There is no shortage of news and trends in the world. Between the multiple possibilities, the Economist has included The Rise of African fashion in the five stories to watch out for in its video The World Ahead 2022, among China revels in democracy failing, The race to space, Hybrid working and the Metaverse.
That says a lot about the upcoming success of African brands on a global scale. Lagos, Johannesburg and Nairobi have been fashion hubs, and African designers have been creating luxury brands for a while. Thebe Magudu won the LVMH designer prize in 2019, becoming the first African to win such recognition. The late Virgil Abloh from Ghana was the first black American designer to be appointed Louis Vuitton Men’s Artistic Director.
2022 promises to go a step further, according to the Economist. African fashion is going global and mainstream. There are many reasons for this great prediction:
- There is a global demand for sustainable and traceable products. African brands are manufactured locally, using sustainable materials, and are easily traceable.
- The demand for black designers has increased after the Black Lives Matters movement, and there is an actual demand. The accessories brand AAKS from Ghana, profiled in the Economist segment, has seen its
sales increase by 700% in 2020. - With the Black Panther sequel being released at the end of 2022, there will be a surge in interest in African fashion. The first movie has already highlighted the rise of e-commerce after the pandemic and will provide African designers with a place to showcase and sell globally they did not have before.
African fashion will also be on the map with a dedicated exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, starting in July 2022. It will showcase mid-20th century to contemporary creatives.
All of this is excellent news for the African fashion industry. More exposure will increase awareness, interest, sales, and hopefully, more employment on an always-evolving continent. With 54 countries in
African, there will always be talents to discover on a global scale.
After the rise of the Afrobeats music that has conquered Africa and then the western world within the last years and saw numerous features between African and American A-listers, now is the time for African fashion talents to be known and recognized.