Fashions of Southern Africa | August 26, 2016-July 2, 2017

The Kent State University Museum presents Fashions of Southern Africa, an exhibition that brings together the work of fashion designers currently active in South Africa and Namibia. The display of over thirty ensembles and accessories explores the ways that people in southern Africa dress, make clothes and think about fashion. The exhibition looks beyond a simple binary between “western fashion” and traditional African dress to see that there is original distinctive fashion in Africa.

News coverage concerning Africa often focuses on the challenges the continent faces with poverty, disease and war. Far less attention is paid to the fact that Africa boasts the fastest growing middle class in the world. With this increasing spending power, sectors such as the fashion industry have the potential to see enormous growth in the years to come. This exhibition brings together established designers and many emerging young designers who represent the region’s future. Fashion is no longer directly dictated out of Paris, New York and London. These brilliant African designers bring fresh perspectives on style and fashion.