Afro imagery in Italian fashion

Afro suggestions have long been present in the collections of Italian designers. However, the relationship between Italian fashion and the African continent has been transforming over time: alongside the creations of designers who have found inspiration in cultures and art from Africa, new and young fashion brands are emerging whose creations are exclusively characterized by African roots. In 2020, a synergy between the We Are Made in Italy (WAMI) collective and Camera della Moda brought five Afro-descendant designers to the catwalks of Milan Fashion Week, sending a signal in the direction of wanting to unhinge the idea that "Italian" and "Made in Italy" correspond to an exclusively white identity and promoting the presence of BIPOC creatives (black, indigenous, and people of color) in the sector. Fashion in Italy, however, is a complex world that is born away from the spotlight, is rooted in districts and proximity networks, supports individuals through experiences of self-employment and micro-entrepreneurship and gives life to social laboratories that encourage healing and learning through the creation of beauty. 

In 2016, ModaCult organized a first conference entitled "AfroCult: fashion and African cultures in Italy" from whose experience the Summer School "Fashion, Food & Arts: Creative Enterprises between Italy and Africa" was born in the summer of 2019.   

The topic was also the subject of doctoral research funded by MIUR scholarship conducted between 2020 and 2023. This led to a mapping of Afro fashion realities on the Italian territory and the collection of over 30 biographical interviews with exponents of the sector. The first results show signs of a shift to new cultural imaginaries that have the potential to become gateways to social inclusion.