African fashion brands are a really big deal and easily one of the best things on the continent right now. One would have expected these pieces to be affordable enough to resonate with the economic realities we face across the Great Continent. The short answer? No.
Instead, we see brands producing ordinary branded polo tops with average prints for 40k or 50k. Look at the most frustrating ones charging 150k for a vintage streetwear polo—the likes of Highfashion, BOLAPSD and Go Crzy—whose prices can make one actually go crazy. My major issue is that at the end of the day, they just aren't worth it; they are mostly used as status symbols rather than coverings, what happened to simplicity, decency, modesty and normal dressing instead I'd use my money for valuable and realistic investments.
Majorly, local fashion tends to lean into streetwear, ignoring the old-money aesthetic, corporate wear, or casual fits. A key reason for this trend is that these brands partner heavily with upcoming artists and target alleged fraudsters or "Yahoo babies" as their core target audience.
Sadly, a lot of them fail to carry true African heritage. They simply re-sell European and Chinese aesthetic prints to us—one of the few brands genuinely cherishing Africanism and our continental heritage is BONFO.
The primary solution lies in government partnership: empowering young creatives to craft fashion pieces using our own native textiles like lace, Guinea, Kampala, and Ankara. By now, we ought to have lace-themed crop tops for men and women alike, a solid line of Aso-Oke jackets, lace bags, Guinea and Kampala joggers, and African-themed footwear. We need a full revival of our textile industries across Africa to lower production costs and help local tailors scale up efficiently.
Secondly, major brands should introduce tiered pricing lines so buyers get true value for their money, rather than being forced to pay exorbitant amounts for a random printed polo.
We need diverse brands for different purposes—just as the global market has Zara, Gucci, Levi's, Marks & Spencer, Puma, Off-White, and LV. Local brands should aim for versatility, creating affordable everyday streetwear alongside premium lines.
At the end of the day, these brand owners aren't thieves; they are simply navigating survival in a tough market. On our end, we just have to cut our coats according to our size! If an original luxury polo is out of budget, a classic vintage piece works just fine. If high-end custom brands like Bonfo are out of reach, local tailors can work absolute magic (shoutout to BHC Couture for making a set of Alté jeans last year that were genuinely lit!).
Being a Glacier boy or girl doesn't have to be complicated—and you definitely don't need to break the bank to pull it off.
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