‘African’ prints and styles, a Pan-African resurgence?

From the black and white images of afro-domed black icons in the diaspora such as Maya Angelou, Malcom-X, Nina Simone and Angela Davis, sporting the Dashiki, Gele, Fez as well as other clothing made from unique African prints, to contemporary black figures including Beyoncé, Solange Knowles, Alicia Keys and Erykah Badu who display works with African fashion as centre pieces, it is clear that there are strong Pan-African tropes present. This idea of Pan-Africanism stems from a belief of unity amongst all peoples of an African Heritage within and outside the continent. The concept was championed by the likes of Marcus Garvey, Walter Rodney, W.E.B DuBois, Leopold Senghor and Kwame Nkrumah, in an effort not only to unite under an Afrocentric umbrella but also to actively challenge white supremacist systems that manifested themselves (and still do) in the forms of European colonialism, segregation, state sanctioned violence and deeply institutionalised racism.

We are now witnessing a strong revival of such Pan-African ethos not only amongst popular Black figures, but also amongst everyday people within the diaspora, who are concerned with finding and strengthening their identities. Clothing has been a key way to manifest this growing Afrocentricity. This resurgence is in this day and age, combating an evolved white supremacist system, as it seeks to tackle the manifestations of racism via anti-blackness and self-hate but also to increase self-awareness, whilst re-writing the script on Black-African identity. There is an increasing celebration of what it means to be Black and African through clothing, a defiant declaration that ‘Africaness,’cannot be compounded. In many ways, I would place Beyoncé’s recent project, Lemonade under this Afrocentric banner, as she features reoccurring African themes through West African Batik prints and Ankara in tracks including “Sorry,” and “Daddy’s Little Girl.” Still in the sphere of the arts, the British-Nigerian Artist, Yinka Shonibare uses West African Batik prints to explore various narratives of the Black experience in sculptures, photography and installations. With the growing influence of social media, grassroots artists have also been able to take part in this movement of cultural celebration, these include the innovative and creative designs of budding fashion designers such as Mimmy Yeboah, the Ghanian-American fashion designer who creates beautiful pieces inspired by her Ghanaian roots.

Nonetheless, there have been certain issues highlighted from this expression of pride through clothing. Some social commentators within the continent have labelled it as another manifestation of cultural appropriation and even going as far as stating that African-Americans, Afro-Latinos and other Black diasporans do not truly have a claim to Africa, thus have no right to don African style pieces. Personally, I do not view this movement as falling under the bracket of cultural appropriation because that would mean a system of exploitation where unequal power relations would be at work. However, in this case both parties – Black diasporans and Black Africans – do not have an unequal relationship thus reproducing exploitation and if any such inequality exists, it can certainly not be compared to that enacted by a capitalist white supremacist system. Now, I do concede that the resurgent Pan-African movement is not without fault, of course I have concerns that the use of African clothing by some in the diaspora might be merely as a fashion statement or as part of a trend, rather than a political statement. Also, concerns arise from the sourcing of such prints, as to how authentically ‘African,’ they truly are due to duplicates being made in China and marketed as ‘African,’ at a fraction of their price whilst depriving local producers within the continent of business. In addition, I would also stress that extreme care must be taken with the language and approach towards Afrocentricity and Pan-Africanism, as often times the movement has come under fire for promoting a homogenised view of Africa, with very little context applied to what particular culture is being celebrated by a certain piece of clothing or print. We can place the Hotep movement under this homogenised umbrella, which is doing more harm than good.

#fashion #africanprints #panafrica #ankara #afrocentricity