时尚产业可以改变非洲

图源卫报

时尚产业可以改变非洲

◐

At a small fashion studio in Lagos, the designers and tailors are busy cutting clean lines through the swathes of fabric. “Cotton T-shirts were the first item we produced,” says designer Oroma Cookey-Gam, co-founder of This is Us, which makes contemporary Nigerian designs, from oversized shirts to jumpsuits and kaftans, using locally produced cotton.

在拉各斯的一家小型时装工作室里，设计师和裁缝们“手起刀落”，布料上裁剪出来的线条干净利落。“棉 T 恤是我们生产的第一件商品。”设计师奥罗玛·库基-加姆(Oroma Cookey-Gam)说。她是 This is Us 的联合创始人。这家工作室出品的衣物使用当地生产的棉花，以当代尼日利亚设计风格为主，产品类别从超大号衬衫到连体裤和土耳其长衫应有尽有。

Oroma Cookey-Gam，图源卫报

This is Us的产品，图源卫报、Pinterest

为了采购棉花，奥罗玛每月都会往北部卡齐纳的 Funtua 纺织厂走一趟。这是该国为数不多的全面运营的纺织厂之一。然后，她会再花三个小时前往卡诺的 Kofar Mata 染料厂，这是尼日利亚最古老的染料厂，在那里，手工将布料染成靛蓝色调的工时长达八小时。

工人将布料染蓝。图源LinkedIn

Cookey-Gam used to import cotton from Morocco and Turkey but in 2016 embarked on a year-long search to source materials in her home country. While two-thirds of African countries produce cotton, with some of the continent’s largest producers in west Africa, more than 81% of it is exported out of sub-Saharan countries, leaving little to be used locally. A recent Unesco report warned that exports were restricting the growth of the region’s textile and fashion industries, harming its economic opportunities.

奥罗玛过去从摩洛哥和土耳其进口棉花，但从 2016 年开始，她用了一年时间来寻找本国的原料来源。虽然三分之二的非洲国家生产棉花，且许多产量高的国家都位于西非，但该地区超过 81% 的棉花都出口到了撒哈拉以南的国家，本地用量极少。联合国教科文组织最近的一份报告预警到，出口限制了该地区纺织和时尚产业的增长，损害了该地区经济发展的机会。

“Africa is exporting something which could really create a huge industry and enormous number of jobs,” says Ernesto Ottone, Unesco’s assistant director-general for culture.

联合国教科文组织负责文化事务的助理总干事 Ernesto Ottone 表示：“非洲将一些真正可以创造一个巨大产业和大量就业机会的东西送于他手。”

Renowned Nigerien designer Alphadi (Sidahmed Seidnaly) supports calls for African governments to limit imports of textiles and ramp up production of more than just cotton. While the visibility of the continent’s fashion has grown, policy and investor support for the sector remains wanting, he says.

尼日利亚著名设计师 Alphadi（Sidahmed Seidnaly）呼吁非洲政府限制纺织品进口并增加棉花产量。他说，尽管非洲时尚产业的知名度有所提高，但国家和投资者对该行业的支持仍然不足。

Sidahmed Seidnaly，图源卫报

Sidahmed Seidnaly的设计，图源卫报、Pinterest

Global interest in African-made goods has grown in recent years, spurred on by modern depictions of the continent in culture, such as the Black Panther films, and the explosion of Afrobeats. Prominent black figures including Beyoncé, Naomi Campbell and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie have promoted creations by designers from the region and its diaspora.

近年来，在电影《黑豹》和非洲裔美国人激增等现代文化对非洲大陆的描述的刺激下，全球消费者对非洲制造商品的兴趣与日俱增。包括碧昂斯（Beyoncé）、娜奥米·坎贝尔（Naomi Campbell）和奇玛曼达·恩戈齐·阿迪奇（Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie）在内的许多黑人名人也推广了该地区及其侨民设计师的创作。

Contemporary takes on African fabrics and structures in fashion have been embraced by younger people. Designer Sébastien Bazemo from Burkina Faso has helped bring the colourful fabric Kôkô Dunda back into style. And there are now more than 30 fashion weeks across the continent every year.

具有非洲风情的面料和建筑风格已经被年轻人所接受。来自布基纳法索的设计师 Sébastien Bazemo 帮助 KôKô Dunda 的彩色面料重新获得人们的青睐。现在，欧洲大陆每年都有 30 多个时装周。

Sébastien Bazemo，图源ouaga24.com

图中人物所穿衣服的面料皆为KôKô Dunda。图源sebastienbazemo.com

“It’s a season of ownership,” says entrepreneur Omoyemi Akerele who runs Lagos’s annual fashion week. “Before now, [the African fashion industry] pandered a bit to the Eurocentric gaze but in the last couple of years, creators and designers are doubling down to communicate and re-emphasize who they are in a way that’s true to themselves and the communities they represent.”

经营拉各斯年度时装周的企业家 Omoyemi Akerele 说：“这是属于非洲人自己的时尚。”“在此之前，(非洲的时尚产业)有些迎合以欧洲为中心的目光，但在过去几年里，创作者和设计师们正加倍努力，以一种忠于自己和他们所代表的社区的方式进行文化沟通，并重新强调他们的文化身份。”

拉各斯2024春夏时装周街拍。图源Vogue

“African fashion is still very young, and we need [various] elements to make things at high quality,” says Cookey-Gam. “Fashion employs a lot of people and is a tool we can harness to make a difference in people’s lives. It can change the continent.”

“非洲的时尚产业还很年轻，我们需要各种元素来制作高质量的产品。” 奥罗玛说。“时尚产业雇佣了很多人，我们可以利用它来改变人们的生活。它可以改变整个非洲大陆。”

THE END

◐

原文链接：

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/jan/01/fashion-can-change-africa-the-pioneering-designers-chasing-a-world-of-opportunity

编译 | 曹梦月

排版 | 曹梦月