Africa Fashion at the National Gallery of Victoria
The National Gallery of Victoria’s Africa Fashion exhibition, curated by Dr. Christine Checinska, showcases the rich creativity of African fashion. Checinska aims to show that Africa has always been creative and globally influential. The exhibition features over 200 works from more than 50 designers across 20 African countries, from the mid-20th century to today. It includes editorials, sketches, photography, ready-to-wear fashions, textiles, film, and music, telling the political history of African fashion.
One highlight is the Afrotopia room with gender-fluid designs like an iridescent suit by South African designer Neo Serati Mofammere, celebrating gender fluidity and optimism.
The Politics and Poetics of Cloth room displays textiles used in political resistance, such as the Nelson Mandela ANC commemorative cloth from the 1990s, symbolizing the fight for Mandela’s freedom and the anti-apartheid movement.
Ghanaian photographer James Barnor’s work is also featured. Barnor opened Ghana’s first color processing lab in 1969 and refused to use the Kodak Shirley card, which poorly represented darker skin tones. His photography celebrates Black pride and cosmopolitanism.
The Lagos Space Programme by Adeju Thompson blends traditional Nigerian dye techniques with modern, gender-fluid designs, reintroducing Adiré cloth into contemporary fashion.
Designer Chris Seydou’s work bridges African and Western fashion, using traditional Malinese mud cloth in elegant evening wear. Trained by his seamstress mother in Mali before moving to Paris, Seydou transformed African textiles into luxury fashion.
Africa Fashion at the NGV celebrates African creativity and its global impact. The exhibition runs from May 31 to October 6, 2024.
Re-reported from the article originally published in ABC NEWSS(AUSTRALIA).
