boubou
The boubou is an African robe made of one large rectangle of fabric with an opening in the center for the neck. When worn it drapes down over the shoulders and billows at the sleeves.
View Articleback apron (negbe)
An oval-shaped decorative pad worn by Mangbetu women over the buttocks in Central Africa.
View Articlelabret
A labret is a type of lip-piercing worn by various cultures to indicate wealth, prosperity and beauty.
View ArticleAkwete
Akwete is a decorative cloth with complex weave designs, creating intricate geometric patterns, made with many vibrant colors. It is usually made into wrappers for women to wear and it is made by the...
View Articlekente
Kente is a Ghanaian strip woven textile that has striped patterns and bright colors with corresponding meanings.
View Articlepelete bite
Pelete bite is a fabric created by the Kalabari Ijo peoples of the Niger Delta region by cutting threads out of imported cloth to create motifs.
View ArticleThe Authentication of Chinese Culture in African Fashion
Since the mid-20th century, relations between Africa and China have grown stronger leading to a significant change in the mutual adaptation of fashion between both nations. A 21st century, Sino-African...
View Articleraffia cloth
Raffia cloth is a type of textile woven from palm leaves and used for garments, bags and mats.
View Articlefaience
Faience is a man-made ceramic material that was often used in ancient Egypt to make jewelry and devotional objects. It is usually a blue color.
View Articleeye of Horus
The eye of Horus, or Wedjat eye, is an ancient Egyptian symbol that represents the eye of the falcon-headed god Horus and symbolizes healing and regeneration and was often worn for protection.
View Articlebackstrap loom
The backstrap loom is a lightweight, mobile loom made of wood and a strap that is wrapped around the back. It only needed to be attached to a tree or a post for stability and to provide tension.
View Articlebogolanfini
Bogolanfini (bogolan- meaning cloth; fini- meaning mud) is a cotton cloth made from strips of woven fabric, which are decorated with symbolic patterns using the mud-resist technique, sewn together at...
View Articledashiki
A loose-fitting pullover tunic traditionally worn in West African cultures that was adopted by African diasporic communities as a symbol of African heritage in the 1960s and then more widely worn as a...
View Articleadinkra
Produced by the Asante peoples in Ghana, adinkra is a flat, cotton textile that is stamped with symbols which create the meaning of the garment.
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