“Talents” is a space to showcase and learn about the work of emerging creatives in the fields of black fashion, photography, and fine art. *** My Name is Diana Ejaita, Berlin-Based textile designer and fine artist. All of my work is definitely influenced by both my Nigerian and European origins. I like to play with the geometrical, ancient african simbologies and organic forms which …

African textiles carry a huge signifying power and are routinely used to express statements about the self. In my posts about the West African ankara/wax and Kenyan kanga textiles I argue that design amplifies their currency within and beyond Africa. The semantic potential of their abstract or partially-abstract patterns make the textiles a versatile channel of cultural translation. The textiles are also worn to express political …

The cultural platform Ezibota has published an educational article on African textiles and the regional and cultural diversity the mainstream press and fashion system overlook when appropriating them. Have a read here. “The terms African print, ethnic prints or tribal prints should make you pause. Africa after all is a continent so when designers say African print, Which country out of the 54 that makes up the …

Textiles are the most representative symbol of the globalization of African fashion (Rovine 2014). A young generation of stylists and designers based in various regions of the continent consistently employs them to express and export a style imbued with pan-African pride. The turn to an African-inspired aesthetic able to drive fashion’s regeneration at the global level is evident in the widespread practice of cutting fabric …