Wear and be wowed by the kitenge and natural hair

By Ruth Kasembo

There are many ways to write about clothing and the industry that produces it: fashion. The emotion evoked by a piece of fabric, cut and stitched into a form to fit another form – a body – depends on the context of the encounter, which is inevitably varied. However, the word ‘fashion’ is sometimes used like a blunt instrument, as if its referent were simple or finite.

Fashions of dress arise in every context, from the subtle resistance in styling a school uniform against the grain and to the placement of safety pins on a punk’s ripped denim jacket. Whenever a uniform arises – official or counter cultural – people feel out a means to differentiate identity or to show membership of a group.

People use dress to speak about themselves and send signals, whether secretly or out loud, whether consciously or not. Fashion has an artistic value that, like theater or music, requires evaluation. Just as avid theater-goers do, passionate fashion fans want to read intelligent and critical analyses of the artistic merit of what designers send down the catwalk each season.

Fashion design also has a political value. Over the centuries, ground-breaking clothing design and people’s demand to wear what they want, have had the power to shock and challenge political or religious authority and to redefine how the human body and its potential, are thought of.

Oh yes, some ladies may want to add color to their wardrobe or even fully change it. But they may be short on interesting ideas. I suggest the Kitenge! This head-turning African trend is soaring not only the whole African continent, but the Western markets as well. With natural hair (the black hair that is free from extensions, wigs or straightening chemicals) added to the Kitenge, you could spark a whole fashion movement.

There has been an unconscious bias and a lack of understanding for how our hair is. Some schools think perms are standard without taking into consideration the regime required to achieve it. Professionally too, a lot of our women are concerned that they are already discriminated against for being black.

But now it’s the new tread, without natural hair you’re seen as uninformed. Where can I get my natural hair cut? And what products should I use to stop my hair from becoming dry? The answer is simple: go natural the rest will be a flow. ENDS