Africa’s Top Designers Bring Color To The Fashion World

By Ashleigh McGrew, Home, from Home

Home, from Home Fashion and Culture writer, Ashleigh McGrew talked with African Vibes Magazine editor-in-chief Belle Niba about the ‘I Wear African’ fashion show held in Los Angeles recently and profiled the work of two designers Christiane King and Kahindo Mateene, whose work featured in this years event.

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African Vibes Magazine editor Belle Niba has always been a follower of fashion. I found this out recently, after asking her how much of a fashion fan she was. Her reply was clear: “OMG! I’m a die-hard fashion fan… a total sucker for fashion week too!”

It makes sense then, that Niba would use this love of fashion to “shine a positive light on Africa and Africans,” by organizing a fashion show, held in Los Angeles recently. The event was called, ‘I Wear African’.

The show included work by Korto Momolu (Liberia), Sheila Denanyoh (Ghana), Arthlene Legair (Dominica), Kahindo Mateene (Democratic Republic of Congo-DRC), Maryanne E. Mokoko and Stephanie T. Mouapi (Cameroon), Mekdes Tefera Taye, (Ethiopia), Monalisa Okojie (Nigeria) and Christiane King (Ivory Coast).

I talked with Christiane King (who was also a contestant on the TV hit series Project Runway,) about ‘The Christiane King Collection’, which featured in the African Vibes fashion show. Christiane, aka Kiki to her mother, is all about color. King told me that she grew up in [Ivory Coast,] a country where fashion design is “… not the ideal profession.” She continued, “parents want you to be a lawyer or doctor.” Despite this, King continues to push the envelope as a fashion designer.

King’s fall 2010 collection was inspired by the craftsmanship of her homeland where, according to her,“People take days to build a basket...” She wanted to use that approach to “… to create pieces that are unique and connect art — and nature…”

As a designer, she is passionate about giving back. She told me, “I don’t want to just touch people through my work, I want to help families, make women happy, I hope I get to that point.”

Another featured designer, Kahindo Mateene, founder of Modahnik, became a designer because she wanted to create “a modern way to exude my African upbringing.” Mateene contrasts modern silhouettes with patterns often associated with more traditional African outfits. She says she wanted to create a line of African inspired clothes for women with curves:

I’m an African woman with a womanly shape, with hips and thighs.  I had difficulty finding dresses that fit me properly; I wasn’t the only one having these issues when shopping. My clothing line caters to womanly figures, Kim Kardashian with sizes 2-16…I really wanted to cater to that demographic and want to flaunt it in a cool, sexy, conservative way.

King and Mateene are just two of the growing number of designers who want to make an impact on the fashion world by looking to Africa for inspiration. That can’t be a bad thing, as people are always looking for fresh ideas. As Belle Niba says, “Fashion recycles itself, and the designers have come to a halt. What we did in the 60’s, 80’s and 90’s is back again.” Africa may be on its way to becoming a major source of inspiration for designers, like Paris, Milan or London. With advocates like Belle Niba, and the organizers of Africa Fashion week in South Africa (which I’ll be covering for Home, from Home) we might be witnessing the growth of the modern African fashion movement.

Home, from Home Contributor Ashleigh McGrew also writes for Examiner.com and has had articles published by ‘Daily Fill’

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