African prints - the gap between the women in the village to fashion designers in capitals

I love prints, and - when in Africa - I spend a lot of time either looking for fresh styles in markets in Arusha, Kigoma or Uhuru Street in Dar es Salaam.

Another part is my interest in how the fabric has got a renaissance - globally - in regards of fashion and African identity.

However, the most interesting part to me is the distance between the markets in Africa and the fashion designers in the capitals of the African continent and in fashion cities like London and New York.

As much as I love the way prints have been reworked into new fashionable pieces, and how much a certain kind of print can evoke emotions (because this is the print your mother wore, or the print someone shared with you) - an essential thing to me is still to observe it live.

How is it being worn, what decides when certain pieces are being used for wrapping of items - being degraded?

Today in Arusha I couldn't help noticing one very clear thing. The women's vitenge have gone soft. It doesn't make it less beautiful, certainly not, but it tells stories of poverty and of rough village life. These women carry their vitenge proudly, but life conditions are nevertheless reflected visibly.

The African fashion renaissance is doing Africa well, but it is unlikely to affect these women directly, not in a long time.