Globalisation may have made our minds passively plastic, and actively receptive to foreign ideas, but a South Africa-based Malawian fashion designer is confident that it is possible to become modern while holding dear to the rigid dictates of tradition.
This is the message from Creative Base founder, Christopher Ngalu, who on Saturday launched a new collection, African Women Movement, in South Africa. The collection is part of the Creative Base Fashion Line which debuted at the 2015 Mzuzu Fashion Week.
Ngalu, said the fashion line has been inspired by the desire to celebrate the African woman and portray her in a way that celebrates her heritage, confidence and independence.
“Creative Base Designs is paying tribute to the African Woman through fashion. The Base has, therefore, come up with a collection which puts the spotlight on the colourful identity of African women,” said Ngalu.
Ngalu said Creative Base is also striving to show the world that being culture-driven makes the African woman beautiful.
“We are drawing the attention to her as we try to show the world that the African woman is beautiful. At the same time, we also want to connect with the new African woman on a level that ensures that modernity does not compromise her identity.
“Therefore, a large part of artworks for our line depict the African woman wearing the traditional head wrap, traditional ear rings, beads while being trendy at the same time. It is possible to be modern while holding dearly to our cultural heritage,” said Ngalu.
Riding on the wave of the African Women Movement, Creative Base is promoting tag lines such as “I am powerful because I am a woman”, “I am proud because I am an African” and “I am confident because I have the strength of a queen and the will of a warrior”.
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