Africa’s fashion designers are increasingly headlining fashion weeks across the world. Instead of following the latest trends, they have been forging their own paths, based on the continent’s rich heritage of producing fabrics and styles that are at once contemporary and yet deeply cultural. Gail Collins reports.

To a fashion designer, material is not simply the fabric of a garment; it is the foundation and soul of their ultimate vision. A designer understands that a textile will inspire the form, construction and the experiences of the person who finally wears it. Most of us have items of clothing that make us feel particularly good – the fit, the feel, the flow, the comfort – all endorsements of a good designer and a fabric that tells a tale.

Now, African designers of a new generation are not just clothing us – they are fuelling a textile revolution that combines both ethical production and exploration of a rich cultural diversity.

Many African designers are familiar with artisan fabrics whose qualities cannot be replicated on an industrial scale. In 1960, the Nigerian designer, Shade Thomas-Fahm, returned from her studies at London’s St Martin’s School of Art and began championing traditional fabrics such as aso-oke , a striking, heavy, handwoven cloth; and adire , a centuries-old hand-dyed fabric, both originating from the Yoruba people of southwestern Niger.

She went on to mentor and inspire generations of African designers who, following in her footsteps, continue to revive ancient crafts and traditions in our modern world.

According to the United Nations University Centre for Policy Research (UNU-CPR), the clothing industry accounts for around 2% of the world’s GDP – but the backlash is that it is also estimated to generate 10% of global pollution.

Africa is marching to a different beat of the drum and is increasingly positioning itself as a leader around the globe in responsible fashion, proving that harmony can be found between modern culture, tradition and ethical responsibility.

Awa Meité, based in Bamako, Mali, has for a long time been ahead of the game. Her artistic talents encompass filmmaking, painting, jewellery and fashion design, and she has been presenting Mali’s heritage since founding her Routes du Sur organisation in 1988, using a network of artisans across the country to provide the materials for her stunning handmade creations.

In 2007, she established the Daoula Initiative with the aim of bucking the trend of Mali’s raw cotton being exported rather than processed locally, and her garments are wholly produced in Mali in alliance with local artisans and seamstresses, showcasing the exceptional qualities of traditionally dyed and woven cotton in modern couture.

Today, rather than concentrate on growth, she allows her collections, under the banner of Awa Meité Design, to organically expand, using simple designs that reflect her heritage in an understated manner, allowing the wearer to sense their own story.

For more than a decade, Meité’s work has traversed African borders. Her work has been lauded in the international press and appeared on catwalks from Lagos to Paris. Last year she achieved a significant milestone with an appearance at Shanghai Fashion Week, on a continent where the textile industry faces significant water pollution, carbon emissions and waste issues. Lessons to be learned from Africa perhaps?

A model wearing a creation by Malian designer Awa Meite walks the runway during Lagos Fashion Week in Lagos on October 26, 2024. (Photo by OLYMPIA DE MAISMONT / AFP)

Gold standard

In Nigeria, husband and wife team, Oromoa Cookey-Gam and Osione Itegboje have pulled their combined expertise together to form THIS IS US, a truly ‘Made in Nigeria’ brand of contemporary clothing and home textiles.

Curiosity and love for their country led them to Funtua in Katsina State, a place where around 60% of Nigeria’s cotton is harvested.

Funtua cotton is graced with being a long-staple fibre cotton, the gold standard of cottons, producing a fabric that is smoother, feels more luxurious and is stronger and more resistant than its short-staple cousin.

Ninety-nine per cent of THIS IS US products are made from Funtua cotton. Remaining true to their ethos of minimum waste, leftover fabric is used for merchandise such as patchwork designs and the Funtua Tote bag. The process from field to fabric takes place within an 80km radius, supporting the local economy and employment as well as leaving only a small carbon footprint.

But their journey does not stop in Funtua. 150km to the east lies the ancient city of Kanu, where for more than 500 years the Kofar Mata Dye Pits have been at the heart of West Africa’s traditional dyeing process. The pits represent centuries of the local Hausa people’s tradition, knowledge and craftsmanship. They have survived insurrection, declining visitor numbers, and the area’s economic downfalls and today proudly dye the Funtua cotton for THIS IS US, using the age-old skill of fermenting leaves from the Indigofera tinctoria plant to create the stunning indigo colours themed throughout the brand.

A recent addition to this expertise has been driven by Cookey-Gam and Itegboje, who have introduced cassava paste into the dyeing process, allowing them to give precise patterns to their designs in addition to the signature natural and random patterns obtained from the original indigo tie-and-dye techniques.

“The tech industry in Nigeria attracts a lot of capital, which drives growth,” Itegboje says. “The same needs to happen in fashion. With more investment, people can improve their skills, buy better equipment, and strengthen production processes. Investment is key to solving many of the challenges in the industry.”

Travelling eastward across the continent, we find Ethiopian self-taught designer and trained child psychologist, Fikirte Addis, building on the humble beginnings of a much-loved hobby at school to launch her own label, Yefikir Design (meaning ‘The Love Design’) in 2009. With her ethos of staying local and using hand-woven traditional Ethiopian cotton, she brought longstanding culture to high-end chic.

Mantsho from South Africa at the Africa Reimagined fashion show, held during Shanghai Fashion Week 2025. (Photo: Development Reimagined)

She has successfully brought traditional Ethiopian textiles into modern daily life, eschewing industrial machines for traditional hand looms and choosing heritage and sustainability over larger-scale production, providing local weavers and embroiderers with fair and reliable wages and championing something she also holds close to her heart – a child-free labour workforce.

She has stated: “It is important for me not to lose the connection I have to my culture, just giving it a modern twist and bringing it to the international fashion arena. The main fabrics used in all my designs are handmade cotton, and the designs are to give comfort with style.”

Her work also incorporates the distinctive Ethiopian tibib (meaning ‘wisdom’ or ‘love’) geometric and decorative borders that embed a deep symbolic visual language into traditional Ethiopian garments.

Following in her wake, Ethiopian designer Mastewal Alemu came onto the scene in Addis Ababa in 2021, having been a fashion design lecturer. Her focus on zero waste, sustainability and handwoven cultural design has continued to champion the use of artisan cotton. Her work has appeared globally in fashion weeks from Moscow to Milan, culminating in her representation of Ethiopia at this year’s Africa Fashion Week London.

African fashion has slowly taken on a life of its own, ever-increasing in its appearance on the global stage and now, in a world racked by eco-guilt, the voices and ethos of those designers possessing the vision to change how we dress are being listened to.

In an industry driven by fast, disposable fashion, Africa has an ace up its sleeve. It has always revealed stories, celebrated culture and supported communities in its fashion and with today’s designers choosing the long road instead of the short one, I believe Africa is in a prime position to continue its odyssey into a sustainable, meaningful and proud fashionable future with a little help, of course, from its governments and industry pioneers.

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