How African designers are making their mark on global fashion

In recent years, African designers have found support from international celebrities including Beyoncé, Alicia Keys and Naomi Campbell. Now a growing number of the continent’s fashion brands are preparing to make inroads into global fashion markets.

Among this wave of talent is South African designer Thebe Magugu, who was awarded the 2019 LVMH Prize for young designers, which comes with a €300,000 ($315,000) grant, and opened his first fashion house in Johannesburg last year.

His style combines modern designs with the continent’s cultural identity, an approach he hopes will help African fashion go global.

“I think the world is really hungry for stories that are outside the European gaze or the American view,” he told CNN. “I think the storytelling we have in Africa is so nuanced …when they see it for the first time, they really respond to it.”

He’s not alone in that belief. Serge Carreira, director of the emerging brands initiative at the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode, the governing body for the French fashion industry, says he has seen an increased appetite for African designers globally.

Carreira says many are intrigued by African fashion because “it represents so many realities, so many expressions, so many cultures that are so different as a whole continent,” and that its designers have found a way to combine culture with contemporary styles.

“I strongly believe that within the next 10 years you will have at least two or three African houses that will be standing as independent houses next to big independent European brands,” he added.

A 2023 UNESCO report on Africa’s fashion sector predicted demand for African haute couture will increase by 42% by 2033, driven partly by the growth of e-commerce. But it found that a lack of funding, infrastructure, and training programs are holding the sector back.

Magugu has experienced this firsthand. He says importing fabric into South Africa means paying a 45% duty and that a lack of access to capital makes it hard for small businesses.

One way to bolster the industry is for the continent to utilize its raw materials rather than having to reimport them as processed goods. The report found 37 African countries produce cotton yet the continent imports $23.1 billion of textiles each year, including clothing and footwear

Kenyan designer Katungulu Mwendwa launched her brand Katush in 2014, with sustainability as a key pillar. “We try to create items that are 100% made on the continent,” she said, even down to the buttons which are hand carved in Kenya.

Mwendwa says she often sources cotton from Burkina Faso, Uganda and Tanzania. A portion of that cotton is processed into thread and dyed before being sent to hand weavers in Nairobi to bring her designs to life.

But transporting textiles from across the continent can be expensive, she added, meaning the brand is unable to compete on price with imported garments from China and other major exporters.

Mwendwa wants buyers to see the value in knowing where and how each item was made. “Hopefully (the consumer) keeps it in a way that they want to protect and value,” she said.

Beyond the goodwill of consumers, some say designers need policies that encourage the use of local artisans and materials, especially when it comes to collaborations with more established international brands.

“There needs to be policymaking,” said South African designer Judy Sanderson. “There needs to be a bridge where a big brand could be introduced to all these artisans because artisans mostly don’t have companies, so it’s very easy to exploit them.”

The UNESCO report suggests “creating or improving textile clusters or special economic zones,” that can boost productivity and reduce costs, as well as attract investment by offering tax breaks and streamlined regulations.

It also highlights improving transportation networks for moving raw materials and end products, and suggests African governments could “reduce or limit import tariffs for fashion brands that use traditional African textiles produced on the continent.”

Forging connections

Many designers debut their collections at fashion weeks, which typically bring together buyers, photographers and influencers. The UNESCO report found that about 32 fashion weeks are typically held across the continent each year, noting that they bolster the industry, and that “countries with structured fashion events, such as Nigeria, Morocco and South Africa, have better developed fashion ecosystems.”

Sanderson believes African fashion weeks aren’t yet bringing international buyers to the continent; instead, many African designers must attend international events to forge these connections.

In 2024, a number of African designers launched new collections at the industry’s major fashion weeks. Sanderson, Mwendwa and Magugu were among 20 African designers featured at the 2024 Tranoi Paris trade show last September, where thousands of buyers attended the multi-day event to meet with international designers and discover the latest trends in jewelry, shoes and clothing. The trio also attended Tranoi’s first trade show in Asia during the 2024 Rakuten Fashion Week, in Tokyo.

“Fashion does not exist in isolation,” Mwendwa said. “It is so important for my brand and brands like mine to have that global presence. It is so critical even just us as Kenyans to be able to share our work with the continent and with the world and to feel that sense of pride.”

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