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The Arts Intel Report

Africa Fashion

Aso Lànkí, Kí Ató Ki Ènìyàn (“We Greet Dress Before We Greet Its Wearer”) Collection, 2021.

May 31 – Oct 6, 2024
180 St Kilda Rd, Melbourne VIC 3006, Australia

The 1950s through the 1990s were important decades in Africa. Many countries were claiming independence and the euphoria of decolonization sparked social reordering across the continent. Writers, artists, and musicians joined the Mbari Club; Fela Kuti pioneered the Afrobeat; and Indigenous textiles were embraced once again, a statement that was as political as it was aesthetic. This exhibition, which has already appeared at London’s V&A, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Portland Art Museum, explores the birth of contemporary African fashion. Garments, photographs, sketches, films, and catwalk footage tell a story of liberation. —Elena Clavarino