whole should be greater than the sum of its parts.
Understanding African Fashion
Our hope is to maintain the good in the current concepts; the functional elements that have survived the speedy and sometimes ruthless nature of the winds of change in the fashion world. If the shark were to evolve, it would not change much because it is already fine-tuned to eat the existing prey, dominate the existing seas and, for the foreseeable future at least, will remain so. However, if he were given the chance overnight to remove some redundancies, fix the bugs, increase speed and enhance his scale armoury, he would be a fool to pass up the opportunity. A universal evolution would be a huge job; requiring digging deep into the very DNA of the evolutionee; finding the phenotypes that gave him an edge and those that disadvantaged him. We would like an Africa-inspired fashion renaissance; so we will need to put African fashion on the centrifuge; understand its properties; break it down to its constituent elements and then rebuild it around our current environment.
The Body of African Fashion
For a long time, Africa was wrongly described as the land of boobs, hips, thighs and big bums. While it is true that the continent has its fair share of curvy and even big women, there is also the African petite, the skinny-tall, the chubby-short, the bum-less thunder-thighs, to name a few shapes you will find. My point is that there is serious variation in the shape of the woman. The colonial “one-size-fits-all-Africans” mentality just cannot hold water. Customisable clothing; clothing in different cuts, stretchy clothing… Perhaps this is why ancient Africans used the chitenge ( Zambia ), which would be folded to the wearer’s size; however big or small they may have been.
The body of African fashion also explores the materials chosen in pre-colonial Africa , the change during colonisation and the preference post-colonisation. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the materials of choice were leather, cotton and (for the elite) imported silk from China . In the North, the Egyptians had mastered customisation of tunics and kalasiris of flax (or byssus) linen. The Masai had matavuvale, shuka or kanga. The flowing lines of the cloth allowed for free circulation of air in the normally hot continent. Many books and articles are written on ancient African clothing; a rich heritage which was nearly lost during the acculturation period in Africa. The body also remembers the chemicals that form authentic African clothing; the dyes, the tannin, the threads and the fibres….
Africa’s Dark Days
During Africa ’s dark days of slave trade, it is noted that the richer slave-trading nations sought fine European cloth; brilliant colours, textures and cuts…. During colonisation, it is noted that African fashion was very dynamic. The European merchants were able to satisfy the demand by producing many colours, designs and patterns. This is where most people’s minds on African fashion are taken; the clothes they made using the cloth they were sold rather than our glorious time of inventing cloth; weaving cloth and dying it; producing some beautiful near-symmetric (and irregular) patterns. As the local weaver was out-competed by the European mass-produced cloth, which offered greater choice for lower price, the art of the cloth-maker was suffering a dearth as did most of Africa ’s fine arts. This notion has inspired me to research into the cloth that Africa used to make. If we can sample some of this cloth and make it relevant and modern, perhaps we will succeed in our aim to alter the way African fashion is viewed. Moreover, if we can format it in an electronic (machine-code) way, we could even bring this cloth to the mainstream. The Scottish people have eternalised their tartan and it is recognised in modern couture; even appearing in high fashion pieces. This is the aspiration I have for a truly unadulterated African textile.
Emotion, volition, choice, intellect, personality and the very essence of matter are in its soul (if it has one). The emotion of African fabric; its will and power over men’s imagination… the conundrum that the idea of choice brings… the though process that the designer embroiders into the seams of the cloth; the personality attributed to each garment; the caste, the power, glory, strength, vulnerability, piety engrossed in each song of the weaver’s shuttle!! Africa clothing is about functionality and movement; agility, practicality, resilience, strength, beauty protection and above all love. If we can preserve the soul of the being, the spirit will have a chance at redemption… but the well-being of the soul can only be obtained after that of the body has been secured. (Maimonides). The same said that the highest faculty of the soul is the intellect, and its highest function is to discern the true and the false. African fashion had a conscience; aware of the environment and responsible.
Ethics in Fashion
However, this aspiration can only be ascertained in our renaissance if we ensure responsible sourcing; care for the environment and the people in the manufacturing process. Having an ethical basis in our fashion is the way to achieve this. If, for every amount of trespass to the environment the production of a garment commits, an offset of kind can be guaranteed, we will have enshrined this virtue in our clothing. The political and social importance of clothing as status symbols cannot be overemphasised. From the galant robes of the Pharaohs to the warrior Zulu King, Shaka’s regalia, clothing has always inspired the imagination of men; some to lofty heights where they felt equal to God himself.
The spirit is to do with acknowledgement of the origin of the inspiration to cover, wrap, protect and warm. It is a higher calling than volition, personality and essence; whatever it may be. The spirit is the very identity of the fashion. It is the unalterable part of what we do. Beyond the DNA that defines the rules of construction, the spirit is the life that changes a collection of proteins, fibres and oils into a living, breathing organism. When the spirit departs from the soul, the body is lifeless, dead and forgotten.
So I have explored African style in its embodiment and have come to the conclusion that an authentic transformation is possible; as long as the spirit and form does not alter; the soul thrives in its innocence and the body adapts to the changed environment.
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