West African fashion designers are world leaders in sustainable clothing production

Every few weeks, global fast fashion brands mass produce their latest clothes, selling them around the world. There is growth critical that it is socially irresponsible producing such large volumes of clothing so often. This leads to surpluses and waste that harm the environment. And by demanding new styles so often, it also stifles designer creativity in an industry that thrives on it.

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Read more: Superfast fashion is a worrying trend that is undermining efforts to make the entire industry more sustainable

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Sustainable fashion means that clothing is produced and consumed in a socially responsible way. But the debate over sustainable fashion has primarily focused on the Western and Asian fashion industries. Africa is only mentioned as dump for the tons of disposable and second-hand clothing produced by fast fashion brands. My study fills this gap by showing how West African fashion designers produce their work.

Ready to wear Clothing (ready-to-wear) is mass produced by fashion houses, as opposed to tailoring which is made to measure. West African fashion designers produce what I have called personalized ready-to-wear, a limited-edition ready-to-wear model that creates the latest fashions in measured volumes.

It is a sustainable fashion model that leaves more space for creativity and innovation and also uses eco-friendly laundry measures to ensure the long life of the clothes.

Custom ready-to-wear fashion

African fashion has reached global acknowledgement thanks to the creativity of today's designers. However, very little is known about how the production strategy they use contributes to sustainable fashion.

African designers are likely to face economic, social and political difficulties. challenges which limit the production and efficiency of the industry. However, many designers in my study in West Africa turned these challenges on their head: while the market limits opportunities to increase production, it actually endorses innovative and sustainable fashion practices.

But West Africa's contribution to sustainable fashion does not only depend on what the market does not allow. As I note in my study, designers are also guided by the socio-cultural environment of fashion consumption in the cities where they live. Designers tap into this culture and develop it.

I found that factors shaping fashion consumption in West Africa include the need to produce clothing that asserts one's social and economic status (exclusivity), the ability to create designs that are difficult to replicate (uniqueness), and the creativity necessary to project each person’s personality. each customer in the clothes (individuality). While these needs can easily be met through bespoke production, applying them to the type of mass production of ready-to-wear carried out by fast fashion brands in the West is challenging. This is not the case for the personalized ready-to-wear mannequin from West Africa.

West African designers offer a much greater variety of creative creations than the homogenized creations of fast fashion brands. Most only release collections twice a year, summer and winter, instead of every two weeks like Western fast fashion brands. By producing collections less frequently, West African designers can invest time in creating innovative designs.

Exclusivity, uniqueness and individuality

To achieve exclusivity while remaining affordable, many West African designers use cheaper, machine-made African fabrics. wax printed fabrics but design them flamboyantly to achieve a high-end fashion standard. Or, some could combine socially valued fabrics with others less socially valued. For example, wax printing is combined with exclusive fabrics like hand-woven fabrics. top coat And Towards the city or with lace and other imported fabrics.

Creating unique designs often requires slightly tweaking popular styles, such as offering different sleeve and neckline styles, or using appliques and accessories. Laurie, a study participant, explains that by stocking different stores around the world with her collection, I give you at least three sizes, then maybe two. [styles] each. Thus, in a store, it can stock two pieces of the same model in the four sizes it produces, thus producing eight variations of the same model. Of the 40 or 50 pieces she offers in store, she presents five or six unique models.

Most designers emphasized the need to project personality through their pieces. Some do this by catering to a particular target market like businesswomen, businessmen and religious leaders. A Ghanaian designer like Naa projects her personality through her clothes by creating something that Naa would love to wear. Before creating a collection, she makes a few trendy pieces herself in order to test the market. The styles that receive the most compliments become her collection.

More durable and long lasting

By taking into account the socio-cultural needs of consumers in the production process, designers produce more personalized pieces. These create an emotional connection between the clothes and those who wear them. Clothes become difficult to separate and are kept for longer, thus extending the shelf life of West African fashion.

The long sales lead times for each collection also prevent the accumulation of unsold items.

And traditional methods of clothing care and washing not only protect the clothes, they also protect the environment. Hand washing is a long-standing method of caring for locally produced clothing and designers insist this ancient method is best. They teach their customers how to care for clothes through airing and hand washing. This reduces the frequency of washing, thereby protecting the environment from high carbon dioxide emissions and pollution caused by dyes.

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Read more: Textile queen Maman Creppy has died: the last of West Africa's legendary wax fabric merchants has left her mark

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The longevity and exclusivity of the clothing provides a great alternative to imported second-hand clothing that often ends up in landfills. (That said, the West African clothing market does not have a well-structured second-hand clothing trading system for locally produced fashion. This would ensure fair distribution of quality clothing among people from different socio-economic backgrounds.)

But ultimately, recycling or upcycling are reactive solutions to the problems created by fast fashion. Custom ready-to-wear production, on the other hand, is a proactive way to combat unsustainable fashion practices.