African Fashion: A Celebration
Of Adventure And Originality

Here we go! African fashion! It's a celebration! It's a fashion inspiration, just in time for summer, whenever and wherever your summer happens to be.

As you can see from my title, I'm going to delve into and celebrate African fashion for its adventurous and original style. I've got a love affair going on with it.

I'm deeply moved by the designs and art of Stephen Burrows. Did you know that the Fashion Encyclopedia has called him "one of the most audacious and auspicious talents in contemporary fashion?"

He's one of the first African Americans to become famous as a fashion designer, after Ann Lowe. He spent the 1970s clothing a great portion of New York City and beyond. He designed clothes that made women feel beautiful.

To him, clothing is "art," and the best designs, while using ideas from existing fashion, are still exciting and stand out.

He creates his designs from the most comfortable and luxurious materials available, thus allowing women to feel playful, sexy and feminine at the same time.

"I make colorful adult toys because I think fashion should have a sense of humor, and I want people to be happy in my clothes," says Burrows. Check out his website at www.stephenburrows.com for more.

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More Fashion Inspiration

A special issue of ARISE - Africa's Global Style and Culture magazine, edited in May 2009, mentions New York Fashion week featuring African Fashion. Some designers grabbed my attention and I immediately checked out each of their websites.

There I found amazing, fabulous and beautiful collections designed to salute women. Foremost was, Maya A. Lake, with Feline Woman. This designer uses a feisty feline as the muse for her line of women's wear.

As she explains in this special issue of ARISE, "I dreamt I was travelling the world with this cat... I'd knitted these special mittens and when I put them on, the cat would stand up and start sparring with me." Boxing Kitten is a charming mascot for Lake's designs.

Her first collection of dresses and romantic rompers juxtaposes western vintage designs with a myriad of modern West African fabrics -- a look she calls "ethnic rockabilly." Lake's clients include Erykah Badu and Christina Milian, and she credits women of the civil rights movement as a major inspiration.

"I'm drawn to their conservative cuts," she says. "But the women of the black power movement found so much meaning in cultural nationalism. I decided it would be interesting to see what those two women would look like today, melded together." Visit www.boxingkitten.com for some knockout designs.

An African Fashion Powerhouse

A close second is Laurel Brandstetter with her sensational bags. In 2003 she turned an idea into a global enterprise. Mad Imports are handmade, fair-trade accessories that mix traditional Madagascan artwork with hip New York design.

"The craftsmanship and color are beautiful and unique. As far as starting a fair-trade business goes, that part was divine," she says. In 2009, Mad Imports joined with a satellite hub in Kenya.

Mad Imports was soon working with rural women to weave purses and bags from baobab bark. Using only natural dyes, the Nairobi collection is a salute to the clever, swingy bags of the 70s. Go to www.madimports.org and see it all.

We Must Not Forget To Mention

Let's not forget Nu Blue Jeans. Did you know they're going green! Nu manufactures African fashion with certified organic denim from Africa and their jeans are ethically produced in Tunisia. "All washes are done with a waste-water recycling plant to limit the environmental impact," says Nu designer Maxime Guillon.

They're firmly committed also to the development of fair-trade relationships with manufacturers and the end result is a line of men's and women's denim, in rich blues and traditional cuts.

Most importantly, Nu's focus on a non-consumerist mentality dictates one should, "Wear your jeans to death!" All at reasonable prices! Check out www.le-jeans-nu.com for a "Nu" spin on jeans.

More On The Fashion Front

Finally, sisters Shirley and Marjorie Bruno have gathered much attention in their hometown of New York with their creative label, Miss Bruno. Born to Haitian parents, the sisters view African fashion as their main inspiration, saying Haiti is "The most African place this side of the Atlantic."

Beginning in 2006, their two collections, My So-Called Dress and My So-Called Scarf, earned rave reviews for their eye-popping prints, recycled material, and vital textures and patterns. With a powerful philosophy supporting their collections, the sisters don't want their label viewed as strictly fashion.

"It's all about imagination, whimsy, art and movement towards sustainability. Each design is a part or our contribution to the renaissance for Africa and her diaspora and hopefully a conservation starter on just how innovative the so-called Third World can really be." See www.missbruno.com for a different take on fashion.

Stay tuned, I've a bunch of fashion artists for you to discover... and the ways in which they use traditional African clothing, African American fashion and even African braids to turn the fashion world on its head!

Feeling a need to satisfy your thirst for fashion? Click the "Art For Sale" button on the menu to the left and browse my catalog of art. You just might be surprised with what you find!

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