African Denaissance?

I’ve been thinking about a suitable first post, and I though this might be it. It’s a contentious subject, I know, and one over which there is much debate. I’ve noticed, however, that the prevailing painfully-pc attitude we have here means that this is a question that is not always debated as well as perhaps it could.

So, then, onto my feelings on the subject. First, perhaps, I’d like to clarify that “brand South Africa” and the “African Renaissance” brand movement, while having much in common, are not in my opinion the same thing. Perhaps I should talk about the African Renaissance debacle first.

In an (unpublished) article I wrote last year after having been to Cape Town Fashion Week, the theme of which was, of course, “African Renaissance”. I had a few choice words to say on this matter, and I’ve reprinted them here because I feel they’re still topical, and also that this fashion extravaganza acts as a useful proxy for much of the creative industries in this country at the moment…

“[Regarding the African Renaissance]. I’d like to discuss the theme of the week: African Renaissance. It’s really a popular buzzword at the moment, to be found on the lips of all politically-correct cool folk everywhere. And that’s absolutely great, wonderful and peachy. My problem is this: there’s only so much that can be done with African fabrics and denim, so that while there was some lovely work, after a while it all started to blur together. Surely, all fashion (and other) designers who live and work in Africa are by dint of their geography and background, African, meaning that anything they produce is, de facto, African? The somewhat self-conscious attempt to Africanise everything (due to the week’s theme) simply resulted in narrowing the range of possibilities available to the designers, which I can’t help but feel did both them and us, the audience, a disservice. While I’m really glad that African fabrics and looks are being used – and, as an aside, I’m also really glad that clothing with shape and curves and waists and busts, which emphasizes the female form, is back in – there was nothing which really challenged me. Perhaps I’m cold. Perhaps I simply don’t get it. But I would have appreciated more challenge – where were the strange themes, the boys in dresses, the oddball designers, and the general outrageousness commonly associated with fashion? Perhaps that wasn’t the point of this particular event, but it left me thinking, when all was said and done: if Renaissance means rebirth, and doing things never before done, then Nokia Fashion Week (and other fashion events and weeks since then) was more of a Denaissance – I got the distinct impression I’d seen it all before.”

And that’s pretty much the gist of it. It’s a problem I feel pervades much of the creative endeavour in this country, and to our great disadvantage. I wonder whither this incredible urge to define ourselves as “African”, when I don’t believe that most other countries purposefully define themselves. Rather, their image is simply a product of how they behave…

For my views on the linked-but-not-identical issue of the South African brand, see my next post ☺

Yours
aimee