Tejumola Maurice-Diya: Documenting Africa’s  Fashion Heritage at IAF

Recently, the Ecobank Pan African Centre in Lagos hosted Inside Africa Fashion 54 (IAF 54), a landmark exhibition bringing the fashion stories, textiles, and craftsmanship of all 54 African countries into one physical space. Founded by cultural archivist Tejumola Maurice-Diya of The Fashioned Museum, IAF 54 is the result of nearly two years of documenting Africa’s fashion heritage country by country. Her goal: preserve these stories from an African perspective before someone else tries to claim them. In this interview with MARY NNAH, Maurice-Diya shares discoveries from the field, like learning that Aso Oke began as a wound dressing material and later evolved into ceremonial cloth. She talks about why young Africans are gravitating toward indigenous fabrics over Ankara, the trade and shipping challenges across 54 nations,  and how she hopes IAF 54 will inspire young creatives to reflect on their identity and the role of heritage in what they create

What inspired you to create IAF 54 and document the fashion stories of all 54 African countries in one archive?

I find that Nigerians, and Africans in general, are very creative people. I believe a platform is ideal to express that creativity, so the entire world can see the beauty that African designers and creatives have to offer. This platform, in particular, focuses on bridging the gap between the older and the younger generation. But it also bridges the gap between the world and Africa, helping people to see what Africans stand for. And expressing our culture from our perspective, as opposed to the other way around.

You say IAF 54 covers fashion from all 54 African countries. Why has no one done this before, and why launch it in Lagos?

IAF stands for Inside Africa Fashion, and 54 is for the 54 African countries. I can’t answer why it’s never been done before, but what I do know is that with my platform, The Fashioned Museum, one thing we pride ourselves on is documenting. As Africans, unfortunately,  in the past, we haven’t always done a great job of documenting.

The purpose of this platform is to document, so people are aware of what Africans are actually doing. With regards to this event, Inside Africa Fashion 54, this particular exhibition, The Fashioned Museum has been documenting for the past 18 months. We have a newsletter that goes out to subscribers, and we’ve been talking about African fashion over time.

This is us wrapping up that project. It’s taken almost two years to talk about every single African country, their unique cultures, and the textiles that are indigenous to them. In line with documenting, we figured, why not exhibit this? Because nobody’s documenting it.

We wanted a physical representation people could see, not just online. For those in the diaspora who have always wondered what it looks like to be Cameroonian, or Ethiopian, for example, they now have the opportunity to see everything in one city. To actually experience the beauty, creativity, richness, and depth of the textiles that African nations have. We implemented this for two reasons: one, documentation, and two, a physical representation of that documentation, so the world can see how beautiful Africa really is.

Many people think African fashion is just Ankara and wax prints. How does this exhibition show a bigger, different story?

That’s a very interesting perspective because I think now a lot of Africans know that Ankara is not indigenous to us. While the prints are very beautiful, I love Ankara, the prints are very beautiful.

However, I feel like there’s a new gravitation towards our indigenous textiles. For example, because you brought up Nigeria, Nigeria has many indigenous textiles such as the Akwete or Aso Oke or so many other textiles that we have. As a result of that, I would say people have moved beyond Ankara.

They love Ankara, but they are identifying that there are other textiles apart from Ankara that they can actually identify with as well. There’s a growing population that is also very eager to see what other associations there are with textiles and fashion as it pertains to African fashion or Nigerian fashion in particular.

What were some of the surprising discoveries you encountered while researching African fabrics?

One of the most interesting discoveries was when I went to find out about the history of Aso Oke. I literally went to Iluoke in Oyo State and spoke with someone who had been weaving Aso Oke for over 30 years. I found out that Aso Oke, when it first started, came from a tree – from the plant itself. From there, they began to produce cotton and the cottonseed. Initially, it was used to cover wounds. At some point, they decided to start using the fibers for cloth. From then, it developed into something they could actually dye. Dyeing, as in dyeing the textile.

It was very interesting to see the process it has gone through and where it is now. When you look at the variations of Aso Oke today, and then look at the cotton seed, you see how far it has come. The difference is such a beautiful story. If you look at Aso Oke now, there are so many infusions of metallic fibers. You see how they weave in all sorts of beautiful colors. But to think that at some point, there was only so much they could achieve because of the fruit dyes they used for the cotton in Aso Oke.

With the pigments, if you look at the indigenous, original Aso Oke, you can’t even wash them because the colors run. I learned that they have something they call ‘Olu’. It’s like a wooden frame that they use to beat the material to make it shine. They beat the fabric, and that’s how it shines again. When they see that the Aso Oke is becoming dull, they bring it out, beat it, and it begins to shine again. I thought that was brilliant technology for textiles back in the day. It was a very interesting discovery for me.

Why do you think people are gravitating toward Aso Oke?

I think there’s something about African pride right now. I would say the youth, and people in general, are finally waking up to the fact that as Africans, we are exceptional. We are brilliant, we’re wise, and we’re very creative.

There’s a new interest in wanting to know more about who we are. And in knowing who we are – our culture and everything – fashion has a place in that. From a cultural perspective, you can’t look at culture without looking at the fashion of the people. You can’t look at culture without looking at what royalty used to wear, or what the average person used to wear.

There is a deep connection with identity and heritage right now. And in the process of that, fashion is being highlighted.

You’ll find that a lot of people are now gravitating towards Aso Oke, Kente, and Akwete. They are even gravitating towards Raffia and Adire. There are so many other textiles people are gravitating towards. Even during the planning of this exhibition, it was very enlightening for me.

For example, there’s a textile called Ndop from the people of Cameroon. It’s so beautiful. How people have found very interesting ways to style it is beautiful to see. I think people are naturally gravitating towards it because they want to understand more about who they are in all of this.

Why do you think it’s important to preserve our culture, our heritage, our fabric at this point? 

I think it is critical for us to be able to document our heritage. The truth about it is that if we don’t document it, then what prevents someone from coming from a foreign place one day, maybe 50 years from now, to say that they are the ones who started at Aso Oke? If we document it, what do we do to make sure that it’s not even a conversation? What do we do to allow people to identify that this is something that is a non-starter for us, for example? I think there’s a greater opportunity to be able to share this with the world.

So, undoubtedly, when they see certain textiles, they know their origin.

How do you balance preserving traditional fashion while also educating about contemporary African styles?

This is a very interesting one for me because I love fashion in general. I feel like it’s actually not a difficult thing to do in terms of balancing it because African designers are so creative with their designs. They came out with a design today, and next week they will come out with another design. We are extremely innovative with our designs. Now that we are in this place where we are consistently looking for who we are and finding out more and more about textiles, I find that people are becoming even more innovative.

They keep on pushing that narrative, keep on pushing for new designs and new creations. So I don’t find it difficult to balance at all.

With 54 countries in your scope, what challenges do you face when documenting fashion stories, especially in places with limited archival material?

There are various challenges. One was intercontinental trade. Just being able to trade within Africa was such a challenge. It was easier to transport textiles from an African country to a foreign country before sending them to Nigeria. It was quite tough in terms of when we finally did find the right source that would help us to ship it. It was very expensive to ship it. I would say that was one of the major challenges that we had.

Another challenge was the challenges of travelling within Africa as well. I would say trade. To be able to pay, if you are a Cameroonian and you want to buy your textile, I can’t give you Naira. I have to first convert it to dollars before I can buy it from you. I think there are many opportunities and areas where we can definitely improve to make trade a lot smoother within the continent of Africa.

In your opinion, has African fashion been properly archived and represented over the years? Before now, do you think it’s been properly documented?

I would say there is always room for improvement. I would say that we are definitely being more intentional about documenting. It wasn’t always the case, but it’s definitely an area where there are a lot more people who are being intentional about documenting.

A lot of us are doing research as well in the field. There are also people who do exhibitions on African textiles as well. I think it’s definitely something that, as Africans, we are being more intentional about for sure.

How do you hope young African designers and creatives will engage with this project?

I hope that this will be a fantastic opportunity for the youth to actually see and understand more about their culture and their heritage. There are many opportunities here. It is one thing to see it online, and it’s one thing to care about a country. But if you come to this exhibition, you actually get the opportunity to see the textile, to feel the textile, to actually learn about the culture around it as well. We do some descriptions where you can actually tell what type of people wear this in this particular tribe. I think, as we all know, knowledge is power.

I think it’s an opportunity for us to enable ourselves and to just continue to improve ourselves. I think the youth can definitely benefit from it. The plan is that with this particular exhibition, it leaves a question at the back of their heads, where they start to think and ask themselves questions around who I am as a Nigerian, who I am as an African, and how the world can be impacted by my identity, essentially.

Over the years, how would you say your personal relationship with African fashion has evolved while building the Fashioned Museum and IAF?

It’s been an amazing experience. I love Africa. I love Nigeria. I’m very passionate about being, even though I was born and raised in Chicago and Illinois. I came to Nigeria, and I love Nigeria with all my heart. I embrace Nigeria. For me, there’s no but. I just love Nigeria. In terms of fashion, daily, I learn more and more about the fashion landscape in Nigeria. Because of the documenting journey, there are things that we are learning every day. It’s part of the job to continue to learn and have a better understanding of where it is that we’re from and where it is that we’re going. It’s been an amazing journey. I’m still on that journey. God willing, I’ll continue to be on that journey to learn more about who we are and the endless possibilities of what we can achieve.

What was your first experience with fashion? How did you get to love fashion so much?

It’s interesting because it took me a very long time to realize that fashion was a gift for me. I had always looked at fashion as a “nice to have.” My grandmother had seven girls, so our home was basically a fashion house. My grandmother was very fashionable. She was intentional about us looking good. I just thought that was a way of life. I thought it was what women do. It’s just part of being a woman. It wasn’t until I was much older and I started having conversations with people that it changed. They would say, “No, your fashion is different.”

That encouraged me to embrace it and to embrace the gift that I had. The more I embraced it, the more I started to ask myself: what aspect of fashion do I like? What is it about fashion that I like? I’m a very curious person.

I have always loved textiles. If I’m having a bad day, I go into a textile store, and I’m happy. Even if I don’t buy anything, just walking into the store to see the different textiles lights up my day. It makes me incredibly happy. I didn’t even realize it was a thing for me. It was just something I used to do until I started doing more research.

I realized that there’s a history behind African textiles. It’s so deep. There are certain people who wear certain textiles. Certain textiles communicate certain things. It’s such a beautiful heritage to have. And I became very passionate about it. I realized I couldn’t be the only person in the world interested in knowing more about African culture. In doing this research, I’ve had to travel to places to understand it. There’s only so much you can find online because we don’t have enough documentation. Going to these places has been an amazing experience. Talking to the artisans, seeing how these things have been passed down from generation to generation – it’s such a beautiful thing to experience. I’ve wholeheartedly embraced the fashion journey in Nigeria and Africa. 

Tell me more about yourself.

As I mentioned before, I was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. I’m the middle child in my family. There are three of us. From a very young age, I’ve always been very passionate about African fashion. I’ve always been very passionate about African culture – even the dance, even the traditional Bata dance. I remember the first time I went for a programme at the UN. I’m not sure, I think they were called the Bata dancers. I saw them perform, and for me, it was the best thing I had ever seen. I had never seen anything like that before. Seeing the dancers was a wow moment for me. That something like that existed, and I had no idea.

I was super young. Really, really young. I would say that was my first opportunity to experience Nigerian culture. It really opened my eyes to see that there was much more. But because I was a child, I didn’t realize it was the start of a journey. I just thought, “Nigerian people dance like this. I like it.” And that was where it ended. I didn’t realize it would eventually lead me to a deeper form of exploration.

Outside of the Fashioned Museum, what other work are you involved in?

The fashion museum focuses on two things. One aspect of the business focuses on education. That’s where the documentation comes in. That’s where we have a lot of the documentation that you see. On the other hand, the business focuses on promoting made-in-Africa brands and strategically positioning them for global partnerships. We try as much as possible to help them highlight what their brands have to offer.

With that being said, we then have Bridging the Gap under the Fashioned Museum. With Bridging the Gap, we have a podcast where we talk to made-in-Africa brands. We actually talk to OGs in the industry. People who have been in the industry for a significant amount of time and can talk about the business of fashion. They can help people who are willing to enter the fashion industry or people who are interested in the business of fashion. People who are fashion enthusiasts. People who want to know more about a specific designer. They have that opportunity through the podcast. Under Bridging the Gap, we have the events for the students. Hence, bridging the gap between the younger and older generations. And then, Bridging the Gap between Africa and the world.