Introduction
Before Africa became a continent defined by countries with borders and different ways of life, most African communities lived in small tribes and clans. These tribes had customs, patterns, and livelihoods that defined their existence. Most importantly, their way of style and dressing set them apart from other communities.
The majority of the tribes wore simple clothing made out of animal skins, hides, bark cloth and raffia grass. Simple clothing was chosen because of the warm tropical climate on the African continent, unlike the diaspora area characterized by mostly cold weather. The clothes usually covered small segments of body parts. Men covered mostly their loin areas and women wore garments around their waists and breasts.
Accessories for clothing in the past
Most African communities chose accessories to compliment the outfits they wore. The accessory was emphasized to cement special ceremonies like weddings, dances, and baptism parties. Some of the common accessories included shells, jewels made out of bones, and feathers.
Some tribes designed their bodies with art as a way of complimenting style. This art was done in the form of tattooing, body piercing, or even drawing on the skin using pigments extracted from clay, charcoal and crushed minerals. Body art was often a way of expression and identity.
Influence of Foreigners on African Style
The majority of foreigners from continents outside Africa arrived during the 16th century with the onset of the Trans-Atlantic trade. This was the slave trade that was dominated up to the 19th century and involved the displacement of the majority of Africans from their communities. Some African communities participated in this trade with foreigners from other places like Spain, Portugal, France, and Britain. In exchange, they got items like silk, cloth, cotton, and beads which they used to enhance their fashion.
The Arab traders also had a significant influence on the evolution of African fashion in ancient times through their extensive trade networks throughout the continent.
Influence of Colonization on African Style
Foreigners from the diaspora were involved in a rampage to control and partition African communities as a way of bringing prestige and power to their nations. Colonization quest brought changes not only to the political and economic structure of most societies but to African fashion too. Most of the imperialists discouraged African cultural styles and dressing which were deemed too barbaric and uncultured. New styles defined by European culture were introduced on the continent and most societies were forced to incorporate them into their way of life.
Today, even after the independence and liberation of the African communities, European styles still dominate in African fashion and style.
Conclusion
In the modern world, some African fashion designers have tried to inculcate African culture in their designs and still borrow the modes of style that were employed by their ancestors. Some use beads, cowrie shells, and even bark cloth to highlight their roots and culture. Also, different tribes have learned to adapt traditional cultural outfits that tell stories of their people. In light of all this, even though Western influence continues to dominate the upper hand on styles and fashion in the modern world, African fashion is not entirely dead in the expression of Africa’s culture and the roots of her people.
