Chimamanda Adichie @ 42: Telling the African story through fashion
Author and speaker, Chimamanda Adichie, turns a year older today. The award-winning author who is unarguably, one of the most popular African women in the world, is so known not just for her literary prowess but also, for her stand and advocacy on feminism and equality.
As she celebrates today, Allure pays tribute to a woman who not too long ago, launched a campaign to encourage Nigerians to dress Nigerian as a way to grow the Naira.
Since then, when attending one event or the other around the world, the Lady of Letters walks into these events clad in outfits representing her home country, Nigeria and even other African designers.
Inspired by Nigeria’s economic challenges, Chimamanda Adichie in 2017, started the ‘Wear Nigerian’ project and decided that she would attend every event in outfits made by Nigerians, and she hasn’t faltered.
The global speaker has worn outfits and accessories made from regular to local print fabrics, all in her effort to support super-talented designers, and also make a case for how fashion can tell a story. She does this by posting pictures of herself in these outfits and tagging the designer with catchy hash tags such as #MadeinNigeria and sometimes #MadeInKenya (depending on the country of design).
In her honour, we present five interesting looks of an iconic writer fast becoming a fashion influencer.
At the Honorary Degree recipient talks at Amherst College, Massachusetts she wore a mustard top with baggy sleeves from Re Lagos matched with brown Ankara pants and turquoise green heels.
At the Purple Hibiscus Trust Literary evening she wore this gorgeous burnt orange dress white neckline and sleeves by the Ladymaker and paired it with zebra coloured pair of pumps.
On Tuesday the 10th of September, she attended the launch of her friend Tash Aw’s book “We the Survivors” at the Greenlight Bookstore in Brooklyn, New York in striped pants from Showkoto and monochrome shirt from Fruche which she matched with monochrome shoes as well.
She looked chic delivering a lecture in Seoul, South Korea at the Ewha Woman’s University in head to toe blue from Jzo.
While in China, at the Shanghai Book Fair where she delivered a keynote speech, signed books and met fans from all over, she looked absolutely fabulous in this basic blue flip dress by Nkwo.
By Jemi Ekunkunbor
