Why African Fashion was Trending Globally in 2020 — the great comeback
Fashion Trends translate into something more than knowing what to wear for the right season, or even which brands make the most loyal customers out of the average shopper. Fashion trends may mean a lot of things, but they ultimately mean a particular style or clothing that is popular at a certain particular point in time.
As most of you Fashionistas already know, Africa is the new buzz, and the era of African prints, kinky braids and funky-coloured accessories are turning up on the world stage as fashionable items. People are consistently choosing African themed items over Western-styled fashion.
Let’s take the USA for example; It is now very common to see celebrity figures like Beyonce, Nicki Minaj, Alicia Keyes and the many others sporting African-wear pieces, such as what Ghanaians popularly call ‘kaba and slit’, the Nigerian ‘gele’ and even the royal ‘Ahenema’. These are basically, a blouse and long skirt ensemble, head gear and traditional slippers, in that order.
The guys are not left out of the fun though. The fashion revolution has them also wearing shirts and trousers sewn with African prints -styles that were just recently the exclusive of Africans.
Braids are also in the loop. Now African styles are trending on the hairstyle market in the form of cornrows primarily -the almighty box braids don’t trail far behind either. There is a strong conviction that these styles have come to stay with the times. The era of fashionable natural hair, called “Afro-kinky” has helped herald in this new hairstyle trend.
There’s a catch though, despite the new happenings, blindly following fashion trends without some background into the style that suits you is equally foolhardy. You can avoid looking stark silly by applying some common-sense tips; like avoiding the urge to dress up full kit ‘Shaka Zulu’. But rather accessorizing with earrings, necklaces, beads or scarfs on top of your everyday attire to get that hint of African-ism on your regular wardrobe style.
Individualism wins at the end of the day so simply be free, be comfortable and do you!
