Contemporary African Fashion Books

There are a few coffee table books on contemporary African fashion coming out this fall. One called Fashion Africa by Jacqueline Shaw dropped last week. It showcases over 45 African Designers, has info on production, and sourcing. All from an ethical perspective. There’s even a digital Download edition. Though I think you’d want to look at the clothes in full page glossy and not on your computer screen. I came home with a few solid magazines on African Fashion and I’m definitely hooked.

The other one, which I’m really looking forward to is called New African Fashion by the editor of Arise Magazine, Helen Jennings. It comes out  October 24th, 2011 and…” focuses mainly on African born and diaspora contemporary designers with chapters focusing on the history of African fashion, its textiles, influences it has had on others, and key photographers, models and designers in the industry.”

The price and publishers are, I think is the main difference between the two. With the first being $70 and an independent hardcover publication on lulu.com. The second being $20 and a paperback with major publishing backing. New African Fashion seems to have a little more depth in the content, the table looks like a dream and can be viewed on amazon.com by following the link on the title above. But both still look guaranteed to please.