Visualising Liberation
Visual communication was a powerful tool in the journey to independence. Posters, t-shirts and pamphlets celebrated new national autonomy and promoted the cause of African liberation worldwide. Pan-African and international collectives, including the Organisation of African Unity, stood together against colonialism and imperialism.
The Organisation of Solidarity with the Peoples of African, Asia and Latin America (OSPAAAL) was born out of the Tricontinental Conference held in Cuba in 1956. OSPAAAL sought to promote cooperation between socialist countries adn anti-imperial liberation movements, and to stern interference from former colonisers and capitalist powers.
[V&A]
Taken in the Exhibition
Africa Fashion
(July 2022 to April 2023)
The irresistible creativity, ingenuity and unstoppable global impact of contemporary African fashions are celebrated in an extensive display of garments, textiles, personal testimonies, photographs, sketches, film and catwalk footage in this exhibition. Many of the garments on show hail from the archives of iconic mid-twentieth century African designers – Shade Thomas-Fahm, Chris Seydou, Kofi Ansah and Alphadi. Alongside these are personal insights from influential contemporary African fashion creatives, including Imane Ayissi, IAMISIGO, Moshions, Thebe Magugu and Sindiso Khumalo, as well as highlights from fashion trends of the day, which are on display for the first time.
Foregrounding individual African voices and perspectives, the exhibition presents African fashions as a self-defining art form that reveals the richness and diversity of African histories and cultures. Africa Fashion celebrates the vitality and innovation of a selection of fashion creatives from over 20 countries, exploring the work of the vanguard in the twentieth century and the creatives at the heart of this eclectic and cosmopolitan scene today.
Across contemporary couture, ready-to-wear, made-to-order and adornment, the exhibition seeks to offer a close-up look at the new generation of ground-breaking designers, collectives, stylists and fashion photographers working in Africa today. It explores how the digital world accelerated the expansion of the industry, irreversibly transforming global fashions as we know them.
[V&A]
Visualising Liberation
Visual communication was a powerful tool in the journey to independence. Posters, t-shirts and pamphlets celebrated new national autonomy and promoted the cause of African liberation worldwide. Pan-African and international collectives, including the Organisation of African Unity, stood together against colonialism and imperialism.
The Organisation of Solidarity with the Peoples of African, Asia and Latin America (OSPAAAL) was born out of the Tricontinental Conference held in Cuba in 1956. OSPAAAL sought to promote cooperation between socialist countries adn anti-imperial liberation movements, and to stern interference from former colonisers and capitalist powers.
[V&A]
Taken in the Exhibition
Africa Fashion
(July 2022 to April 2023)
The irresistible creativity, ingenuity and unstoppable global impact of contemporary African fashions are celebrated in an extensive display of garments, textiles, personal testimonies, photographs, sketches, film and catwalk footage in this exhibition. Many of the garments on show hail from the archives of iconic mid-twentieth century African designers – Shade Thomas-Fahm, Chris Seydou, Kofi Ansah and Alphadi. Alongside these are personal insights from influential contemporary African fashion creatives, including Imane Ayissi, IAMISIGO, Moshions, Thebe Magugu and Sindiso Khumalo, as well as highlights from fashion trends of the day, which are on display for the first time.
Foregrounding individual African voices and perspectives, the exhibition presents African fashions as a self-defining art form that reveals the richness and diversity of African histories and cultures. Africa Fashion celebrates the vitality and innovation of a selection of fashion creatives from over 20 countries, exploring the work of the vanguard in the twentieth century and the creatives at the heart of this eclectic and cosmopolitan scene today.
Across contemporary couture, ready-to-wear, made-to-order and adornment, the exhibition seeks to offer a close-up look at the new generation of ground-breaking designers, collectives, stylists and fashion photographers working in Africa today. It explores how the digital world accelerated the expansion of the industry, irreversibly transforming global fashions as we know them.
[V&A]