It’s no secret that western fashion often borrows heavily from African culture. In this article, AFRICANA takes a dive into modern fashion trends and how they draw inspiration from Africa.

The Motherland has long been a hub of influence for fashion trends in the Western world, from the ear-stretching mania which was adopted from the Maasai tribe of Kenya to festival face painting, which is reminiscent of many tribal practices in Africa.

Typically, African dresses often communicate age, gender, occupation, ethnicity, power, commitment or acts of devotion for everyday, celebratory, ceremonial, they also express personal idiosyncrasy and ritual occasions.

1. In 2017, Victoria’s Secret fashion show in Shanghai referenced very heavily African cultures as an ongoing source of inspiration for high fashion. 
2. In the same summer, Louis Vuitton’s Spring and Summer campaigns proudly paid homage to “a return to roots, to heritage, to formative influences, to the blueprint” through a combination of safari, tribal prints and textiles of African origin.
3. Ghana-must-go bag x Louis Vuitton x Celine’s 2013 Autumn collection: The year is 1983 and the Nigerian president, Alhaji Shehu Shagari orders all aliens to leave Nigeria. The majority were Ghanaian. With only a few weeks to exit Nigeria, they pack what they can into the large checkered bags and made their way to the Seme border which leads to Ghana. Celine’s found a few ways of paying homage to the all-purpose bag…While Louis Vuitton simply added their stamp to the original design and priced it at $300!