“We can transmit our
fashion savoir faire in Africa
.
It is ancient knowledge. We have 54 countries of inspiration,” shares Malian designer Sidahmed Seidnaly,
Alphadi
(Timbuktu, 66 years old). Enthusiastic about the newly opened Higher School of Fashion and Arts in Niamey (Niger), he sends photos of about 70 women, uniformed in vibrant orange veils, who are now learning the discipline between patterns, rules and threads in the same building in which Almost a decade ago the couturier declared to EL PAÍS his dream of one day launching this project, which has international support.
“Without education there is no industry or evolution,” he said with conviction in 2015, when he was already threatened by terrorist groups for his way of understanding development. UNESCO named him an Artist for Peace that year and a Goodwill Ambassador in 2022. He has been the promoter of the UNESCO report titled
The fashion sector in Africa: trends, challenges and opportunities for growth
(October 2023), which concludes that there is growing interest on the continent in local production, particularly among those under 25 years of age, who represent more than 50% of the continent's population.
The demand for fashion made in Africa is favored by “the burgeoning middle class on the continent, which makes up more than 35% of the population”, as well as the rapid rise of the digital sector, which facilitates trade and the emergence of talents, according to UNESCO. African designers already accumulate a huge heritage of artisanal techniques, such as that applied in the hypnotic graphics of the Malian bogolan (cloth dyed with clay), which intersperses earthy, mustard, white or black tones; or kente, a pre-colonial fabric of the Ashanti people of Ghana of different colors, each one hiding a meaning. They are the heritage—along with jewelry and accessories made with metals, beads, cowries, horns or raffia—that make up signs of identity that revalue these works and vindicate them in the face of cultural appropriation. New original and exclusive creations are also added to this baggage. And the entire compendium is incorporated into the global textile industry with an encouraging scenario that, however, requires important adjustments in legislative, investment, material costs or employee protection areas.
Paco Rabanne, and Jean Paul Gautier
The Tanzanian designer Doreen Mashika, who studied in Switzerland and opened her workshop in Zanzibar in 2008, confirms the theses of the report, in which she participated as an interviewee. “With technological advances I can work much more easily. Payment methods, digital banking or applications make all procedures and fees more transparent,” she said while she prepares the collection for Paris fashion week.
The continent has 32 fashion weeks a year, which encourages dissemination and meetings between creators. Alphadi, who founded the International African Fashion Festival (FIMA) in 1998, attests to the growth of these events in these 25 years. “Yves Saint Laurent, Kenzo, Paco Rabanne, Jean Paul Gautier, Pathe'O, Collé Sow Ardo, Oumou Sy, Maimour have attended FIMA,” he lists.
French journalist Emmanuelle Courrèges, author of the book
Africa, The Fashion Continent
(Flammarion), concludes that in recent years there has been a general boom in African fashion. “It is reflected in the number of international publications.
Vogue
,
Business of Fashion
(BOF) and other important magazines regularly report on African production thanks to their recurring participation in international events. There are also more and more African designers appearing on the official calendars of these events, as well as those winning international awards. Many of them are determined to revitalize African histories, cultures, practices and craft techniques, which have been marginalized, sometimes despised and muzzled by colonial history,” says the editor.
Courrèges highlights the explosion of
concept stores
(design establishments),
online
stores and other ephemera with products from the continent. The exhibition
Africa Fashion
held until last spring at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, which for the first time in its 170-year history showed the continent's fashion with 250 pieces, was a turning point. As was also the case when Chanel moved to Dakar in 2022 to present its
Métiers d'Art
collection for the first time in sub-Saharan Africa . “In five years there has been an extraordinary boom in the supply and infrastructure of African fashion,” observes the journalist.
Towards a sustainable industry model
The debate on economic development in Africa involves not repeating the extractive, polluting and labor abuse models of other latitudes. The UNESCO X-ray also reflects this for the textile industry. The continent is an important producer of raw materials (37 of 54 countries produce cotton), exports textile material worth 14.6 billion euros a year and imports 21.7 billion in fabrics, clothing and footwear. “But the wealth of the sector is not only in this aspect,” explains the coordinator of the report, Ernesto Ottone. “The value of the intangible and the structural deficiencies of the ecosystem have also been studied. Lost trades have been identified and cultural appropriation analyzed. Demands for better quality jobs and respect for the environment are also included,” details the also UNESCO deputy director general of Culture.
The report states that 59% of professionals perceive a lack of public and private investment, followed by a lack of formal education (49% say so); the cost and availability of local textiles (45%); or the weakness of adequate infrastructure (44%). “Training is essential, and that professionals who study abroad return, so that there is no gap in the transmission of knowledge,” says Ottone.
Mashika came back. “I wanted my work to have a positive effect on my community. I realized that a lot of goods were imported from other countries and we have very beautiful fabrics,” explains the designer, who has nine workers in her workshop. “My idea is to continue growing,” she adds. Among its values are production with ethical criteria, taking more care of the environment, promoting local consumption or even consuming less. “It is not cheap to be green and products can increase in price with these criteria, but the population needs to adapt to careless production,” she concludes. Mashika also highlights the importance of public policies that facilitate the development of the sector, such as the Ugandan Government's ban on importing second-hand clothing, which is not without controversy.
The text also includes proposals such as that of Burkina Faso to adopt the use of Faso dan fani
fabric
for school uniforms and judges' robes, or that of other countries such as Ghana or Lesotho, which have declared
Local Wear Fridays
(dressing in local clothing Fridays). “It is a report that is designed for African governments,” says Ottone about the adjustments, which include establishing environmental standards and improving the transmission of that
valuable
savoir faire
. “We have talent, but politicians are not serious,” remarks Alphadi, who is determined to continue fighting as in his last 40 years of profession: “We have suffered coups d'état in Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso... that generate many problems for integration and education. But we continue!”