Meet Gasha, Cameroon's new pearl of Jazz

GASHA is a Yaounde-based Cameroonian jazz/pop sensation. If you’ve been a lover of Corinne Bailey Rae or India Arie’s  music, you'll be delighted by Gasha’s debut song ”You and me”. It steers you through  a jazzy and soulful path,  just the kind of music  to submerge you into a sweet and relaxing mood. Her vocal range and dynamics are simply irresistible. Discover her other track "That Boy" too. We'll keep an eye on that rising talent.

Naoumie Ekiko as Nefertiti

Naoumie Ekiko

Nefertiti's bust

Timeless Icons

Michael Jackson & Diana Ross

Why Africa does not need a Vogue

About a year ago, the Cameroonian fashion photographer Mario Epanya had the idea of a Vogue Africa. He did a series of fabulous fictitious covers, representative of the black beauty and reflecting what this magazine could be.

The project could not be materialized as Condé Nast, publisher of Vogue (politely) declined the proposal. The reasons cited? Africa is not a potential market for Vogue because Africans do not consume enough of Luxury Brands! Are you kidding me? Should we become compulsive buyers of PRADA and CHANEL for our continent has a right to its own Vogue?

After this decision, the whole web (as well as the black and proud fashionistas) initiated an intense debate on the ashes of the African Vogue. Some felt Condé Nast attitude was arrogant and contemptuous, and others thought we should have expected that. But deep down, is it a bad thing?

African fashion is full of talented fashion designers who yearly prove their ability to surprise and innovate. The collections are becoming more and more sophisticated, avant-garde, edgy. Designers such as Tiffany Amber, David Tlale, Duaba Serwa or Christie Brown have no longer anything to prove about the quality of their work. Fashion weeks bloom around the continent and are better organized.

For Africa, the black beauty is more than a trend in that western magazines and brands have seized to stay in the wind. African fashion goes far beyond the Wax/Ankara trend. This industry is may be nascent and fragile but it has real capacities.

David Tlale AFW2011

Duaba Serwa AFW2011

No, Africa does not need a Vogue. Our expression of fashion does not need to be formatted, molded into a western distorted vision. Our fashion is too big, too deep, and too subtle with its multitude of features, its diverse cultural influences and its uniqueness to be reduced to simplistic, caricatured labels.

It is not as if we had no fashion magazines, AT ALL. What do you do of ARISE Magazine, Haute Fashion or even BHF Magazine? What do you do of these websites and blogs that have set out to celebrate our fashion? Of course, a Vogue Africa would have been rewarding but we are now free to create hundreds of magazines, as different as each aspect of African fashion.

Pourquoi l'Afrique n'a pas besoin d'un Vogue

Il y a quelque temps, le photographe camerounais Mario Epanya faisait la Une avec son idée d’un Vogue Africa pour lesquelles il avait fait une série de fabuleuses couvertures fictives, représentatives de la beauté noire et  traduisant ce que ce magazine pourrait être.

Le projet n’a pas pu être concrétisé car Condé Nast, éditeur de Vogue a (poliment) décliné la proposition. Les raisons évoqués ? L’Afrique ne serait pas un marché potentiel pour Vogue car les africaines ne consomment pas assez de produits de luxe ! Tiens donc, devrions-nous devenir des acheteuses compulsives de PRADA et autres CHANEL pour que notre continent ait droit à un Vogue ?

Après cette décision, la toile (ainsi que les fashionistas black and proud du monde entier) s’est enflammée initiant un intense débat sur les cendres du Vogue Africain. Certains jugeaient l’attitude de Condé Nast méprisante et d’autres pensaient qu’on aurait dû s’y attendre. Mais au fond, est-ce une si mauvaise chose ?

La mode Africaine regorge de talentueux stylistes qui prouvent leur capacité à surprendre et à innover chaque année. Les collections sont de plus en plus pointues, avant-gardistes, recherchées. Des créateurs tels que  Tiffany Amber,David Tlale, Duaba Serwa ou encore Christie Brown n’ont plus à rien à prouver sur la qualité de leur travail. Des Fashion Weeks fleurissent aux quatre coins du continent et sont de mieux en mieux organisés.

Pour l’Afrique, la  black beauty est bien plus qu’une tendance dont les magazines et marques européennes se sont emparés pour rester dans le vent. La mode africaine va bien plus loin que la Wax/Ankara trend. C’est une industrie, certes naissante, fragile mais avec de réelles capacités.

David Tlale AFW2011

Duaba Serwa AFW2011

Non, L’Afrique n’a pas besoin d’un Vogue. Notre expression de la mode n’a pas besoin d’être formatée, rentrée dans le moule d’une vision occidentale, étriquée et déformée. Notre mode est trop grande, trop profonde, trop subtile avec sa multitude de particularités, ses influences culturelles diverses et son unicité pour être réduite à une étiquette simpliste, caricaturée.

Et puis, n’est pas comme si nous n’avions pas de magazines de mode, DU TOUT. Que faites-vous d’ARISE Magazine, de Haute Fashion ou même de BHF magazine ? Des sites internet et autres blogs qui se sont donné pour mission de célébrer notre mode au quotidien ? Bien Sûr, un Vogue Africa, ça aurait été valorisant mais nous n’avons rien perdu au change au contraire ; maintenant, nous avons le champ libre pour créer un magazine, que dis-je, une foultitude de magazines qui nous ressemblent, aussi différents les uns des autres que toutes les facettes de notre mode.

What i liked at Africa Fashion Week 2011

Africa Fashion Week 2011 is history but the trends that rocked the runway are still on their way to our closets! Here is a review of some of the designs we fell for.

The flowered collection  of Mataano

The prints at Colin Ratisai

Christrie Brown's Neon green and cobalt dominated collection

 

Maki-Oh's sensual shapes

Bisma's floating purple

All eyes on K-Walk 2011

I told you Oh, So Chocolate was going bilingual! Here is my first write-up in English. Let's talk about K-Walk! Kreyann, the chic ready-to-wear clothing brand is celebrating its tenth anniversary today (November 04). For this only-to-happen-once event, Anna Ngann Yonn, the founder of the brand offers an amazing fashion show to Cameroonian fashionistas: K-Walk 2011.

Kreyann teamed up with the renowned South-african producer, Jan Malan. He has been the founder and CEO of Umzingeli productions, the most famous African productions company for twenty-five years. Jan Malan was involved in brilliant fashion events in Africa and abroad like the Arise African Collective at New York Fashion Week and the M-Net Face of Africa, just to name few.

K-Walk 2011 is touted to transform the fashion industry and the fashion shows in Cameroon. The event is described on its Facebook page as a surprises box and a (not-to-miss) rendez-vous for fashions victims.

Unfortunately, i won't attend the event but if some of you guys will be enjoying the show tonight, feel free to make some jalous here with the full report of the evening.

Stay choco

xoxo