Stories of African fashion span millennia, from the ancient Egyptians to the Masaai tribes of Kenya to the Quilombola community in Brazil. These stories are passed down from generation to generation in the form of textiles, fabrics, artefacts, and much more. In this short course, we will explore the nuances of fashion across the African continent and diaspora and a contemporary outlook on African fashion today. We aim to demystify the intricacies of African fashion and dispel monolithic ideas that have been erroneously propagated for far too long. The Council for International African Fashion Education's (CIAFE) missions include closing the knowledge gap and decolonising the fashion curriculum, and through this course, we plan to do just that.

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In recent years, we have seen projects highlighting African fashion on a global stage and in parallel, we’ve seen the rise of African and diasporic designers across the globe. There is a growing interest in African fashion, and we plan to unearth the history of some of the most well-known elements of the industry but also shine a light on the less documented ones. In this course, we’ll be also looking at pioneers, innovators and changemakers. Each module will cover a specific area of the continent or diaspora and will explore historical events, indigenous crafting practices, national garments and other qualities unique to that area. With the African continent and diaspora being so vast, we will look at the differences between these regions in themes such as cultural norms, religion, symbolism, utility, and more.