Photos By Gail
Fashion has always been political, but sometimes it’s also pure celebration. Back in 2009, Nigerian-American designer Lola Faturoti found the perfect way to honor the historic election of President Barack Obama: she created a commemorative dress that was as vibrant and hopeful as the man himself.
Continue reading Eye On Design: Lola Faturoti’s Barack Obama Commemorative Dress
Photos By Gail
Designers Jean-Yves Kouassi Yebieyin and Gaston Ouedraogo capture the unique history and culture of West African country Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d’Ivoire, with their brand partnership Djainin. The brand name translates to “Jeans” in Nouchi, a language that developed to bridge language differences in Ivorian cities.
Continue reading Eye On Design: Marie-Thérèse Houphouët-Boigny Print Ensemble By Djainin
Photos By Gail
Designer Grace Wales Bonner states, “the aim with Wales Bonner is to bring Afro-Atlantic Spirit to the idea of European luxury and elevate Black representation within fashion.” This white wool Tuxedo (2017) is inspired by the Pan-Africanist leader Haile Selassie’s crowning as emperor of Ethiopia in 1930. Continue reading Eye On Design: Wool Men’s Tuxedo By Grace Wales Bonner
Photos By Gail
Artist and designer Beau McCall uses buttons to tell stories “about African-American life, love and experience,” noting “buttons are universal. There are those that express class differences, political views, and cultural issues.” His jacket, The Revolution (1995) communicates black American Afrocentricity through the colors of the pan African flag.
Continue reading Eye On Design: The Revolution Levis Denim Jacket By Beau McCall
Photo By Gail
Night Journey (1969 —70) belongs to Frank Bowling’s Map series (1966 – 71), a group of mostly abstract paintings composed of broad fields of color into which the artist placed the continents of Australia, South America, and Africa. Here, the barely discernible shapes of South America, in red at center left, and Africa, in blue and pink and center right, hover in his luminous composition. The yellow area between them evokes the Atlantic Ocean, the maritime highway that facilitated exchange and, most importantly for Bowling, the slave trade. Using the conventions of modern painting about 1969 — 70 in New York, where he worked at the time, the artist evokes the displacement and migration of Africans.
Photographed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC.