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Sustainability and Decolonisation in Historical African Fashion



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I wanted to share some thoughts I've been having in relation to sustainable fashion and decolonisation. I've been trying to collect information about precolonial African fashion and textile practices. Rewoven made a great film about looking at the practices and beliefs of indigenous peoples across the world as an answer to climate change, the pitfalls of capitalism and the fast fashion crisis.

This video is in collaboration with Bubblegum Club and Wikimedia's #WikipediaByUs campaign. "Celebrate a country that has turned its frustrations into knowledge that comes alive through our art, our music, our bodies and our joy. We begin to question who gets to participate in knowledge. In doing so, we reimagine knowledge production and ecosystems and recognise that knowledge is power but it is much more powerful when shared."

Sources
Images:
Richard Ndimande Gallery https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2020/mar/16/portraits-from-apartheid-era-south-africa-in-pictures
Tsonga women https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Tsonga_people
Victorian Africans https://artblart.com/tag/lawrence-brothers-kaffir-girl/

Reading
Clothing in Africa https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clothing_in_Africa
Ostrich Leather https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostrich_leather
Barkcloth https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barkcloth
Interview with textile recycler, Rewoven https://bubblegumclub.co.za/fashion/sustainability-is-decolonisation-an-interview-with-textile-recycler-rewoven-co/
Exploring pre-colonial textiles https://bubblegumclub.co.za/art/going-back-to-move-forward-exploring-pre-colonial-textiles-with-tinyiko-makwakwa/
Fast fashion spurs bleach-like pollution of Africa’s rivers https://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/africa/2021-08-17-fast-fashion-spurs-bleach-like-pollution-of-africas-rivers/#:~:text=Global%20fast%20fashion%20brands%20are,a%20report%20published%20on%20Tuesday.&text=take%20the%20lead.-,In%20Lesotho%2C%20researchers%20found%20a%20river%20visibly%20polluted,blue%20dye%20for%20denim%20jeans.
Category
History
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