A Nigerian Treasure

So, I started writing some bullet points on my new African ‘fashion’ discoveries when Shani told me that she wrote a new blog post. Lo and behold, it it was about African prints, giving me a great introduction to my own post.

Thought to be honest, I had a look at the ASOS Africa collection and wow…are they like against using color? They tried a bit too hard making it look European-lots of grey and small prints..Definitely very un-African-like…

So, it’s true, African textile has been slowly but surely getting a spot in my wardrobe. For the never-ending summer weather here, wearing something bright and bold is a must. African print, or Ankara (which originated from the Dutch- crazy huh) just engulfs the city and it’s difficult not to want to be a part of it.

In the past, the Nigerian textile industry was booming. It was a popular export product until basically oil was discovered in the country; which I considered a blessing and a curse. From then on, Nigeria solely depended on the oil production and on nothing really much else, meaning there hasn’t been any kind of investments in other industries and sectors. 

So yeah, you can basically see, the industry is in a slump. Hopefully, with my projects at the chamber, I can make a small change or at least give it a nudge in the right direction, but of course, not as much change as Shani will make with her shopping on ASOS.

What ASOS has done well, is that they’ve been able to incorporate the print with modern cuts. At the moment, I’ve only found fabric stores/designers, but I’ve yet to find any fashion labels designing with the fabrics (Nigerian designers, where are you??)…So I’ve been forced to make some pieces myself and in due time, when I get the hang of it, I’ll share them, maybe…