Is print really dead? Was it ever really dead to begin with? If you ask Antoine Grégory — fashion stylist, consultant, brand director of Theophilio and founder of Black Fashion Fair — I’m certain the answer is a conclusive “no, print was never dead.” Black Fashion Fair is defined as a conceptual retail, educational and cultural…
90s nostalgia has been permeating mass popular, media and fashion culture(s) for a little over a while now — with a little over a while being 5 years or so. Perhaps this has something to do with the global spread of Pan African media cultures through the rise of Nollywood and subsequent new media cultures…
*This essay forms part of Bubblegum’s Collaboration with Bag Factory and their visiting curator from Uganda, EM Mirembe. Aiduke is a pop-up clothing shop that opened on 4th December 2021 in Muyenga, one of the more well-off neighbourhoods in Kampala. For now it lives in an innocuous room at the entrance of Tank Hill Park, an airy wood-roofed…
In every industry, there are many contributors whose labour goes un/under recognised. It’s not until very recently that I started to notice the incredible and inspiring work that stylists contribute (Thank you Styling Hollywood). Unlike the designer — whose name is often directly linked to the garments and fashion houses — the work of the…
My biggest goal for 2022 is collaboration. This year I aim to familiarise myself with creatives who I share a similar vision with. It’s so important for me that anyone working in the beauty industry is better represented in the creative industry. I aim to push the narrative that ‘BEAUTY IS ART’ this year more…
The vision of the brand is purely rooted in the creation of distinctive views as well as opening the eyes of the generations that come after us, hence “ShwelaBana” which translates to “Die for the kids”. This is not a direct and literal statement, but simply put, means our struggles should build stable foundations for…
The concept of the brand came about due to a lack of representation of Islamic heritage within the South African creative landscape, particularly within fashion. The manifesto of the brand serves as an ode to previous generations’ role in dismantling systems of oppression, recalibrating systems to allow for the progress of future generations. Imran Mohamed,…
The earth has almost completed yet another trip around the sun, and with that we shed our old makeup trends and collectively prepare to assume new looks fit a fresher, funner future – whether knowingly or unknowingly. But of course, nothing is absolute in this world and makeup is in no way prescriptive practice –…
As part of a global culture that is becoming more aware and mindful of the impact it has on the environment, fashion brands are developing more sustainable systems that encourage circular production and ecologically conscious design. True Fashion: Try on Green is a mentorship programme developed by the French Institute of South Africa and the…
Nigerians, of course, saw it all along. The infiltration of world culture by the sounds, images, and styles of their country has been building for some time. The author and photographer Teju Cole notices Nigerian pop music when he travels — recently, in a taxi in Peru. The journalist Bim Adewunmi remembers finding a group…
“Ultimately, I take pride in being a Black designer, and my goal is to open the door for more Black designers and people of color, women of color, so that in a year’s time or multiple years’ time, they don’t have to mention that they’re a Black designer.” Virgil Abloh, 2020. “Do Not Go Gentle…
“SOYAYYA, meaning LOVE in the Hausa dialect, is chiefly inspired by the travels Jafaru, the founder, made to the North of Ghana — the breadbasket of Ghana — where his ancestors hail from.” Larry Jay, 2021. Inspired by atemporal African lifestyles and founded five years ago in 2016 by Larry Jafaru Mohammed, Larry Jay, is…
