Maki Oh’s Autumn Winter 15\16 collection explores
the idea of adopted identities as result of West Africa’s long history with
cultural appropriation. It is an idea that has spun through all Maki Oh
collections. Dutch Wax lends itself as the starting point of this research.
“As an advocate for all things truly African, Maki
Oh uses true African textiles like Adire, Aso-oke, Akwa Ocha, Oja and more to
continue to illustrate to the world (and Africans) that we have desirable,
couture quality local textiles. Ankara fabric (Dutch Wax) does not have it’s
origins in Africa. It is imported from Holland, India, Turkey, China and even
England. But the world, and even some Africans think this fabric is African.
Holland’s Vlisco’s current website proudly states “Vlisco has been romancing
the men and women of Central and West Africa for almost 170 years and has been
embraced as the very fabric of life in many societies.”
This season, Maki Oh dissects the fascination and
perception of these fabrics as African, along with other concepts that have
been imported from other continents and have found home in West Africa.
image: http://www.360nobs.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/151.jpg
The idea of the African mermaid, Mami Wata is of
particular interest, as it originated from a photograph of a Samoan snake
charmer that appeared on the coasts of Nigeria in 1887. This image of a
beautiful, long-haired woman holding a snake captured the imagination of some
West African indigenes who then projected meaning and symbolism onto the
photograph, forming a powerful cultural myth around it. This is how simply and
astonishingly the idea of Mami Wata was formed.
This total adoption of foreign ideas inspires the
silhouettes, prints and embellishments in the AW15/16 collection, which is
packed with hidden meanings in the same vein as traditional Nigerian attire. A
traditional adire print ‘Omi’, (water) covers a dress with a fish-like fin,
mirrored-fishes swim across dense cotton trousers, an iridescent fin swims down
the sleeve of a silk blouse, a floral Guipure lace skirt which symbolizes her
beauty, is backed with a mirrored glitter cotton canvas and a silk crepe dress
is flanked by ekpaku ubok (an Ibibio arm band used during a traditional
fertility dance)
The colour palette – white, blue green, marine blue,
mirror silver, sand and black is found in both, the original and adopted
imagery and myths.
