Africa: The Fashion Continent

Like Swinging London and the Antwerp 6, the African wave currently rippling across the globe represents a cultural renaissance expressed through fashion. This creative revolution reappropriates the visual language of the continent – and in doing so, claims its narrative. Emmanuelle Courrèges, pan-African fashion journalist and founder of the Lago 54 platform for African design, is perfectly placed to share this story: she has done so in 250 pages of jaw-dropping images that celebrate the continent’s boundary-pushing designers and creatives, and the radical self-expression emerging via social media and popular culture. While the global community is only beginning to speak the language of ritual, reinvention and radical upcycling, this is, of course, Africa’s mother tongue. Drawing on the past, yet unbound by tradition, this new creative voice is playful, vibrant, and innovative. Welcome to the newest chapter in the history of fashion.