Out of Africa

I have always loved trad African prints, ever since seeing Kenny Scharf posing in a mad-mix trouser outfit in one of his hand-painted cars (of course, can I find the postcard I’m referring to, to scan? No I can not).

You can buy the fabric by the metre in Shepherd’s Bush to magic up all sorts of sartorial delights or you can scroll through Junya Watanabe’s ss09 collection on Style.com and marvel at his interpretations. You can also (as I will) scurry down to the Malick Sidibé exhibition when it opens at Lichfield Studios (133 Oxford Gardens, W10) on 11th March. If that isn’t Afro-chic heaven, I don’t know what is.

ASOS has tapped into the trend but taken it a step further with its new ASOS Africa initiative launched last week. The team went to Africa last year to hunt out artisans and small producer groups to work with. The resulting collection will generate an income and build businesses for those local groups as well as highlighting their craft skills.


Finally, I can’t resist adding this pic from Isabelle O’Carroll’s blog – is it me or do these look like prehistoric rollerskates?