Africa Fashion

Pioneers like Naïma Bennis, Shade Thomas-Fahm, Chris Seydou, Kofi Ansah and Alphadi helped promote the booming industry from the 1960s to the 1990s, as traditional cloths and textile practices from around the continent took on new political meanings in the context of independence. Thanks to their talent and influence, African fashion designers achieved international recognition and clientele. 

From the 2010s forward, African creatives are leading the way in contemporary cutting-edge fashion. Designers and brands like Imane Ayissi, IAMISIGO, Moshions, Thebe Magugu and Sindiso Khumalo are charting their own course, pushing boundaries and opening up conversations around culture, race, gender and sexuality. 

Discover their work in the exhibition: 

Maison ARTC (Artsi Ifrach) • Katush (Katungulu Mwendwa) • MMUSOMAXWELL (Maxwell Boko and Mmuso Potsane) • Doreen Mashika • Lisa Folawiyo • Fruché Official (Frank Aghuno) • MAXHOSA AFRICA (Laduma Ngxokolo) • Hassan Hajjaj • Orange Culture (Adebayo Oke-Lawal) • Nao Serati (Neo Serati) • Christie Brown (Aisha Ayensu) • Torlowei (Patience Torlowei) • Tongoro (Sarah Diouf) • Amine Bendriouich: Couture & Bullshit • Selly Raby Kane • Bull Doff (Laure Tarot and Baay Sooley) • Loza Maléombho • Reform Studio (Hend Riad and Mariam Hazem) • Okhtein (Aya and Mounaz Raouf) • Adèle Dejak • K’Tsobe (Sarah LeGrand) • Ami Doshi Shah • Theresia Kyalo • Lafalaise Dion • Inzuki (Teta Isibo) • Lagos Space Programme (Adeju Thompson) • NKWO (Nkwo Onwuka) • Kenneth Ize • Awa Meité •Khokho • AAKS (Akosua Afriyie-Kumi) • Lukhanyo Mdingi • ATAFO (Mai Atafo) • Carol Achieng and Joice Makokha Simiyu • ODI – Onder Die Invloe 

In the second half of the twentieth century, African photographers took advantage of the democratization of photography to create portraits illustrating the euphoria of independence in nations on the brink of self-rule. Photographs taken in studios and domestic spaces became affirmations of self-representation, documenting fashion consciousness of individuals with agency and a desire to use it.  

The images presented in the exhibition bear witness to a constant reinvention of identities, all within an ever-evolving African fashion scene of growing international importance. 

Discover photographs by: Gouled Ahmed • James Barnor • Rachidi Bissiriou • Arthur H. Downes • Ibrahim Kamara • Michel Papami Kameni • Seydou Keita • Hamidou Maiga • Lazhar Mansouri • Sanlé Sory • Stephen Tayo • Sarah Waiswa 

Africa Fashion shines a light on talented cutting-edge designers from across the continent, notably through 80 ensembles displayed on mannequins. The staging of this exhibition was an opportunity for the V&A team to create mannequins representative of the global majority, with the purpose of centring and celebrating African fashions and beauty.

The development of a new head to create a full-figure mannequin added an aesthetic dimension that emphasized the themes of the show, from Pan-Africanism to self-representation. Digital sculpting was used to create this new head, in collaboration with South Sudanese model Adhel Bol, whose features were a reference to begin the process. Four shades of Black skin tone, as well as three Black hairstyles, created further variation within the figures. 

Not all black and African aesthetics could be embodied through one mannequin or represent the diversity of 54 countries. However, the inclusion of different hairstyles and paint colours created a subtle variation between figures, whilst a wider cross-section of African identities were represented through photography and film. 

“I had never seen a brown or black mannequin in my life, talk less of a mannequin with African hairstyles, braids, Bantu notes and our Africa features highlighted so well – full lips, high cheekbones, wide nose….to see myself brought to life in this way I am hoping it can inspire one or two young black boys and girls to feel represented, included in the conversation, in a room, the global fashion scene or any other major (sector) in life”
– Adhel Bol, November 2022

→ Learn more on the Museum Blog

Dr. Christine Checinska, photo : Laura Dumitriu, 2025 © McCord Stewart Museum

Dr. Christine Checinska is an artist, designer, curator and storyteller. She is the V&A’s Senior Curator of Africa and Diaspora Textiles and Fashion, and Lead Curator of the international touring exhibition Africa Fashion. She is a member of the Costume Institute at the Met’s curatorial Advisory Committee for the 2025 show Superfine: Tailoring Black Style. She is a Visiting Research Fellow at Yale Centre for British Art and a Research Associate at VIAD, University of Johannesburg.

Christine exhibited work in the group show The Missing Thread, Somerset House, London, 2023-2024. She was a co-curator of Makers Eye: Stories of Craft, Crafts Council Gallery, London, 2021. Her recent publications include ‘Material Practices of Caribbean Artists Throughout the Diaspora’, in Crafting Kinship: A Visual Journal of Black Caribbean Makers, Marlene Barnett (ed.), 2024. 

An advocate of creativity through art, design and craft, Christine serves on the boards of the British Textile Biennial and the Textile Society of America.

After your visit of the exhibition, dive into the atmosphere of Bal Afrikana in Montreal, a celebration of Black creativity and heritage.

Organized by the Centre culturel afro-canadien de Montréal (CCAM), Bal Afrikana has become a standout event in Montreal’s cultural landscape. This fundraising gala highlights the richness of Black cultural and creative heritage through fashion, the arts, and powerful performances. Participants are invited to express their identity by wearing African or Afro-Caribbean attire, while discovering the talent within the local creative industry.  

In 2024, the inaugural edition left a lasting impression with its elegance and heartfelt tribute to Afro-descendant trailblazers. In 2025, the second edition, held under the theme Renaissance, brought together over 300 guests and affirmed the strength of an inclusive and unifying movement.

This collective success is the result of the commitment of partners, ambassadors, and the wider community. By attending Bal Afrikana, the public supports an initiative aimed at increasing access to art and culture for youth from historically underserved neighbourhoods. 

Mindful of environmental issues and convinced that museums have a role to play in the transition to a more sustainable future, the McCord Stewart Museum has set itself the goal of minimizing the amount of waste produced by its exhibitions. Before beginning production on the Africa Fashion exhibition, the Museum conducted a review to develop and implement strategies to reduce its environmental impact. Nearly all of the elements in the exhibition design were sourced from the Museum’s stock of materials, notably picture rails, display cases, benches, and exhibition supports. Several wooden tables and platforms were constructed for the project. Designed to be reusable, these structures will be added to the Museum’s inventory for use in future exhibitions. The black acrylic sheets covering the platforms are the project’s primary environmental drawback, although they may also be reused in the future.

All of the multimedia equipment used in the exhibition (screens, projectors, headphones, sound monitors and computers) came from the Museum’s existing stock of materials.

Special efforts were made to reduce the waste associated with printing graphic elements. Exhibition texts and labels were printed directly onto wooden panels that can be reused in other projects. The few remaining elements were printed onto recycled, PVC-free vinyl stickers.

Created by the V&A – touring the world.

Curatorship
Dr. Christine Checinska, Senior Curator of African and African Diaspora Textiles and Fashion, Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Curating
Alexis Walker, Associate Curator, Dress, Fashion and Textiles, McCord Stewart Museum

Project Management
Eve Martineau, Coordinator, Exhibitions, McCord Stewart Museum

Exhibition Design
Guillaume Kukucka

Graphic Design
Stéfanie Vermeersch

McCord Stewart Museum Team

François Vallée, Head, Exhibitions
Caroline Truchon, Senior Project Manager, Exhibitions
Andréanne Neveu, Project Manager, Exhibitions
Mélissa Jacques, Supervisor, Technical Services
Olivier LeBlanc-Roy, Technician, Exhibitions
Eugénie Bonneville, Technician, Exhibitions
Siloë Leduc, Technician, Exhibitions
Joëlle Blanchette, Technician, Exhibitions

Cynthia Cooper, Head, Collections and Research and Curator, Dress, Fashion and Textiles

Caterina Florio, Head, Conservation
Sonia Kata, Conservator
Sara Serban, Conservator
María Castañeda Delgado, Conservator
Caroline Bourgeois, Conservation Assistant
Amélia Desjardins, Technician, Conservation

Karine Rousseau, Head, Collections Management
Anne-Frédérique Beaulieu, Officer, Digital Outreach, Collections and Exhibitions

Leïla Afriat, Officer, Community Relations
Leyi Zhao, Intern
Cultural Mediation Team

Sabrina Lorier, Manager, Digital Engagement

External Team

Editing and Translation
Pascale Guertin, French
Edith Skewes-Cox, English

Graphic Production
MP Repro

Installation
Espace Montage

Audiovisual Installation
Éric Fauque

Construction of Exhibition Modules
Acmé Décors

Transport
Artys Transit

Lighting Design
LightFactor

Painting
René Gauthier
Lili Provost
Edyta Rano

Special thanks
Allen Alexandre
Arlette Éhode
Marilyne Ouedraogo
Meriem Rial
Jean-Claude Simelo