My first glimpse at African-inspired Fashion in Canada

So it has been just over a week since I braved the cold and returned to Canada and it has been interesting to say the least. I have not yet had a chance to meet with any of the Canadian-African Fashion bloggers or designers etc. Hence, I thought this week I would talk about my observations about the readiness of Canada for mainstream African-inspired fashion versus that which we see in the UK. It really is not a surprise that Canada seems not to have embraced fashion from the continent in the same way as that which is found in the UK. One of the most obvious differences which I think sheds some light on the difference is that the demographic in Canada is very different than that which we see in the UK. Canada has a larger Afro-Caribbean population and the UK has a larger African (directly from the continent) population. Hence, there is less of a buzz, less people to highlight and drive the development forward and therefore it is not surprising that African-inspired design is more disparate on the high streets and in shops versus the UK....that is not to say that Canada is not ready to see something different or experience more pattern and design in its shops just that it is not as prevalent at the moment.

There are a smattering of labels which exist and some..well really just one article written about African Fashion in Canada (a 2009 article about a fundraiser done where Canadian fashion designers used wax prints in their designs to raise funds for HIV/AIDS) but that seems to be it at the moment. The search continues to find out whether the conversation has evolved from a focus on aid (which is important) but it would be interesting to see if there is more of a discussion about development and investment instead.

Overall, Canada is a more conservative market than that which is found in the UK but it is also less competitive than that which is found with our Southern cousins the US (Canadian retail space is less prevalent than that seen in the US hence, it is nearly 50% more productive than the US). It will be interesting to see what the next few weeks brings...the journey continues...

PS - I will try and post some pics of my wintery outfits for the rest of the week!


xx
mefie uk