Fashion Trends for Autumn 2014

Don't you just love Autumn? The sun rises just a little bit later and sets just a little bit earlier; there's a tell-tale chill in the air, enough to merit a light sweater. There's no question about it: Autumn is slowly creeping in! Autumn, which starts in March in the southern hemisphere, is one of my favourite seasons. You can wear your long sleeve skirts without sweating in them, you can wear your knee long pants without feeling hot & bothered and of cos you can rock any closed shoe without getting itchy feet... How about that! Ok, Now that you have your perfect autumn hairstyle, it’s time to pair it with chic ensembles!

 

 

One of the trends seen in fashion weeks in London, New York, Paris & Milan is the return of the edgy leather. This season is known as the return of 90's style grunge, and punk rocked out looks. If you own leather pieces, plaid and any fashion from the 90's, its time to dust them off and rock the look once again.

 

 

 

Other trends are saturated colors, tons of gray hues, deep, rich shades of blues, greens and olives. The triumphant return of the cells, fur, luxury art prints and luxury coat-capes, such fashion trends are clearly seen in shows Moschino, Saint Laurent, Stella McCartney, Blugirl, Mulberry, Celine.

 

 

 

 And Geometrics, color blocking and graphic print! Bringing colour into Autumn...

Of cos, Stylish pants and elegant jackets – all get royal elegance this season.

 

It’s once again time to pull out the cozy sweaters and layer ourselves in the latest looks for the colder cooler months ahead.

 

 

xoxo

 

Congo's Kuba Cloth - motherland Africa's jewel

 

Kuba Cloth, a traditional raffia fabric (natural fibers made from the leaves of the raffia palm) from Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), formerly Zaire, woven by men and embellished with pile and stitched designs by women. The striking designs have a quilt-like quality and are an excellent inspiration for quilt designs. Kuba, also called Bakuba, is a cluster of about 16 Bantu-speaking groups in southeastern Congo located between the Sankuru and Kasai rivers, have been renowned for their textiles.

 

According to a Kuba legend, King Shamba Bolongongo introduced the arts of weaving and embroidery to his people in the 17th century. Both men and women contribute to the production of textiles made from raffia palm. While men are responsible for weaving the cloth, women practice a range of embroidery techniques.

 

 

 

 

 

The textiles are often embellished with geometric patterns, an aesthetic seen on many Kuba artforms, including body scarification. Their textiles function as gifts to establish relations of reciprocity, as compensation in a legal settlement, or as part of a marital contract. In addition, they are worn during public ceremonies and rituals, and are used to line coffins and to wrap the bodies of the deceased.

 

 

 

The Kuba people of DRC created this cloth to drape around themselves at celebrations. However, in modern times, Kuba cloth is largely used in interior deco. 

 

 

Kuba cloth is beautifully made and originally from the motherland Africa!

 

xoxo

 

 

 

 

 

  

The Maasai Shuka - warm, bright, colourful & solid!

Maasai shuka is a protective and decorative fabric made of hand woven cotton, belonging to Kenya. The Maasai (sometimes spelled "Masai" or "Masaai") are a nilotic ethnic group of semi-nomadic people inhabiting Kenya and northern Tanzania. They are among the best known local populations due to their residence near the many game parks of Southeast Africa, and their distinctive customs and dress.

The main garment worn by the Maasai is the shuka, which is a basic piece of fabric that can be worn in a variety of ways, depending on the personal style of the wearer. It was initially made out of animal skins, mostly cowhide but never elephant skin, but cotton is now the main material. The fabric is rubbed with color or dye to make it red, becoming a sort of camouflage with the red dirt of that part of Africa. In the dry grass plains the shuka can be white to camouflage with the grain

In the present time, Shuka woven in bright colors and plaid, is an accessory used in fashion for men and women. It is a beautiful example of African handicrafts, and always woven in vivid red by blending with black, blue or another main colour. It is also used as safari blanket due to the feature of keeping warm and is used as bath towel, scarf or home decoration accessory. 

Top designer Louis Vuitton has used Shuka in today's fashion and it is a marvel of creation!

Who would have guessed such a beauty from Africa would be hitting the world by storm! 

Africa is here! 

xoxo

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The Chitenje of East Africa

The most commonly worn item of clothing by women in Malawi is the Chitenje (also known as a Kitenge in Tanzania and Kenya). Chitenji is a type of colorful, patterned cotton fabric that is common in many African countries like Malawi and Zambia.  Locally, chitenji is used for everything from making clothing, to wrapping skirts, to carrying infants.  It is sold by unit length in shops or sizable open markets.  The types of patterns that one can find on pieces of chitenji are extremely numerous meaning that you rarely see the exact same pattern twice.  

A chitenje is a rectangle of fabric (generally 2 x 1 metres) worn by women around the waist or chest. Chintenjes are an everyday piece of clothing. They are very often covered with a great variety of pictures, colors, patterns and usually include slogans, sometimes political slogans

The chitenje is generally wrapped around the waist and tied as you would tie a towel or sarong. Normally clothing (certainly underwear) is worn under the chitenje and this can cover up slightly shabby clothes with the chitenje's multi-coloured fabric

Chitenje's can be worn around the head as well, wrapped in a similar way to a head towel, and is used for decoration or to cover any hair-dos that may be in progress. It is also a very useful cushion for carrying...well anything that can be carried on the head!

A chitenje also makes an incredibly useful custom sling for a baby, and is either constructed so the baby can hang at the front, or slung over the back, with legs tucked around the side of the mum. Some of the more enterprising mothers are also able to breastfeed while the child is in the sling - allowing hands to be free for other, more imporant tasks!

Like heritage, African fabrics have been around for ages and will continue to be versatile like the Chitenje! 

xoxo