Amoako Boafo

Trend report: what to wear for AW20



Hermes AW20 trend report - photo by Jamie Stoker

What a weird year! It feels odd talking about new-season trends, all things considered, but there is going to be a new season and even if you’re not buying, there are other ways to be inspired by newness. Let’s say it’s also a way of looking forward, so a sort of exercise in cautious optimism. Here’s what’s in the air for AW20… (more…)



The culture of fashion: Dior SS21 menswear ‘portrait of an artist’



Dior SS21 men Amoako Boafo

Some more menswear SS21 highlights. On the maximalist craft tip, Dior hit the top notes again with a fab collab with Ghanaian artist Amoako Boafo. (See the collection video here.)

Dior’s creative director Kim Jones first met him last year during Art Basel Miami. Boafo was the artist in residence of the new Rubell Museum, opposite Dior’s fall show venue. As Jones’ artist collaborations are now a mainstay of his collections (tying in nicely with Mr Dior’s gallerist past), it made perfect sense for the two to collaborate. Jones already has a connection to Africa having grown up in the continent, while Boafo has a connection to fashion, with his fantastically wardrobed portrait sitters always dressed in attention-grabbing prints and colour combinations. (more…)



The culture of fashion: what next for magazines?



Document Journal Amoako Boafo Marie Humbert

Out of crisis comes opportunity. We hope.

The Business of Fashion has a story on the future of fashion media, highlighting the struggles for magazines of operating with smaller ad revenues then ever.

There will for sure be casualties but those will likely have been coming for a while. There is just too much content out there and especially now, more short form video, memes, social media and digital newsletters than ever.

I expect the legacy players may go for reduced frequencies of print publications, both to alleviate pressure on printing businesses operating with reduced capacity and in response to market interest. (more…)



On my radar: Amoako Boafo



Amoako Boafo Cobalt Blue Earring 2019 - Courtesy of Mariane Ibrahim

A name to look out for in the 2020s: Amoako Boafo. This Vienna-based Ghanaian painter came to my attention during Art Basel Miami, when his work kept pinging up on Instagram.

His portraits have a really magnetic, visceral power, using fingers to paint directly onto the canvas. While the effect is in your face and graphic, I like the attention to fashion detail, it’s got a bit of Alex Katz and Elizabeth Peyton flavour in that respect. In 2020, Boafo will have a solo show at Mariane Ibrahim in Chicago and I’m sure his influence will be far reaching. (more…)