There is no traditional fashion in South Africa

Is South African fashion too Westernised? Is it African enough? Why is our sartorial culture so different from the rest of the continent who, on the face of it, seem to have better integrated their regional aspects with the globalised world? I'd like to present that these aren't necessarily the right questions but they speak to the idiosyncrasies that make South Africa such an outlier. First, the myth of "traditional," particularly as something that exists primarily in opposition to Western dress. Then, there's our history and the many missing gaps - also this not to imply we don't have the knowledge but that it's not widely known and shared (please don't yell at me). Lastly, how all of this can be incredibly liberating. Book a ticket for Stitching The Archive: A Pocket Altar Workshop, 18 April in JHB: https://www.quicket.co.za/events/367290-stitching-the-archive-a-pocket-altar-workshop/ Become a Patreon member: https://patreon.com/khensani?utm_medi... Instagram: / okbaddiek Substack: https://www.khensani.substack.com/ TikTok: / okbaddiek Sources consulted: From Ghana to Egypt and Lesotho: Africa’s Emerging Fashion Landscape (https://www.modaes.com/global/markets/ghana-egypt-or-lesotho-the-map-of-the-relationship-between-africa-and-fashion) Creating African Fashion Histories (2022) edited by JoAnn McGregor, Heather Akou and Nicola Stylianou (https://exclusivebooks.co.za/products/9780253060129) Conceptual Design and Fashion’s Futures in the Afropolis by Kerstin Pinth