Fashioning African Cities: The Case of Johannesburg, Lagos and Douala

Abstract

This article examines the reciprocal relationships between African cities and their fashion. Until recently, fashion capitals in the West like Paris, London and New York were perceived as being the only leading trend-setting places for global fashion design. The fact that besides these "key urban centers" (Breward 2011) a number of fashion cities have developed in Africa, which contain the networks and necessary infrastructure destined to produce, distribute and present fashion for local and international consumers, has been neglected so far. The article addresses this neglect by comparing three case studies on fashion designers from Johannesburg, Lagos and Douala and focusing on questions about urbanity and fashion as cultural practices. The article highlights the specific local contexts and urban dynamics of these cities, which provide a constant source of inspiration to the designers considered. Every city possesses its own historical, cultural, social and political context and networks which become represented in fashion. At the same time, the article strives to understand how fashion —from production to representation—positions itself in the urban landscape reinterpreting and transforming it. The three case studies are Stoned Cherrie from Johannesburg (South Africa), Buki Akib from Lagos (Nigeria) and Jules Wokam with Too’maii from Douala (Cameroun).

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