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Africa Fashion
Spanning iconic mid-20th century to contemporary creatives through photographs, textiles, music and the visual arts, Africa Fashion explores the vitality and global impact of a fashion scene as dynamic and varied as the continent itself.
★★★★★ Elegant and exuberant
The Telegraph
★★★★★ A glorious celebration
Time Out
Supported by
GRoW @ Annenberg, a philanthropic initiative founded by Annenberg Foundation Vice President and Director Gregory Annenberg Weingarten, supports a broad range of innovative projects and organizations that address social and cultural issues, meet urgent community needs, and offer inspiration and collaboration—all with the goal of improving the quality of life in communities around the world.
Exhibition highlights
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Mbeuk Idourrou collection, Imane Ayissi, Autumn/Winter 2019, Paris, France. Photo: Fabrice Malard / Courtesy of Imane Ayissi -
'Chasing Evil' collection, IAMISIGO, Kenya, Autumn/Winter 2020. Courtesy IAMISIGO. Photo: Maganga Mwagogo -
Pioneering Moroccan designer Naima Bennis -
Design by Chris Seydou. © Nabil Zorkot -
Alchemy collection, Thebe Magugu, Autumn/Winter 2021, Johannesburg, South Africa. Photography: Tatenda Chidora , Styling + Set: Chloe Andrea Welgemoed, Model: Sio -
Adire, indio-dyed cloth, Nigeria. Museum no. CIRC.588-1965. Museum no. CIRC.588-1965. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London -
DAKALA CLOTH ensemble, 'Who Knew' collection, Abuja, Nigeria, Spring/Summer 2019. Image courtesy Nkwo Onwuka. © Kola Oshalusi -
Self-portrait, Gouled Ahmed, Addis Foam, Ethiopia -
Photograph by Studio Kameni, Cameroon -
Aso Lànkí, Kí Ató Ki Ènìyàn ('We greet dress before we greet its wearer') collection, 2021, Lagos, Nigeria. Lagos Space Programme. Photo: © Kadara Enyeasi -
'The Trench' designed by Maison ArtC, Morocco, 2021. © Image courtesy @M.A.Roock, model Abdul -
Cotton cloth, 1900–49, Ghana. Museum no. CIRC.766-1967. Museum no. CIRC.766-1967. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London -
Sanlé Sory 'Je Vais Décoller, 1977. © Sanlé Sory/Tezeta. Courtesy David Hill Gallery -
Designed by Kofi Ansah, ensembles for the wedding of Ashley Shaw-Scott Adjaye and David Adjaye. Ghana, 2014. © Photographed in London in 2014 by Robert Fairer
Events
Features
About the Africa Fashion exhibition
Find out more about the Africa Fashion exhibition
Inside the Africa Fashion exhibition
Take a look inside our Africa Fashion exhibition
Fashion Unpicked: couture ensemble by Imane Ayissi
Join Senior Curator Christine Checinska as she examines this striking fuchsia ensemble
Cloth of a continent: Africa Fashion
Discover more about African cloth types through our collections
V&A trail: Africa fashion
Follow this trail to discover African fashion and textiles across our collections
Nigeria's first fashion designer: Shade Thomas-Fahm
Meet iconic fashion designer Shade Thomas-Fahm
What If? Stephen Tayo
Discover more about Stephen Tayo's photography series What If?
Magician of the desert: Alphadi
Meet Alphadi – world renowned fashion designer drawing upon histories and cultures from across the continent
Afrotopia
Ekow Eshun, Selly Raby Kane and Sunny Dolat discuss Afrofuturism in fashion
Family, photography, memories: Africa Fashion
Find out about the personal stories and unique fashion histories from individuals across the continent
A life through clothes: Professor Lalage Bown, OBE
Take a look inside the wardrobe of Professor Lalage Bown, OBE
Dream weavers
Discover the African creatives who are reinvigorating ancient textiles and inventing radical new fabrics
Studio, street and style: the photography of James Barnor
Meet the pioneering portrait photographer James Barnor
Nisha Kanabar: Industrie Africa
Meet Nisha Kanabar, founder and CEO of Industrie Africa
Àdìrẹ – 'tied and dyed' indigo textiles
Discover a hugely popular African textile tradition
Gen next: Africa Fashion
Find out more about the new wave of streetwear coming out of Cape Town and Lagos
Design and make a talking textile
Learn about some of Africa's 'talking textiles' and have a go at making your own!
V&A Shop
Blog | Africa Fashion
Discover more stories behind the exhibition
Read more
Africa Fashion – teachers' resource
Use this Key Stages 3 – 5 resource to support a self-guided visit to the exhibition or as inspirational starting points for study back in the classroom.
Download the resource
Africa Fashion
With additional support from
With additional support from
Background image: Photography Lakin Ogunbanwo, creative direction NATAAL, 2022. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London