Why I No Longer Use Lace & Ankara: A Brief History of Nigerian Textiles
Posted April 9th, 2018 by Ololade in Articles, Blog, Culture, Fashion, Textiles
Antiquity Although the international trade in African textiles is dominated by European and Asian companies, most African nations have rich textile histories and great potential for profitable textile industries. Nigeria has tremendous potential for such an industry, however, modern Nigerians from the underemployed to the elite tend to prefer European and Asian imported fabrics for […]
Lupita, Whitenicious and the Ownership of Beauty
Posted February 28th, 2014 by siyonbola in Articles, Blog, Culture, Fashion, Race, Womanism
The notion that Lupita Nyong’o is beautiful has been breaking news for several weeks now. I haven’t been able to participate in the public celebration of her beauty for several reasons. Because I wonder if all the people posting and reposting would have hailed Queen Lupita if they’d seen her walking down an Atlanta street […]
NO BLEACHING ALLOWED: Fashion Week Bans Models Who Bleach Skin
Posted July 24th, 2013 by siyonbola in AFRiCKA, Articles, Blog, Fashion, Womanism
This is the kind of news that gives you hope in the reversal of our collective self-destruction. Adama Ndiaye–aka Adama Paris–has become my new idol. She is the founder of Dakar Fashion Week in Senegal and during the recent opening declared that she had banned skin-bleaching models from the week-long event. This is what I call […]