Fashioning the Afropolis

Kerstin Pinther is Professor of Arts and Material Cultures of Africa in the Department of Art History at Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, Germany. Kristin Kastner is Lecturer and post-doctoral researcher at the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, Germany.Basile Ndjio is Professor of Anthropology, University of Douala, Cameroon, Central Africa, and Senior Research Fellow at Freie Universität Berlin, Germany.

• List of IllustrationsNotes on Contributors1. Introduction: Fashioning the Afropolis. Histories, Materialities and Aesthetic Practices (Kerstin Pinther, Kristin Kastner)PART I: Histories and Archives2. Woman in a White Tobe: Activism, Nostalgia and a Viral Image in Sudan (Marie Grace Brown, University of Kansas, USA)3. Afro-Brazilian Dress Modes in Family Photo Archives in Lagos (Frank A. O. Ugiomoh, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria)4. Tracing Threads of Time and Space in Conceptual Fashion Design in Lagos (Alexandra Weigand, Ludwig Maximilian University Munich, Germany)Visual Essay: The Transformation of Ndop Fabric from its Production in (Pre)colonial Artisan Centres to Contemporary Urban Fashion Design (Michaela Oberhofer, Museum Rietberg, Zurich, Germany)PART II: Materialities and Aesthetic Practices5. Born to Shine: Fashionable Practices of Refining and Wearing Textiles in Dakar (Kristin Kastner, Ludwig Maximilian University Munich, Germany)6. Looking East: Boharaba Vogue and the Sinonization of Fashion and Beauty in Douala (Basile Ndjio, University of Douala, Cameroon, Central Africa)7. Between Presence and Evocation: Fashion Design, Photography and Place-Making in Lagos (Kerstin Pinther, Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, Germany)Visual Essay: Cairo Ascending (Rana EINemr with Alaa Abo El Goud)PART III: Bodies and Media8. Trans-Worlding: Fela Kuti's Sartorial Rebellion and Pan-African Influence (Nomusa Makhubu, University of Cape Town, South Africa)9. Our Tribe: The Sartists' Portrayal of Post-Subculture in Johannesburg (Cher Potter, London College of Fashion and V&A, London, UK)10. Africanfuturist Dakar in Selly Raby Kane's Designs (Enrica Picarelli)Visual Essay: From Second Hand in Lome to Second Life in Paris (Andrew Esiebo, artist and founding member of Black Box, Nigeria)11. Epilogue (Victoria L. Rovine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA)BibliographyIndex

So few books focus on the influential and visually stunning fashion culture of the African continent. I love this book for its mix of scholarly study and rich visuals. It helps push past stereotypes we hold in the west on what African fashion is.