The tenacious preconception which denies Sub-Saharan African cultures a history or an evolution is closely linked to the erroneous vision of repetitive societies, whose methods for creating and wearing clothes remain fixed over centuries, changing only as a result of the influence of white people (which may be viewed as destructive or as bringing civilization, depending on the version). This preconception gives a view of societies which are basically conservative in essence, whose codes of dress adhere to the rigid functionalism of traditional costume and ritual dress, and which are therefore resistant to the very concept of fashion.


There is also a second cliché that leads people to deny the existence of fashion in so-called traditional African societies. This second prejudice is closely linked to ethno-anthropological literature which treats dress, accessories and hairstyles primarily as means of non-verbal communication and symbolism. This viewpoint maintains that in ethnic cultures, materials, colours, patterns, modes of dress, and drawings and markings on the body do not correspond so much to aesthetic motivations or references, but must compulsorily have some kind of meaning (magic, ritual, identifying etc.).


"Fashion" on the other hand, which is characterized by an inescapable aesthetic dimension and an incessant search for innovation, is often described as a phenomenon which is exclusive to our period and to our society.
There is some truth in this latter affirmation. Whether one follows the approach of Georg Simmel, which ascribes the phenomenon of fashion to the socio-economic changes that have occurred with the rise of consumer society; or the approach of Jean Baudrillard, which describes fashion as a "fluctuation of signs" within a systemic game fed by the mechanisms of desire, seduction or consumption; the processes brought about by full Western modernity need to be examined. These processes involve firstly the commercialization and secondly the globalization and computerization of society.

It is necessary however to rebalance and re-examine this picture.

Even amongst cultures of ethnological interest, it is possible to attribute the trends and variations in dress not only to functional or "tribal" meanings, but also to the phenomenon of fashion. Ethnic and cultural identities are constructed and reconstructed over time, and all styles of appearance, as well as offering a tangible sign of belonging to a community, represent forms of ethic and aesthetic adhesion to societies in a constant state of evolution.

An examination of the cultures of the so-called black continent (a term which is improper, as one realizes when one only thinks of the explosion of colours visible in African markets) highlights the arbitrariness of the decision not to acknowledge the importance of the aesthetic dimension in these societies. Actually, in these societies the anthropologically important phenomenon of'dress' is traditionally accompanied by a widespread tendency towards spectacle and dramatization, which is indeed a part of everyday life. In Sub-Saharan Africa, choices of styles, clothing and fabrics constitute elements which make up identity and memory. The pageant, ostentation, appearance, beauty and the image of how one person presents himself to others (what today we call a person's "look") have always been of the utmost importance.


In contemporary Africa the cult of elegance, when combined with the desire to follow the latest trends, takes on unprecedented dimensions. And it can give rise to paroxysmal phenomena such as the Congolese sape: a "fashion" which came into being in the fifties and sixties, around the time of independence.

The phenomenon of the sapeurs is widely present in Central Africa. The sapeurs are young people who are consumed by an almost pathological attraction to Western designer clothing, to the point where they almost ruin themselves economically, instead of showing themselves off. Rather than constituting evidence of a form of standardization and loss of singularity, this phenomenon reveals the complexity that surrounds the creation of certain fashions, and their social roles and foundations, which requires a consideration of the complex traditions from which current African aesthetic trends emerge, and the cultural models that they reflect.


As the research of Justin-Daniel Gandoulou (1989) reveals, what truly manifests itself in the art of sape, (and also, in a wider view, what manifests itself in general in the contemporary African world of fashion, understood in its most extensive meaning), is not so much a defenceless and passive adhesion, on the part of Africa, to external models as a result of the imperialist promotion of Western lifestyles, but rather, as becomes clear on closer inspection, the true goal of beauty: the local evidence of contact and relationships with others.
Indeed, global processes and meanings can always be measured through the forces, interests and experiences taking place at local level.

This consideration leads directly on to the topic of African fashion and its relationship with the rest of the world (not just the Western world). If, indeed, the introduction to the continent of ideas, styles, materials, fabric printing techniques, cuts and accessories from diverse geographic and cultural origins confirms the taken-for-granted fact that different cultures observe, influence and define each other reciprocally, then we can draw the following conclusion. We can conclude that the phenomenon of adaptation, incorporation and indigenization of foreign styles, fashions and materials, through their inventive combination with traditional materials, dyes, weavings, patterns and colours, is evidence that in Africa the factor that remains constant is certainly not chimerical tradition, but rather the local use of dress as a mixture between a form of performance and a form of socializing. In reality, tradition is in constant evolution, even though the majority of people maintain that it remains static, in support of evolutionary stereotypes.


The creative visiting of the "supermarket of styles" (as it has been identified by Ted Polhemus) is a present-day reality in the kaleidoscopic urban centres of contemporary Africa, which present themselves as shop windows and laboratories of dynamics of cultural synthesis and cultural integration.


African fashion is made up of a series of identity transformations, exchanges, dealings, negotiations and renegotiations. One only has to think, for example, of the numerous cases in which the choice of dressing traditionally, a rather than representing survival of a timeless look, represents an operation of recovery-reaffirmation of a person's own cultural heritage.

The deconstruction of the association between "tradition" as origin, and between "authenticity" as essence, and the confirmation that cultural difference is not an exotic or stable alterity, are illustrated in Africa by the pagne.

Over time, this fabric, with its Euro-Javanese genealogy, has become a distinguishing symbol par excellence of Africa. It presents the highly topical issues of ethnic belonging, the intricate meeting of cultures, the postcolonial perception of Africa, and the Self-Other relationship, as matters of power and rhetoric rather than of essence. Besides, these topics are addressed in an ironic manner by the contemporary Anglo-Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare in his artwork, the characterizing and distinguishing sign of which is the pagne.


Fashion also plays an important role in African creative industries. The 2008 UNCTAD report on creative economies notes that the dynamism of exports of creative products by developing economies is a new element which has emerged in recent years.
Fashion is a creative industry deserving of special attention, given its characteristics and the great potential of the fashion industry for trade. The global fashion industry is expanding; it is made up of "haute couture" as well as "ready to wear" and trendy designer clothing.
The existing statistical records of some developing countries need substantial improvement. We know for example that exports from the African design sector increased from 485 million in 2000 to 826 million in 2005 (source: UNCTAD). Data collection needs to be systematic and comparable in order to obtain an overview of the participation of developing countries in world trade of creative-industry products.

Various corporations of stylists and designers have long been working on and maintaining interesting North-South collaborations, and organizing important events for the promotion of the fashion industry, for example FIMA - The International Festival of African Fashion.

As the International Trade Centre maintains, "the rich cultures of Africa have long been a source of inspiration for the international fashion industry. Equally, the industry has benefited from African raw materials such as fabrics and leather. However, it is rare that the communities from which the inspirations and know-how are derived have benefited from the revenues of international fashion. It is necessary to overcome the obstacles faced by poor communities, designers and SMEs in entering the value chains in order to access global markets". For this reason, various initiatives and projects have been moving in the direction of "ethical fashion", which is based on the concepts of fair trade and sustainable development.

The aim of our dossier is obviously not to provide a comprehensive report of the activities and scenarios which make up "African fashion". Rather, the body of theoretical essays and empirical evidence contributed by academics, artists and professionals in the fashion world, will be used to draw up a synthetic, live and up-to-date overview of the "African way" of performing the body and interpreting fashion, which, we hope, will discredit old clichés. This aim depends above all on the authority of the contributing authors.

When we speak of "fashion" we mean to include both the kind of fashion created by stylists, fabric designers and African hairstylists (in and out of Africa), and also the kind of fashion which emerges as a result of everyday invention on the street.

The purpose is on one hand to put the phenomenon of fashion in Africa into historical, cultural, social and economic perspective, and on the other hand to discuss a series of approaches.

Key topics:

l Trends and particularities;

l The persistence and recovery of traditional aesthetic and expressive models;

l Processes of assimilation and reworking, revision, modification;

l Behaviour and practices by which people present themselves to others and show themselves off;

l The existential strategies which underlie the language of dress and self representation;

l The language of materials;

l Women, the market, "traditional" materials and "authenticity" in an Africa of contemporaneity and modernization;

l African production and ethical fashion;

l Safeguarding and promotion of local savoir faire;

l Sustainable development and short distribution chains (with few intermediaries between producers and consumers);

l Stylists and the fashion industry;

l Street fashion: trends, experiences and dynamics;

l Fashion, design, identity and history;

l Fashion: a game of mirrors and a game of imaginations;

l The use and reuse of the European product;

l Festivals and the fashion industry;

l The creative industries.

Deadlines

November 30th, 2009: submission of abstract of article to editorial team. February 15th, 2010: submission of article to editorial team. March 31st, 2010: publication and distribution

Contacts

Sandra Federici, Director: s.federici@africaemediterraneo.it

Filippo Mantione, Editorial Assistant: f.mantione@africaemediterraneo.it
Tel + 39 051 840166