Ahluwalia is removing the Western gaze for SS23.
Priya Ahluwalia is rebuking the misconceptions and misrepresentation of Africa for SS23. Presenting her collection “Africa is Limitless” in Salters Hall on Sunday afternoon, the Indian-Nigerian designer tells a story about the abundance of unseen beauty across the 56 nation continent of African starting from the study of the indelible elements of culture and its inhabitants.
“I was thinking about how, as a society, we treat Africa as one place, instead of looking into the plethora of cultures and different elements there are. By diving deep into the little pockets of subcultures, it also gives me the opportunity to learn more about myself,” expressed Ahluwalia backstage when discussing the starting points of this season.
As models walked out onto intricate tapestries in the gardens of Salters Hall, the designer expressed a masterclass in patterns and colour theory, which spanned beyond flags and nation colours, but dived into the depths of the varying beauty of elements, oftentimes forgotten and neglected in expression. Beaded elements, drawn from Kenyan and Rwandan inspirations, met opulent greens and bright oranges alongside Algerian-inspired hues from the iconic Notre Dame D’Afrique. Draping, inspired by traditional Somali dresses and Kenyan saris manifested onto twisted dresses.
The silhouettes gave a sense of relaxed confidence brought on by slightly wider cream trousers, topped off by a deep neckline polo knit that gracefully expressed collarbones and décolletage within menswear. The carefully constructed headpieces, beaming in aqua blue and vibrant green, finished with beaded ends, sat atop of reimagined Ahluwalia-signtature swirl tailoring, brought the brand’s monogram into a beautiful cultural conversation about Africa’s accurate portrayal, broken away from the Western gaze and patronisation, and Priya Ahluwalia’s detailed and talented soul acting as a powerful frontier of telling stories, the right way.
