Africa is in style

It is not unusual to see the colors and hear the rhythms of Africa at runway shows in Paris, New York, or Milan. But despite its influence on Western designers, African fashion is still struggling to make itself known.

With the ambitious pursuit of reinventing urban fashion, many young African designers are breaking away from the expectations imposed on them to infuse ethnic and folkloric themes into their work, but without ignoring rich textiles and fashion heritage.

Bringing together archival images, illustrations, and photographs, Africa Is In Style paints a lively picture of this constantly evolving world, looking at designers and labels from Alphadi to Xuly Bët, from Oumou Sy to Juliette Ombang, Mickaël Kra, and others. This book accompanies the competition of young African stylists organized by the French Association for Artistic Action (AFAA) at the 2005 International Festival of African Fashion (FIMA) in Niamey, Niger.