Hey! I am Ms. K and I am living in Brooklyn, NY. I grew up in Germany with a German mum and a Ghanaian dad. African cloth and prints were always part of our home and my life.
As toddlers we wore African print shirts in the Summer, as teenagers we mixed in African print skirts and head wraps into our outfits and there was always a big piece of African cloth somewhere in the house that could be used to lie down in the park or at the public open air pool.
Wearing prints started early for us
The older I got, I started to take my favorite skirts and dresses with me on my trip to Accra, Ghana, bought nice colorful prints at one of the markets and then stressed out my dad or one of my aunts to find a good seamstress that would promise to create dresses and skirts based on the examples I had brought with me. It was always a bid nerve-racking to get the final pieces in time before my departure. Sometimes the skirts ended up too big in which case the seamstress usually commented "don't worry, you will grow into it" - which of course from my point of view was not considered an acceptable option.
Most of the clothes that were sown, were worn when I returned to Ghana or on holiday. Whenever I moved, they went with me. Even though I have not worn many of the pieces in a long time, as the designs are a little outdated,
I am still holding on to them.
So now, after all these years of exposure to African cloth and print, I am astounded when I see African cloth popping-up in mainstream stores like H&M and on runways and magazines and hear designers talking about African prints in fashion. With this blog I want to explore the imprint of the African Diaspora on fashion and showcase African and Africa-inspired designers, designs, trends, stories and opinions.
You can contact me at [email protected] if you have any questions or want to share any cool styles. Find out more about me on my website: www.africanprintinfashion.com
The African print mode