Fashion in Benin: The Royal Appliqué Cloths of Abomey
Benin’s most celebrated textile art is the appliqué cloth of Abomey, once made to record the deeds...
Read MoreFashion in Malawi: The Chitenje Story
The colourful chitenje is central to Malawian style, worn simply wrapped or tailored into modern designs, with...
Read MoreFashion in the Comoros: Shiromani, Leso and Gold
Comorian dress ranges from red-and-white shiromani to colourful leso shawls and gold wedding jewellery.
Fashion in Gabon: Raffia and Chouchou Lazare
Gabonese designer Chouchou Lazare is taking traditional raffia from chiefs’ regalia to the Paris runway.
Fashion in Sudan: The Tobe and Its Many Names
The Sudanese tobe moved from imported luxury to everyday wrap, with patterns named after events, from 1928...
Read MoreFashion in Madagascar: The Lamba, Silk and Handcraft
Madagascar’s national dress, the woven lamba, sits within a long tradition of silk weaving, raffia work and...
Read MoreFashion in Morocco: Caftans, Djellabas and Craft
From the prestigious caftan to the hooded djellaba, Moroccan dress blends regional tradition with master craftsmanship.
Fashion in Botswana: Leteisi, Designers and Fashion Weeks
Leteisi fabric and a growing design community define Botswana’s fashion, from Gaborone’s runways to ceremonial dress.
Fashion in Somalia: Traditional Dress, Dirac and Gold Jewellery
Somali dress ranges from the sheer dirac and wrapped guntiino for women to the macawis and koofiyad...
Read MoreFashion in Mozambique: The Capulana
The capulana, a versatile sarong-like cloth, is central to dress in Mozambique.