Liberian fashion has two distinct threads: a long quilting tradition and a newer wave of designers.
A quilting heritage
Quilting came to Liberia with African American free people of colour and former slaves who emigrated there, and Americo-Liberians began quilting in the 19th century. In 1892 Martha Ann Ricks presented a Coffee Tree quilt to Queen Victoria at Windsor Castle. Quilting is practised today by Liberians of all ethnic groups.
Designers and a style shift
A 2016 FashionUnited report described Liberians moving from polo shirts and jeans towards locally designed clothing influenced by neighbouring West African countries, partly because many had lived as refugees in Ivory Coast, Ghana and Guinea. It named designers Agatius Coker, Korlu Jallah of Edith House of Fashion, and Jodie Reid Seton of Sarnokoon Designs. Popular pieces include loose cotton suits, print shirts and handkerchief dresses with head wraps. Coker argues that African styles suit the humid climate better than European ones, and the report puts cotton suits at roughly $60 to $80, noticeably less than many European styles.
Sources: FashionUnited, Wikipedia: Culture of Liberia.
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