Admiration or Exploitation: African Inspired Trends
Burberry Prorsum Resort 2012
If you follow fashion trends, you will notice the current obsession with all things “ethnic”, “tribal” and generally African, though they never refer to it as African. From Maasai inspired beaded bracelets, to high-wasted pencil skirts made with copied Ghanaian prints to furniture that is “inspired” by South Africa. I love these African inspired trends as I see it as the recognition of the amazing fashion, colors and traditions of the continent being spread around the world, but…
My hesitation surfaces when I look at the price tag of some of these collections from high-end designers such as Burberry. It is clear that the styles/fabrics are taken directly from the continent, but do the indigenous people reap any benefits? How can they protect their intellectual property and some how attempt to regain some of the money that is flowing for trends that have been staples in many countries for decades and in some cases centuries? Given the economic state of many African countries, do designers have a duty to somehow pay for the use of African designs? Should they employ Africans to make the trendy items that they are selling rather than having them made en masse in China?
Indego Africa for J. Crew
West Elm South African Collection
