Fashionfuturism: the Afrofuturistic Approach to Cultural Identity in Contemporary Black Fashion

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FASHIONFUTURISM: THE AFROFUTURISTIC APPROACH TO CULTURAL IDENTITY IN CONTEMPORARY BLACK FASHION

A thesis submitted to the College of the Arts at Kent State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fashion Industry Studies

Maame Amoah

August 2020

Thesis written by

Maame Amoah

B.F.A., Kent State University, 2017

M.F.I.S, Kent State University, 2020

Approved by

Tameka N. Ellington, Ph.D., Advisor

Linda Ohrn-McDaniel, M.F.A., Co-Advisor

Louise Valentine, Ph.D., Director, School of Fashion

John R. Crawford-Spinelli, Ed.D., Dean, College of the Arts

iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF FIGURES ...... v

LIST OF TABLES ...... vi

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...... vii

CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION …………………………………………………………………………………………………..….1 Purpose of Study ...... 4 Significance of Study ...... 5 Operational Definitions ...... 5

II. LITERATURE REVIEW ...... 8 The African Diaspora ...... 8 Afrofuturism in the African Diaspora ...... 10 Fashion and Identity in the African Diaspora ...... 17 The Complexities of Cultural Identity ...... 25 Theoretical Framework ...... 29

III. METHODOLOGY ...... 34 Recruitment of Participants ...... 35 Data Collection ...... 36 Data Analysis ...... 40

IV. RESULTS ...... 44 Participants ...... 44 Theme Overview ...... 44 Results for the Online Collage Exercise ...... 63

V. COLLECTION ...... 65 Development of Collection ...... 65 Results/Discussion ...... 67

VI. DISCUSSION ...... 77 Black Peoples’ Perceptions of Afrofuturism ...... 77 Fashion Expressions of Afrofuturism ...... 82 Differences in Nationality and Cultural Upbringing ...... 85 Conclusion...... 91

APPENDIXES A. IRB Approval Sheet ...... 98 B. Informed Consent ...... 99 iv

C. Recruitment Email ...... 102

REFERENCES ...... 103 v

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Page

1. APBD diagram ...... 33

2. Online creative exercise administered through mural ...... 39

3. African American master collage ...... 63

4. Diasporic African master collage ...... 63

5. African master collage ...... 63

6. Baule cloth ...... 66

7. A Selly Raby Kane design from her 2019 collection...... 68

8. A MaXhosa by Laduma Ngxokolo. Designs from 2018 collection ...... 68

9. Side, front, and back views of the African look ...... 70

10. Close-up image of the African look ...... 70

11. Side, front, and back views of the Diasporic African look ...... 72

12. Close-up image of the Diasporic African look...... 72

13. Side, front, and back views of the African American look ...... 75

14. Close-up images of the African American look ...... 75

15. APBD – African American ...... 89

16. APBD – Diasporic African ...... 89

17. APBD – African ...... 89

LIST OF TABLES

Table Page

1. Interview Questions and Guidelines ...... 38

2. Participant Demographics ...... 44

3. Themes and Subthemes ...... 45

4. Summary of Results ...... 65 vii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I want to thank my family for their unwavering support and cheer throughout the entire duration of my education.

I want to also thank all my friends for having my back and especially my roommate for keeping me fed while I buckled down on my writing.

Thank you to my thesis supervisor, Dr. Ellington for staying with me throughout this long and stressful period. Your mentorship means so much to me!!

Thank you to Linda for trying to keep me sane and well equipped despite the campus shutdowns and no access to the knitting machine. I wouldn’t have been able to realize the vision for the collection without you!

Finally, a big BIG thank you to the rest of my committee members, Dr. Kumah-Abiwu and Professor Kendra Lapolla for sticking it out with me even through the summer. I am truly grateful for your continued support.

AMOAH, MAAME, M.F.I.S., AUGUST 2020 FASHION

FASHIONFUTURISM: THE AFROFUTURISTIC APPROACH TO CULTURAL IDENTITY IN

CONTEMPORARY BLACK FASHION (112PP.)

Director of Thesis: Dr. Tameka Ellington, Professor Linda Ohrn-McDaniel

Afrofuturism is a cultural and aesthetic movement within the African Diaspora that draws on the present and historical experiences of Black people and reimagines a future filtered through a Black cultural lens. There has been a growing number of fashion creatives and enthusiasts throughout the African Diaspora who are adopting this aesthetic in order to celebrate Black culture and identity. However, the role of Africa in Afrofuturism

continues to be debated as many believe the term to be inherently centered on Black

American experiences and cultures and not necessarily on the African experience. The

purpose of this research is to explore the connection between Afrofuturism, fashion, and

cultural identity in the African Diaspora. A qualitative approach using interviews and an

arts-based creative online collage exercise was used to uncover the role and signification of

cultural identity in the Afrofuturistic expressions of West Africans in Africa, West Africans

living in America (Diasporic Africans) and African Americans. Because fashion has been

likened to a form of symbolic language, this study also aims to uncover the “codes” involved

in each group’s communication of their cultural identities. Through the data gathered, a 3-

look capsule collection was created to represent a visual summary of the views of each

group on Afrofuturistic fashion expressions. 1

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Sociologists and fashion theorists have long identified the inextricable connection

between fashion and culture. Davis (1992) argues that fashion is a “code” that draws

subtly on “conventional visual and tactile symbols of a culture”… by way of the code’s

“key terms (fabric, texture, color, pattern, volume, silhouette, and occasion)” (p. 5). Many have attributed fashion to a form of language as well as an ongoing communication about

self and cultural identity (Lurie, 1981; Barnard, 2002; Crane & Bovone, 2006; Paulicelli &

Clark, 2009). In that sense, fashion is a unique and dynamic conduit of nonverbal

communication and visual expression. From one’s choice of clothing, jewelry adornment,

hair style, body markings and/or beauty practices, certain presumptions about an

individual’s cultural and social identity can be deduced. Fashion has also shown to

possess strong traces of cultural and historical significance amongst people of African

descent. For example, the civil rights movement of the 1960s and ‘70s witnessed a

blossoming pride in African culture and identity throughout the African Diaspora. Not

only were Black people in America sporting their picked afros and black berets, but there

was also a growing interest in African culture that sparked a vibrant fashion exchange

between the two cultures (Tulloch, 2004; O'Neal, 2010; James, 2017). This phenomenon

of fashion giving-and-taking between African and African-American cultures is being

witnessed once again with the revival of the movement known as Afrofuturism.

Afrofuturism is a cultural and aesthetic movement within the African Diaspora

that draws on the present and historical experiences of Black people and reimagines a

future filtered through a Black cultural lens. According to La Ferla (2016), Afrofuturism, 2

through fashion, tackles not only the issue of underrepresentation of Black people in

future discourses, but addresses this controversial issue by transforming clothing into a

“visible metaphor for empowerment” (para. 9). This has been realized by a growing number of fashion creatives and enthusiasts throughout the African Diaspora who are adopting this aesthetic in order to celebrate Black culture and identity.

From Sun-Ra’s Afrocentric-themed space alien costumes, Selly Raby Kane’s avant- garde aesthetics, to the bold and eclectic styles of Jojo Abbot, Janelle Monae’s cyborg alter- ego, to Ruth E. Carter’s imaginative fashions of the Wakandan citizenry, the dynamism of exchange of fashion aesthetics between African and African-American cultures cannot be denied. The first iteration of Afrofuturism appeared in 1994 after cultural critic, Mark Dery (1994) coined the word in his essay, “Black to the Future.”

While researching the reason why so few Black science fiction and fantasy [SFF] literary writers exist in America, Dery (1994) suggested the word Afrofuturism to describe the content and context of writing that were evident thematically within the works of these few Black SFF authors. He defined Afrofuturism as a" …Speculative fiction that treats

African-American themes and addresses African-American concerns in the context of twentieth century technoculture and, more generally, African-American signification that appropriates images of technology and a prosthetically enhanced future” (p. 3).

Since Dery’s initial conception of the word, many other scholars have worked to develop and establish the term as a formal literary criticism in Black studies. The broadening of the definition by early Afrofuturism critics such as Akomfrah (1996), Eshun (2003),

Yaszek (2006), and Womack (2013), has since initiated a more diverse and inclusive approach toward the interpretation and application of Afrofuturism. As a result, the 3 concept has now transcended the original geographical confines of America into other areas within the larger African Diaspora. The most common definitions of Afrofuturism lie in the (re)-envisioning of past, present, and future Black experiences with Afrocentric themes and technology as the fundamental backbone of the aesthetic (Womack, 2013).

Others approach Afrofuturism through alternative and counter- narratives, addressing issues of Black identity and challenging the conceptual foundations of race and Blackness

(Akomfrah, 1996; Eshun, 2003; Yaszek, 2006; Womack, 2013).

However, the role of Africa in Afrofuturism continues to be debated as many believe the term to be inherently centered on Black American experiences and cultures and not necessarily applicable to other “Black experiences” in the Diaspora. These debates arise from arguments by critics such as South African speculative fiction writer,

Mohale Mashigo (2018), who maintain that Afrofuturism is more so for African

Americans who desire to reconnect with their African ancestry as opposed to Africans living on the continent of Africa (para. 6). In this case, it leaves the question of how

Africans living in the American Diaspora who, as a result of acculturation, embody both

African American culture and African culture, define and relate with Afrofuturism conceptually and aesthetically.

The crossing of the Atlantic sea marks the point in which much of the shared history and cultures between Africans, enslaved African and their descendants abstracted. New cultures emerged while old cultures evolved. The fashion cultures of

African- Americans, influenced by the institution of slavery and other brutalities of racism evolved from the combination of West African aesthetics and Euro-American

fashion cultures (O'Neal, 2010). Colonial agendas to civilize “the condition of savagery” 4

(Jordan, 2000, p. 40) in Africans influenced the fashion practices of many societies in

Africa and is present in contemporary sartorial displays of Western and African

aesthetics (Jennings, 2019). And so, it becomes necessary to understand the cultural contexts in which members of the African Diaspora approach the definition and

expression of Afrofuturism.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this research is to explore the connection between Afrofuturism, fashion expressions, and cultural identity among Africans, African Americans, and

Diasporic Africans (African immigrants living in the Diaspora) to discover if

Afrofuturism may be applicable to the African, and if so, how their cultural identities influence their sartorial interpretations of Afrofuturism. That being said, it is not fair, nor will it be possible to compare an entire continent of 54 countries to one country.

Rather, an arguably comparable section of the group, West Africa was selected as the main “African” study group in Africa and in the immigrant community in America.

Afterall, research shows that majority of the descendants of enslaved Africans in

America have ancestry in West African countries (Rodney, 1967). In terms of the methodology, a qualitative approach using interviews and a creative online collage exercise was conducted on these members of the African Diaspora to unearth the role and signification of cultural identity in Afrofuturism expressions. Moreover, since fashion is a form of communication, this study aims to uncover the “codes” involved in each group’s communication of their cultural identities and create a capsule collection to visually summarize the findings. For the theoretical framework, Hall’s (1994) postcolonial cultural identity theory, as well as the theories of pan-Africanism, 5

Afrocentricity, and symbolic interactionism will work to fully analyze data from participants. The main ideas from these theories were also combined to formulate a conceptual framework to analyze the Afrofuturistic fashion expressions of each participant group.

Significance of the Study

Afrofuturism is a cultural phenomenon that is currently gaining traction in Black communities throughout the African Diaspora, especially as celebrities and popular media through films such as Get Out and Black Panther, push this creative genre to the mainstream. Unfortunately, the literature on Afrofuturism is limited as it is a relatively new concept. And very few scholarly works explore Afrofuturism and its application by

African immigrants in the United States of America. This study aims to add to the growing body of knowledge of this aesthetic movement as it is applied in African and

American cultures. More importantly, this research has the potential to highlight the relationship between Afrofuturism, fashion, and cultural identity, which is an approach to the study of Afrofuturism not yet broached. Ultimately, the researcher hopes this research will be valuable in educating fashion creatives in the industry and academia about Afrofuturism as it is a cultural movement poised to become more and more visible within the African Diaspora in the years to come.

Operational Definitions

African Diaspora

African Diaspora is broadly used in this research broadly to define the communities and populations of people of African and African descent established throughout the world.

Others such as Gilroy (1993) and Lewis (2001; 2003) have used the term to identify 6 those of African descent, excluding the African within the context of the African

Diaspora. The definition of African Diaspora used for the purpose of this research echoes the sentiments of scholars such as Iton (2008) and Tulloch (2018) who argue for the inclusion and centrality of Africa in the definition of the African Diaspora.

Modern African Diaspora

As defined by Collin A. Palmer (2000), the term modern African Diaspora is used in reference to the movements of 19th century post- slavery African and African descent immigrants. He also refers to the modern African Diaspora as the “fifth stream” of major movement of people of African descent (p. 216).

Diasporic African

The people of the African Diaspora can also be referred to as Diasporic Africans.

However, in order to avoid confusion, I use Diasporic African in this study to refer specifically to African Immigrants living in America.

Black

This research uses Black as a noun to refer to the legal racial identifier of all descendants of Africa and Africans, unless specified otherwise, e.g. Black Americans, in which case, refers directly to Americans of African descent.

Black experience

According to Stuart Hall (1993), the Black experience refers to “the historical experiences of Black people in the diaspora” as it is connected to race related issues (p.

110).

African

The African continent consists of 54 countries and many more ethnicities and cultures. 7

However, this study compares African-American culture to African cultures. As such, it will be near impossible to compare each culture in Africa to African American culture.

The researcher recognizes the danger of homogenizing all the countries of Africa into a single descriptor of Africa. However, for the purposes of this study, the term African is utilized very loosely in a generalized manner such as “African culture” – meaning the cultures of Africa whether singular or plural depending on the context of the sentence preceding, current, or following.

CHAPTER II

LITERATURE REVIEW

The following literature review touches on the themes relevant to the

understanding of Afrofuturism, fashion, and cultural identity. Before diving into the

themes, a brief description of the African Diaspora is given to provide context to the

understanding of the relationship between Africans, African Americans, and Diasporic

Africans. The first section of the literature review discusses Afrofuturism within the

context of the African Diaspora. The second section of the literature review discusses

fashion and identity in the African Diaspora and explores the different approaches to

sartorial expression of each group. The final section examines cultural identities,

specifically, post-colonial cultural identity and how critical theorists such as Stuart Hall

define this concept in relation to members of the African Diaspora. The chapter is

completed with an overview of the theoretical framework to be used for analysis of the

study.

The African Diaspora

The transatlantic slave trade saw the dispersal of millions of native Africans across the foreign lands of Europe, the Americas and the Caribbean. Among the many methods used by European slave traders to subjugate and “break” the African slave, was the common practice of stripping their African identities. This took several forms including; 1) the confiscation of all belongings related to their native homes, 2) racializing skin color with the invention of “blackness” while constituting inferiority or inferior labels with “black” skin color (O'Neal, 2010), 3) the cutting or concealment of women’s natural hair (Foster, 2010), and 4) the suppression or outright banning of any 9

representation or expression of African culture (O'Neal, 2010). However, Foster (2010)

admits that although conditions were highly unfavorable, fashion and bodily adornment

was still very much important to the slaves who found different methods of

‘beautifying’ themselves. In her words, outwardly presentation thus became “a powerful means to define themselves [African slaves] as individuals and as part of a larger community” (para. 2).

Unique cultures emerged within Black communities from the convergence of

Euro- American culture and the various cultures and traditions of the different African ethnic groups (O'Neal, 2010). The communities established all over the world by the descendants of enslaved Africans, now referred to as the “African Diaspora,” thus, became breeding grounds for creative and inventive modes of identity expression in order to counter Euro-American culture and values. In fact, many fashion theorists and historicists who have studied fashion’s relationship to the African Diaspora have attested to the importance and cultural significance of visual appearance within the various Black communities of the Diaspora. Fashion critic, Van Dyke Lewis (2003), even argues that,

“the most visible confirmation of the modern African Diaspora's place in the Western world is in the emblematic use of fashion” (p. 1). The relationship of fashion cultures between African-Americans, Jamaicans, and Black-British have been explored by scholars such as Lewis (2001; 2003), Tulloch (2004), and Miller (2009). Fewer scholarly works, however, highlight the complex interweaving of fashion cultures and practices on the continent of Africa and the rest of the African Diaspora. Tulloch (2004) and Jennings

(2011) briefly touch upon these areas; however, the absence of substantial research exploring the relationship between fashion in Africa and the Diaspora may stem from the 10 ongoing debate within African Diaspora studies in regards to the proper approach to defining the African Diaspora; Paul Gilroy’s (1993) seminal work of literature, The Black

Atlantic has provided one of the first definitions of the African Diaspora, but his interpretation placed the African continent outside of the Diaspora. Scholars such as Iton

(2008) and Tulloch (2018), however, argue in favor of rooting Africa firmly within the narrative of the Diaspora. For the purposes of my research, I refer to the African diaspora in a similar manner as defined by Iton and Tulloch – inclusive of all peoples of

African descent; Africans, African-Americans, Jamaicans, Haitians, Black British, etc.

Similarly, as will be further explained in the paper, I apply the term “modern African diaspora” as consistent with Palmer’s (2000) definition of people of the modern African diaspora; contemporary African immigrants who are relocating to other societies and forming their own communities; thus expanding on the idea of the Diaspora. This is in contrast to Lewis’ use of “modern African Diaspora” to refer to the African Diaspora as a whole – all descendants of enslaved Africans excluding Africa and Africans.

Afrofuturism in the African Diaspora

Afrofuturism is a cultural aesthetic and philosophy that weaves together a complex yet fluid intersection of Black culture, Diaspora, imagination, technology, identity and Black liberation (Womack, 2013; Eshun, 2003; Nelson, 2002). It critiques global White supremacy frameworks that discriminate and disadvantage Black people such as systemic racism, prejudice, and exclusion. Adriano (2015) states,

Afrofuturism challenges the Western stereotype of African backwardness and the

notion of Africa as a dystopia. The habitual exclusion of people of African descent

from discourses regarding technology and the future is the result of 11

intimidating and pessimistic predictions of the African social reality in the

decades to come held by a part of the Western white establishment. (pp. 84-85)

More than technology and representation, Rockeymoore (2002)defines Afrofuturism as

an “antithesis” to Western ideas of “futurism” instead, suggesting a philosophical

approach toward a worldview that focuses on ecological harmony and “is about

synthesis and holism.” Rather, Afrofuturism provides a Black Diasporic cultural lens

through which people of African descent can imagine infinite futures unburdened by

Eurocentric assumptions.

Afrofuturism and Blackness

Afrofuturism is heavily related to the idea and issues of Blackness, Black identity,

and race (or lack thereof). Womack (2013) writes, “at its heart, Afrofuturism… kicks the

box of normalcy and preconceived ideas of Blackness…” (p. 16). Eshun (2003) references

the “othering” of “non-white-ness” through racial constructs and labels imposed on

peoples of African descent saying, “Afrofuturism uses extraterrestriality as a hyperbolic

trope to explore the historical terms, the everyday implications of forcibly imposed

dislocation, and the constitution of Black Atlantic subjectivities: from slave to negro to

coloured to evolué to black to African to African American” (p. 299). The idea of “Black” or “Blackness” as a racial identifier of people of African descent originated during the slave trade era as a mode of justifying slavery and reassuring the “purity” and supremacy of the “White” (Caucasian) race. Not only was it used as a distinguisher of skin color, but

Blackness was also synonymous with negative connotations such as evilness, savagery, inferiority, unintelligence and more broadly, as the non-White “other” (Hrabovsky,

2013). 12

The Black power and civil rights movements of the 1960s and 70s attempted to

articulate a more positive definition and perception of Blackness, not just through

activism, but also symbolically through fashion. Slogans such as “Black is beautiful”

emerged to encourage pride and self-acceptance in Blackness and solidarity among Black

people in America in the fight to reject White beauty standards. The Afro became one of

the most prominent ways for Black men and women alike to showcase defiance against the racist notions of Black features as ugly, eventually becoming the symbol of Black pride and even a uniform of sorts for the revolutionary militant Black Panther Party. As

Kelley (1997) confirms, “more than dashikis, platform shoes, black berets and leather jackets, the Afro has clearly been the most powerful symbol of Black Power style politics”

(p. 339). However, according to Ellington (2015), those who chose not to wear the natural hairstyles were seen as conformists, “brainwashed” and often had their

“Blackness” questioned (para. 20). This new definition of Blackness transcended its original use as a racial or ethnic identifier and culturally signified Blackness. In this context, Blackness is more than just an identifier of Black culture and Black identity but also a mental attitude as well. Regardless, the concept of Blackness and the notion of

Blackness as a measurement of one’s adherence to Black cultural norms remains a confusing and highly debated subject. These “preconceived ideas of Blackness” as

Womack (2013) stated, is one of the main issues that Afrofuturism aims to address.

A Post‐Black Era

When it comes to race however, Afrofuturists choose to view race as technology.

In this sense, just as technology was created to serve a need and “facilitate the

production of certain ‘goods’” (Howell, 2018), Sheth (2009) confirms that the delineation 13 between White and Black and the construct of race within a political context becomes powerful instruments to induce certain intentional socio-political outcomes. To this end,

Womack poses the question, “can you imagine a world without the idea of race? Can you imagine a world where skin color, hair texture, national origin, and ethnicity are not determinants of power, class, beauty, or access?” (2013, p. 41). Some have imagined such a place, introducing concepts such as post-race that is more specific to Black culture and post-Black ideas.

As a term, post‐Blackness was coined by the Studio Museum in Harlem art curator, Thelma Golden, who employed the term in her exhibition, Freestyle, to describe the new wave of young African-American artists who as she put it, “were adamant about not being labeled as “Black” artists, though their work was steeped, in fact deeply interested, in redefining complex notions of Blackness’” (Golden & Walker, 2001, p. 14).

Post-Blackness, then, calls for the decentralization of pre-determined notions of

Blackness from the individual in the same way that Afrofuturism calls for a redefinition of what it means to be Black. However, whereas post-Blackness consciously draws away from label attachments such as “Black,” Afrofuturism does not shy away from the label. In a 2011 NPR interview, post-Black critic, and writer, Toure (2011) distinguishes post-race from post-Black, emphasizing that post-racial discourse looks at a world where race becomes a non-issue. Although skeptical and doubtful of a future without the existence of racial classifications, Toure’s definition of post-Black suggests a new approach to the term whereby, Black people are “rooted in Blackness but not constrained by it…”. Where an African and an African-American can create art works and not be tied to stereotypes of Black art such as African “tribal” references or Black 14 subjects. Or in the context of fashion, where creatives of the African Diaspora are not limited to works using African prints or Black cultural symbolisms. For Toure (2011), this suggests that we are living in a “post-Black era”. According to Tulloch (2010), when post-Blackness is applied sartorially, “…it is not just about assuaging historical burdens, but also about enabling” (p. 283). What Tulloch means is that fashion of the African

Diaspora in a post-Black viewpoint looks to fashions then and now to reshape and craft new style narratives. For Tulloch, this means fashioning a “sincere self,” an identity without the obligation to exude or embody the conventional tropes of Blackness.

However, that does not completely deny the use of Black cultural and historical references. So, if as Toure asserted, we are in a post-Black era, then that must mean that fashion and Blackness are being negotiated and redefined throughout the African

Diaspora. This study looks to understand just how racial constructs, concepts of

Blackness, and Black identity are expressed through the lens of Afrofuturism.

Afrofuturism in Africa

Another important and central theme in Afrofuturism involves Africa.

Afrofuturists relate to Africa as both a source of inspiration and a bridge to the past that reclaims ancestral heritage and celebrates the many cultures and achievements of its people (Akomfrah, 1996; Eshun, 2003; Womack, 2013; Rockeymoore, 2002).

Afrofuturism draws inspiration from historical and speculative fiction, fantasy, magical realism and Afrocentricity rooted in African history, culture, myth, spirituality and philosophy (Womack, 2013). As Sofia Samatar (2017), the Somali-American SFF author and educator has noted, although scholars have expanded on the definition of

Afrofuturism to embrace artists and creatives of the Black diaspora such as Jamaican 15 record producer and singer, Lee “Scratch” Perry, Nigerian-American author Nnedi

Okorafor, Kenyan- American artist, Wangechi Mutu and Kenyan filmmaker Wanuri

Kahiu, there still remains a vague understanding “…of how their relationship to the

African continent, obviously different from that of most artists in the diaspora, informs their engagement with the field” (p. 176). For some like Mashigo (2018), the idea of

Afrofuturism has no place on the African continent. She states,

I believe Africans, living in Africa, need something entirely different from

Afrofuturism… Our needs, when it comes to imagining futures, or even

reimagining a fantasy present, are different from elsewhere on the globe; we

actually live on this continent, as opposed to using it as a costume or a stage to

play out our ideas…Colonialism (and apartheid) affected us [Africans] in unique

(but sometimes similar) ways. (para. 3)

Okorafor (2019) even suggests the term Africanfuturism as a way of distinguishing African futurist narratives centered in Africa by Africans from the African American concept of

Afrofuturism. So how have Africans defined and contextualized Afrofuturism in Africa?

Although Mark Dery officially coined the term Afrofuturism in 1994, the phenomena of Africans on the African continent addressing the themes of science fiction and technology centered around African narratives and experiences was not a new concept (Yaszek, 2006, p. 41). Amos Tutuola wrote his famous book, The Palm

Wine Drunkard in 1952, a mixture of fantasy, mythology, and mysticism written in

Nigerian vernacular. Similarly, Ben Okri’s 1991 classic, The Famished Road, magical realism and sociopolitical themes are explored in Nigeria’s independence era. It is clear, as Yaszek (2006) has articulated, that the works of Tutuola (1952) and Okri (1991) 16 represent the foundational ideas of Afrofuturism from the African context. Kenyan filmmaker, Wanuri Kahiu also argues that speculative fiction has always been present in many African cultures. In a TEDx Nairobi (2012) talk, she challenges the notion that

Afrofuturism is only now experiencing its beginning in Africa claiming that certain

Afrofuturist themes can be found in storytellings, myths and spiritual practices among many African groups. She then narrates a Kikuyu tradition that asserts that if someone circles the mugumo tree seven times, they will change sex. Another example comes from the Dogon tribe in Mali who believes that an alien amphibian race shared with their people the secrets of the planet Sirius B long before Western discovery.

Contemporary References of Afrofuturism

As the review of the literature, especially on Afrofuturism has so far revealed, the

concept of Afrofuturism has been referenced thus far in terms of writers, cultural genre,

and its strong footholds in art, film, and music. Today, it has disseminated into all

manners of contemporary media including fashion. Daniel Obasi, a young Nigerian

fashion stylist has increasingly been using fashion and photography as a tool for

empowerment and social commentary through the lens of Afrofuturism. Selly Raby Kane,

Laduma Ngxokolo, Adele Dejak along with other Africans of the diaspora, such as Wale

Oyejide and Mimi Plange are all referencing Afrofuturism themes and symbolisms as

design aesthetics. However, little has been explored regarding the phenomena of

Afrofuturism and its expression through clothing not only in Africa but in the African

diaspora as well.

Fashion and Identity in the African Diaspora

Sociologists point out that large societies are usually made up of smaller cultures, 17 often referred to as microcultures or subcultures. Subcultures usually establish themselves as oppositional forces to dominant cultures by way of offering its members the option to create identities outside of the socially ascribed identities (Weil, 2017;

Eicher & Evenson, 2015). African-American culture and fashion practices, thus provides a great example of a subculture established outside of the dominant culture of American society or “American- culture.” However, if what Davis states about fashion being a

“visual metaphor” for identity holds true, then this raises a complex and delicate point of dialogue especially when discussed in relation to the people of African descent (Davis,

1992). African-American fashion is neither African, nor American but rather straddles both aesthetics of dressing (O'Neal, 2010). In fact, research reveals the long-standing history of African aesthetic influences on African American fashion. West Africa cultural aesthetics especially have been shown to have the heaviest influence in African

American dress and adornment from slavery, through the emancipation and civil rights era, and even continuing through present times (O'Neal, 2010; Foster, 2013). But it is no surprise considering that majority of the African slaves brought to the American plantations were from the Western African region.

African fashion, on the other hand, reflects the complex histories of European colonialism on the continent, modern effects of globalization, while fashion of the modern African diaspora indicates the tensions between assuming a new culture and and/or keeping ancestral cultures.

African‐American Style

In his seminal book, “The Souls of Black Folk,” W.E.B DuBois (1903)describes the legacy of slavery and its polarizing effect on the African-American’s sense of self- 18 conception as a form of “double-consciousness” wherein there lies an internal conflict between the Black American’s reflective identity established by Euro-

American perspectives and his/her own definitions of the self.

It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking

at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a

world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. One ever feels his two-ness, ––

an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two

warring ideals in one dark body

(p. 8).

African-American fashion encapsulates this double-consciousness of Black identity which is further perpetuated by cultural identifiers such as skin color, hair, body shapes and facial features (thick lips, flat nose, etc.) that inherently act as barriers to full entry into the Euro-American beauty standard systems;“ According to O’Neal (2010), “the complexity of African American dress practices reflects Blacks’ connection to both

African and U.S. cultures, the attempts toward assimilation into U.S. culture by adapting/adopting beauty techniques that reflect Euro–North American standards of beauty and the struggle to define the self and to overcome the stigma of Blackness being associated with inferiority” (p. 532). The African-American fashion or “Black Style” that developed as a result of this forced acculturation embody largely West African aesthetics

(of culture and spiritual beliefs) and “Euro-North American impressions and materials” to form distinctive styles that challenge the dichotomy of American dominant culture as both subversive and compliant. Although fashion styles range depending on several external factors such as age, social class, and gender etc., O’Neal (2010) identifies four 19 overarching ideals present throughout African-American sartorial practices:

a) The affinity for loud or high‐affect colors – bold, vibrant, or “loud” color choices

b) The element of “style” or individual expression – “Style” signifying the personal

flair through efforts of creatively pairing garments and body adornments infused

with attitude (swagger) and energy. O’Neal further defines style as a public

display coded through acting, body language and a projection of the self in

relation to others and the environment

c) Improvisations and exotic features. – Infusions of creative style and unusual

mixing enforced by features such as headdresses and hair wraps, hairstyles,

accessories, colorful nails, etc.

d) The tendency to dress up – special event and occasional fashions such as church

events that are given special attention. At times, dressing up is used to

communicate status, command respect, or attract attention (para. 6-12).

How, then, do these four factors manifest in African-American Afrofuturism fashion expressions? African-American style and fashion signify the culture of Black

Americans in their continued struggle against the “double-ness” of identity as Black people living in a White world. The interplay between culture and identity can be said to be a direct manifestation of historical experiences. Hall (1994) captures this point very well by noting that culture and identity “constitute 'what we [those of African descent] really are'; or rather - since history has intervened - 'what we have become’” (p.

225). However, it is important to understand that cultural identities are always being made and remade. Afrofuturism offers African-Americans the opportunity to recreate their individual and collective senses of identity through (re)- contextualizations of 20

historic happenings as well as the freedom to revise and reconceptualize the very

concept of Blackness. Reynaldo Anderson confirms this in a quote, “Afrofuturism, like

post Blackness, destabilizes previous analysis of Blackness” (as cited in Womack, 2013,

p. 16). Hall also notes that “Cultural identity…belongs to the future as much as to the past

“(p. 225). The African American’s cultural identity is not static but ever- evolving. The

phenomenon of Afrofuturism is evidence of this dynamic ebb and flow of Black cultural

identities that not only looks to the past to shape the current self, but also reaches to the

future to question and imagine infinite iterations of identities. One can even choose to

engage in Blackness or move beyond the confines of the social construct.

Fashion and Style in Africa

Fashion in Africa is a reflection of its rich histories and local traditions intertwined

with complex inter-relationships. The outcome is a flourishing contemporary fashion language which is at once unique to each of the 54 nations of Africa and their individual localities, and yet distinctive through a growing recognizable continental and diasporic aesthetic. Contrary to popular misconceptions of Africa as a singular entity, and its fashion practices as “stagnant”, “tribal” or “monolithic”, Helen Jennings (2011) reveals in her book,

New African Fashion, that fashion in Africa is “…one of constant exchange and appropriation…” , with complex trade histories of textiles and aesthetic influences in global contemporary sartorial displays (p. 8). These exchanges in global fashion is evident through the controversial use of African aesthetics and symbolisms by designers such as

Jean-Paul Gautier, and more recently, Dior in their Resort 2020 collection, or by the use of

Kente and African textiles in some African American cultures (Johnson, 2019). The emergence of contemporary fashion in Africa can be traced back to the African 21

independence era of the late 1950s and ‘60s. Fashion became one of the main tools in

which many Africans expressed a renewed sense of cultural identity. Fueled by Pan-African

sentiments and Afrocentric ideologies, Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first president, urged the

citizens of the newly formed Ghana to abandon Western aesthetics and embrace traditional

ways of dressing. This era also fostered renewed cultural connections and exchanges between West African and African American communities re-enforced by Black nationalists and Pan-African supporters on both sides. The Kente, for example, a traditionally hand woven cloth from Ghana was popularized within African American communities in the late

1950s and ‘60s as a symbol of “African heritage and pride” in the wake of a visit by Ghana’s first President, Kwame Nkrumah who wore the cloth during a visit to the White House in

1958 (James, 2017).

However, for the growing middle class of “young urban elites” with university education from abroad, sartorial expressions of cultural identity meant mixing and matching European and traditional African dress aesthetics (Jennings, 2019). African prints

(Dutch wax) and local textiles were shaped into contemporary silhouettes by local tailors or paired with European clothing. This mix of modern and tradition in fashion has been thoroughly ingrained into the fashion practices of many African countries and continues to be reinvented and explored considering the advent of globalization, technology advancements, and the proliferation of social media (Jennings, 2011).

In light of the creative and artistic wave currently sweeping through the continent,

contemporary African designers are testing the limits and at times rebelling against

conventional definitions of Africa while others draw heavily on traditional African

aesthetics. Katie De Klee (2016), editor of South Africa’s leading source of African and 22

global creativity news, Design Indaba, admits that although there is no blanket definition of African design, there are some notable characteristics evident throughout the continent. These she identifies as; “…design that is relevant, contextual, resourceful, expressive, and bold” (p. 10). This is evident in the way South Africa’s Laduma Ngxokolo, founder of knitwear brand, MaXhosa, merges Xhosa motifs and colors into his knitwear pieces, or the way Adebayo Oke-Lawal of Orange Culture defies gender norms in Nigeria through his androgynous fashion pieces.

Nonetheless, Tulloch (2004) warns against confining African fashion to the familiar tropes of bright colors and loud prints stating, “there is …nothing specifically

African about an eclectic mix, but there are specifically African versions of it in all those histories. Similarly, there is nothing specifically African about taking obvious delight in breaking up plain surface...” (p. 28)

Fashion, Identity, and the Modern African Diaspora

As the young elites of the late 1950s and post-colonial Africans traveled and settled abroad, the diaspora population grew respectively. The migration patterns of

Africans to the U.S. is described by Osirim (2008) in terms of ‘push-pull’ dynamics.

Political and socioeconomic issues such as the effects of globalization, political and economic instability and civil wars prompted a “push” in the increase of migration out of the continent to the U.S. On the other hand, the prospects of a better education, socioeconomic life, and government policies such as the Diversity Lottery and the United

States’ position as a global economic and tech leader drew many immigrants from Africa, equating for the ‘pull’ factor. Since the 1980s, the number of African immigrants in the

U.S. has increased exponentially from under 150,000 to over 2 million in 2018. Of the 2 23 million African immigrants, 70% arrived in the United States of America in the year 2000 and later as “voluntary immigrants” through immediate relatives with U.S. citizenships, family sponsorships, and the Diversity (DV) Lottery program, or as refugees. The largest of group immigrants are identified to be from the sub-Saharan countries of Nigeria,

Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, and Somalia respectively (Echeverria-Estrada & Batalova, 2019).

Through cross-cultural and trans-national contact between Africans and African-

Americans, African fashion aesthetics were exchanged and at times, incorporated into

African American cultural dress (Tulloch, 2004). However, studies indicate that African immigrants usually have a hard time acculturating to American society due to the inherent cultural clashes arising from the duality of being an African living in American

(Johnson O. , 2007; Kassa, 2012; Owino, 2014; Nsangou & Dundes, 2018; Stockman,

2019). And even though some may have successfully acculturated, they may not have fully assimilated into the culture rather, choosing not to immerse themselves too heavily in American affairs. When it comes to race relations, for example, Arthur (2000) explains that African immigrants unfamiliar or not willing to associate themselves with racial categorizations at times choose to distance themselves from labels such as Black or

African American, preferring instead to stress their national origins by maintaining a

“foreigner” status. This point of contention has occasionally resulted in unfortunate tensions between Africans and African Americans. However, according to Arthur no matter how much African immigrants attempt to stress their differences, they remain unsuccessful in escaping the realities of being Black in America (pp. 3-4).

One of the many ways through which cultural clashes of the Diaspora are present is through fashion. In a BuzzFeed article, writer, Teresa Mathew, interviewed eleven 24 immigrant women to understand how they negotiated their native cultures with their

American cultures through their fashion and styling choices. Included in the interview were four sub-Saharan African immigrant women; two first-generation Americans

(Eritrean and Nigerian) and two second-generation Americans (also Eritrean and

Nigerian). The first-generation Americans expressed their deep ties to their ancestral homes through the addition of cultural artifacts and textiles in their everyday wear. For the women, wearing pieces of their native cultures in their everyday lives was to them, like an extension of their identity. Styling, however, was negotiated in order to blend with American social standards, for example, the Nigerian-American stated that when she wears African print dresses, she always makes sure not to pair it with a headwrap for fear that it would be “doing a little bit too much.” Clothing for the second-generation

American immigrant women was understandably a little less concrete in its representation of their parents’ cultures. For these women, it was a choice of either attempting to regain the “lost identities” or to abandon all attempts in favor of conforming to American social dress standards. One admitted to having a very limited relationship to clothing practices of her culture, relating the process to an “isolating experience” while the other was wary of how her cultural attire may be perceived by others (Mathew, 2017). These responses exemplify the uncertainty and struggles that accompany the double-consciousness of negotiating African and American cultural identities. However, Diasporic Africans face another dilemma, this time related to the issue of Blackness. In Africa, Blackness as a racial identifier does not exist. The diasporic

African, though, is confronted with the imposition of Blackness in America. While one may expect a mutual kinship between the African immigrant and the African-American, 25

Darboe (2006) explains that issues arising from media-fueled “stereotypes, ignorance, misconceptions and grudges” have created rifts between these two groups. As mentioned earlier, although there is a common root in history shared between Africans and African Americans, the different institutions of slavery, colonialism, and imperialism resulted in differences in experiences related to race and racism. Many Africans do not understand the legacies of slavery and racism in the United States. Likewise, many

African Americans do not understand the colonial legacies and cultural practices of

Africa (p. 29). Thus, although fashion items are likely to be similar, the meanings and symbolisms embedded within these fashion expressions may be different.

Unfortunately, there is a great lack of academic research that dives into the complex relationship between fashion and cultural identity of African immigrants in the

Diaspora. Although Lewis discusses African Diaspora fashion in the cities of New York,

London, and Kingston in his works, Fashion Preferences in the Black Diaspora (2001) and

Dilemmas in African Diaspora Fashion (2003), he defines the African Diaspora according to Paul Gilroy’s definition of the Black Atlantic, which excludes Africa and Africans from the context. Tulloch (2018) clearly disagrees with Lewis’ confining definition of the

African Diaspora by including Africa within the discourse of Diaspora fashion. However, the African immigrant of the modern African Diaspora is not involved either.

The Complexities of Cultural Identity

Many often associate culture with nationality or ethnicity; a Black American will be classified under African-American culture while an African, regardless of the country s/he is from, is most likely to be associated with a mediated perception of African culture. However, this way of thinking only generates confusion and 26 misunderstandings, especially when used in the context of large societies such as the

United States which is described as a “melting pot” of nationalities and ethnicities; or even the current phenomena of globalization where concepts such as

“cosmopolitanism” and “dual citizenship” exist. Rather, culture is an overarching concept that explains why humans behave the way they do; what they make, think, and do (Weil, 2017). This of course extends to modes and aesthetics of dressing as well as practices of body adornments. That being said, culture is learned either consciously or unconsciously through channels of “enculturation” or “acculturation.” Enculturation signifies the process of learning cultural customs from members of a cultural group in which one belongs to or was raised into. Acculturation is “the process of learning a new culture,” for example, migrants who decide to settle in new countries have to learn the norms and customs of their newly adopted country (Eicher & Evenson, 2015).

Identity can also be simplified as who a person/group is or what a

person/group wants to be seen as. But, as Davis (1992) argues, the fact that fashion is

closely attached to the actual body of a person and is one of the first sights people see

on another, clothing essentially becomes a “visual metaphor” for identity. Fashion then

becomes a medium to express identity or an extension of one’s identity.

Cultural identity, therefore, is the relationship between human behavior and

identity. Historically, cultural identity, much like culture, has been applied

synonymously to social constructs such as ethnicity and ethnolinguistic identity, racial

identity and nation-state identity. Although sociologist and communication specialists have finally come to the realization that cultural identity is a multifaceted and complex set of intersecting demographic and cultural variables, its definition still continues to be 27

a much-debated topic in several fields of academia. Intercultural communications

experts define cultural identity as the formed relationship between different identities

and factors or “cultural identifiers” such as nationality, race, sex, ethnicity, age,

socioeconomic status, political affiliation, etc. These identities are believed to be

“inherently relational” affected by “communication choices, behaviors, and negotiations,

particularly within intercultural interactions” (Chen & Lin, 2016, para. 2). Social

scientists view cultural identity as an establishment of “individual choice” or the

relationship between individual and the associated group(s) choices, also referred to as

the “social categorization process” (Yep, 2004, p. 74; Chen & Lin, 2016, para. 5). Critical

researchers such as Stuart Hall on the other hand are referenced for their approaches to this concept centered on postcolonial themes of “power struggles, colonial histories, and crises of representation” (Chen & Lin, 2016, para. 7). For example, in the cases of underrepresentation, Hall (1993) states,

Within culture, marginality, though it remains peripheral to the broader mainstream, has never been such a productive space as it is now. And that is not simply the opening within the dominant of spaces that those outside it can occupy. It is also the result of the cultural politics of difference, of the struggles around difference, of the production of new identities, of the appearance of new subjects on the political and

cultural stage. (p. 470)

In this context, Afrofuturism, being a cultural movement challenging these very conditions of underrepresentation and marginality deriving from Western racist institutions and systems becomes a rich space for Black people all over the world to create “new identities” outside of present Eurocentric hegemony and perspectives. 28

Research Questions

The preceding literature review summarized relevant information to the understanding of Afrofuturism, fashion and cultural identity. However, it is quite clear that there is still limited amount of literature addressing not only the connections between fashion and Afrofuturism, but also the ways that this aesthetic is implemented in Africa and America. Furthermore, this also means that there is a lack of scholarship addressing the implications of cultural identity in the expression of Afrofuturism. Thus, this study aims to address these concerns. Based on the literature review, the research questions that will guide the study are:

1. What are Black peoples’ overall perception of the Afrofuturism movement?

2. How is Afrofuturism expressed in African Diasporic peoples’ style of dress?

3. What are the comparative differences in cultural identity that influence

Black peoples’ perceptions of Afrofuturism?

These questions will be employed in conjunction with the following theoretical framework to guide the course of the empirical research design. 29

Theoretical Framework

This study is largely informed by Hall’s postcolonial identity theory which

serve to understand the validity of applying Afrofuturism outside the African

American cultural context. Hall’s (1994) theory will also be supplemented by various

theoretical framework such as the Afrocentric theory, pan-Africanism, and finally,

symbolic interactionism to provide a more in-depth analysis of Afrofuturism and its

“codes” especially when applied to fashion.

Stuart Hall’s Postcolonial Identity Theory

The first approach of Hall’s conceptual idea positions cultural identity as a collective culture, or in his words, “a sort of collective 'one true self',” based on the shared experiences, histories, and ancestry of a group of people. This sense of shared

“oneness,” grounded in the past, according to Hall, underlies any superficial and/or imposed ideas of differences within the group and is cited as the catalyst for several post-colonial social movements such as Pan-Africanism and the Black Power movements.

The second definition of cultural identity moves past the similarities and shared

“oneness” of identity and realizes the critical points of differences beyond “who we really are” to understand the historical implications of “what we have become.” Hall characterizes this state of “becoming” and “being” as representative of past, present and future experiences that reveal the “ruptures” and “discontinuities” of these ‘shared’ identities.

When Hall’s first definition of cultural identity is applied in an Afrofuturistic perspective, the collective “oneness” of culture assumes that Afrofuturism transcends

any differences in interpretation among the people of the African Diaspora due to a

shared sense of ethnic or racial identity. In this point of view, Afrofuturism is rooted in

the stereotypical and vague understanding of “African” culture. This position also rejects

any notions of tension between the people of the African Diaspora living in Africa, the

Americas or the Caribbean in favor of a mutual relationship situated in Pan-African

ideologies. Expressed through fashion, this could also mean the mutual appropriation of

“African” iconography, materials, and symbolisms; for example, African print clothing, or

Egyptian- inspired jewelry.

In contrast, Hall’s second definition of cultural identity applied in the perspective of

Afrofuturism highlights the differences in identity based on a shared but divergent

historical past. Variances in cultural practices, the understanding of racial constructs such

as Blackness as well as issues such as mediated or misrepresented stereotypes between

the people of the African Diaspora may well become salient points of differences. This

definition of cultural identity will likely result in very different approaches to

Afrofuturistic sartorial expression.

Afrocentric Theory

Afrocentricity is a theory developed in the early 1980’s by Molefi Kete Asante

(1987) that aims to center Africa in the discussion of all things related to Black culture

and people of African descent. According to Asante, “it is a perspective that allows

Africans to be the subjects of historical experiences rather than objects on the fringes of

Europe” (1987, p.2). Kambon & Bowden-Reid (2010) also developed an ASC (African

self-consciousness) model to act as guiding principles toward an Afrocentric personality.

The ASC model follows four components: “(a) awareness-recognition of one's collective

African identity, (b) Priority value placed on African survival, racial-cultural self- knowledge and positive development, (c) Participation in African cultural institutions and their perpetuation, and (d) Practice of resolute resistance against all “anti-African" forces ” (p. 98). The Afrocentric theory then challenges Eurocentric approaches to world history and deals heavily with African agency while essentializing African worldview.

Pan‐Africanism

Although Afrocentricity offers an intellectual framework of viewing the world through an African cultural, philosophical, and historical lens, Pan-Africanism focuses on the idea that all people of African descent share a common goal or interest and must therefore become unified (Du Bois, 1903; Makalani, 2011; Kuryla, 2016). W.E.B Du Bois, was known as the father of Pan-Africanism but the idea was bolstered by many influential thinkers of the 20th century by the likes of Marcus Garvey, Kwame Nkrumah,

Jomo Kenyatta, and many more (Kuryla, 2016). Pan-Africanists acknowledged what Du

Bois condemned as the 20th century “problem of the color line” which referenced that

African Americans and Africans on the continent all suffer under European oppression.

This sentiment reinforced the notion that "African people, both on the continent and in the diaspora, share not merely a common history, but a common destiny" that connects our pasts and futures (Du Bois, 1903; Makalani, 2011; Kuryla, 2016).

Symbolic Interactionism

Symbolic interactionism is a sociological perspective which posits that human beings primarily interact with each other through symbols with constantly shifting meanings. Interaction and behavior between individuals and groups are then shaped based on mutual exchange of interpretations which both create and recreate meaning

(Mead, 1934; Blumer, 1969). According to Blumer (1969), symbolic interaction is based on three premises: (a) human behavior toward things are based on the meanings they associate to those things. (b) The meaning associated to those things that are derived through social interaction with other individuals and society, and (c) these meanings are dependent on and modified based on how individuals choose to interpret those meanings in the process of social interaction”(Blumer, 1969, p.3-5; McPhail, 1979). When applied to fashion, clothing can be thought of as a form of symbolic interactionism whereby non-verbal communication is derived through symbolic meanings associated with the “key terms” of fashion and culture (Davis, 1992; Kaiser et al., 1995). Symbolic ambiguity also helps to produce more “richer” meaning as it allows individuals to form more thoughtful interpretations to negotiate nuanced meaning(s) (Kaiser et al., 1995).

Finally, as symbolic interactionism assumes that self-concept determines one’s behavior, fashion becomes an expression of one’s ever-shifting self-conception (West &Turner,

2018, p. 79)

Theory on the Agency and Power of Black Dress

Drawing on the conceptual ideas of the four theoretical frameworks that have been discussed, I developed the “Agency and Power of Black Dress” framework to help explain not only Blackness through dress, but to also encapsulate the main ideas from each framework. This framework is an Afrocentric framework that relates the symbols of fashion to Davis’ (1992) “codes” of fashion. These codes can be interpreted through

Hall’s (1994) cultural identity theory as either leaning more towards a pan-African unified sense of Blackness, or “oneness”, or toward a perspective that respects cultural variations and prefers to work within this ambiguity. Essentially, the Agency and Power

33 of Black Dress (APBD) is a framework that seeks to determine the degree to which the codes of fashion display an African-centered Black agency or identity based on Hall’s two definitions of cultural identity. Below is a diagram (Figure 1) that visualizes this framework.

Figure 1. APBD diagram

CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

To gain insight into the various perceptions and expressions of Afrofuturism, a triangulation approach using qualitative and arts-based research methodologies were employed. Triangulation refers to the use of more than one data collection methods to cross-validate data and add more “richness and depth” to the phenomenon being researched (Heale & Forbes, 2013). In-depth, semi-structured interviews were supplemented with a creative online collage exercise to generate additional insightful data to understand Afrofuturism as it is applied in fashion.

Three research groups from the African Diaspora were selected purposely for this study. These research groups were made of West Africans, African Americans, and West

African immigrants currently living in America. These groups were chosen due to the limited amount of scholarly research works that exist on how each group defines or employs Afrofuturism aesthetics in their daily lives. The potential to understand how

Afrofuturism relates to both groups, not just in terms of definition but also in the way that they dress and present themselves visually through fashion, particularly knowing the influence in which West African aesthetics have had on African American fashion (O’Neal,

2010) presents a point of further understanding of the sociocultural relationship between the group. This is important especially as there is debate as to whether Afrofuturism ideologies even relates to African peoples in the continent (Mashigo, 2018). West Africans living in America who for the purpose of this research, are identified as Diasporic Africans.

They were also selected because just as it is important to understand Afrofuturism from the perspective of the African and the African American, it is just as important to

understand it from those who are African but have lived in America long enough to have

adopted some African American cultural practices to determine the relevance of

Afrofuturism and/or application by African nationals in the Diaspora.

Finally, a mini three-look capsule collection was then created to visually synthesize

the various Afrofuturistic fashion expressions of each research group based on the

resulting data from the study.

Recruitment of Participants

Recruitment of participants was conducted using flyers, emails, social media, and

snowball sampling methods. Prior to the start of the recruitment process, approval from

Kent State University’s Institutional Research Board (IRB) was requested and approved

on November 19, 2019. Following the approval, flyers were posted in key locations

around the Kent State University campus. Emails were forwarded to campus student organizations related to fashion, and Black/African culture and affairs. Emails were also

sent to personal contacts whom the researcher assumed would be eligible to participate in the study. The researcher also scouted potential participants via social media. All

interested participants were provided a web link to an online pre-screening survey

through Qualtrics, an online survey tool, which addressed basic demographic questions

such as age, career/ major, education, familiarity with Afrofuturism, and more. To be

eligible to participate in the study, participants were required to meet the following

criteria: (a) individuals who identify as Black, African-American, American Descendant of

Slavery (ADOS), or African (specifically from a West African country), (b) must be

between the ages of 18 and 35, (c) possess a moderate to high level of familiarity with

Afrofuturism and d) in the case of the Diasporic African, must have lived in the United

States for over 5 years and be currently living in the US. Five years was chosen as the limit because the amount of time it takes for an immigrant to acculturate to a foreign culture and the degree to which they acculturate vary significantly based on several factors. And because there is no way to pinpoint exactly how long it takes one to be fully acculturated to a certain culture, the researcher chose 5 years as a sufficient number of years for an

African immigrant to have adapted to American culture (Ng & Hall, 2011; Ukiru, 2002).

Once potential participants were identified, informed consent forms were emailed and the date, time and location for interview were scheduled. Interviews were conducted only once informed consent forms were signed and emailed back to the researcher.

Data Collection

The interviews commenced on Tuesday, February 11, 2020 and ran through May 22,

2020. In all, fifteen participants encompassing all three research groups were interviewed, after which, data saturation was determined. Each interview lasted approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour long, with the lengthiest interview extending past 1 hour and 30 minutes. All online and face–to-face interview sessions were conducted with Zoom, an online meeting platform. This ensured that there would be a consistent basis for data analysis and a reliable video and audio recording system for all interviews, including the online creative exercise.

Prior to March 6, 2020, four interviews had been conducted face-to-face: one on the

Kent campus, and the other two at a specified location off-campus. All interviews were transcribed. Following March 6, 2020, the stay-at-home order issued within the state of

Ohio due to the Covid-19 pandemic caused all subsequent interviews to be administered exclusively via Zoom. Participants were video and/or audio recorded through zoom video

chat according to their preferences indicated in the signed consent form.

The interview questions consisted of 10 semi-structured questions, with the final

question relating directly to the online creative exercise (see Table 1). The questions were

developed in a way that allowed flexibility for the researcher in case additional prompting

or clarification on an answer provided by the participant was needed. For example, if a

participant said that the color red is very important to Afrofuturism, a prompting question

would be along the lines of – what is it about the color red that is important to

Afrofuturism?

Amongst the 15 participants, 1 participant was a native French speaker of African descent with a moderate understanding of English. So, to make the participant feel comfortable and at ease, the interview questions were translated directly to French with the help of a colleague who was also a French native speaker (see Table 1 also). The participant was also encouraged to answer questions in the language he was most comfortable with, which happened to be French.

The online collage-building exercise was administered through a third-party collaborative platform called Mural. Mural offers a blank canvas or “mural” with which users can visually customize and collaborate with team members on projects. A grouping of words and images personally selected by the researcher in careful consideration of their potential relevance to Afrofuturism were arranged on the left half of a blank mural as shown in Figure 2. As noted by Leavy (2015), the combination of words and images in an art-based research has the potential to derive new and previously unthought-of meanings that may not otherwise have been unearthed in a traditional interview setting.

Table 1. Interview Questions and Guidelines

Research Interview Questions Interview Questions Questions (French Translations) Get to know the Participant… What are the comparative 1. Give me a brief history of your 1. Donnez-moi un bref historique de votre differences in background. Please refrain from parcours (= Parlez moi de vous). nationality revealing any sensitive or identifying • D’où venez-vou? and cultural information like your name or the name • Éducation culturelle - qu’est-ce upbringing of others. que ca fait de grandir la bas? that influence • Where you are from • Parlez moi de toute chose Black Peoples’ • Cultural upbringing – intéressante ou d’importance qui perceptions of what was it like growing vous a influencé en tant que Afrofuturism? up? personne. • Anything interesting or of significance that has influenced you as a person

To understand the overall What are Perceptions of Afrofuturism… Black peoples’ 2. How did you discover Afrofuturism? 2. Comment avez-vous découvert overall l’afrofuturisme? Et quand? perceptions of When? 3. What is your definition of Afrofuturism? 3. Quelle est votre définition de the l’afrofuturisme? Afrofuturism 4. What are some of the traditions, celebrations, rituals, or aspects of your 4. Quelles sont certaines ces traditions, movement? célébrations, rituels ou aspects de votre cultural upbringing that you think might have contributed to your perception of éducation culturelle qui, selon vous, Afrofuturism? pourraient avoir contribué à votre • music perception de l’afrofuturisme? • dressing • La musique • religious • style vestimentaire observations • pratiques religieuses • dancing • Danse • movies • films 5. What are your personal thoughts on the 5. Quelles sont vos pensées personnelles Afrofuturism movement – past and sur le mouvement afrofuturisme - present? passées et présentes?

On to Fashion… How is 6. What is fashion to you? 6. Qu’est-ce que la mode selon vous? Afrofuturism 7. Votre nationalité influence-t-elle la expressed in 7. Does your nationality influence the way you express yourself through fashion? façon dont vous vous exprimez a traves style of dress? la mode? 8. How much of your nationality or cultural identity do you infuse into your 8. Quelle part (pourcentage) votre dressing? nationalité ou de votre identité 9. In popular culture, we have seen fashion culturelle dans l’expression de votre being used as a form of futuristic style vestimentaire? expression from Sun Ra, to Janelle Monae 9. Pensez-vous que la mode joue un rôle and even Erykah Badu. Do you think dans l'afrofuturisme? Si oui, comment? fashion has a role in Afrofuturism? If so, how?

Creative exercise… Creative exercise…

10. How would you define and express 10. Comment exprimeriez-vous Afrofuturism through fashion? l’afrofuturisme a travers la mode?

Figure 2. Online Creative Exercise Administered Through Mural

The goal of the collage was not aesthetic-based in the sense that, the point was not to see who could create the most beautiful collage artwork. Participants were not required to possess strong knowledge of fashion nor were they even expected to have an artistic- background.

However, as Leavy (2015) argues, images have the potential to elicit “emotional and visceral responses from people” which could aid in expressing unconscious thoughts and ideas that may not have been imagined or verbalized during the more traditional interview

sessions (p.232). Additionally, in the words of Leavy (2015), visual arts are a “significant

source of information” especially in regard to “cultural aspects of social life” as well as

“identity issues at the global, national, group, and individual levels” (p.227). Participants were tasked to move and arrange the words and images that they felt best illustrated how they would define and apply Afrofuturism through fashion to the right blank space of the mural. The participants essentially created a collage of their own ideas. All participants were provided with the same words and images. They were also encouraged to go beyond the ideas presented in the mural and include their own personal ideas. Additionally, they were asked to talk through and explain why they chose certain words or images. The

French-speaking participant gave confirmation that he was able to read and understand the English words in the Mural so there was no requirement to translate those words to

French.

Data Analysis

Data analysis began during scheduled interviews as notes were taken during the interviews. The recorded audio files from each interview were transcribed verbatim first and then “cleaned up” as needed to omit unnecessary filler words and stutters such as

“um”, “uh”, “like” and “you know”. Fourteen of the 15 transcriptions were performed solely by the researcher with a strict adherence to the systematic steps and protocols of transcribing a collected data.

The audio files were first transcribed initially with the help of Otter, an online automated artificial intelligence (AI) transcription service. Following the initial automated transcription, each file was thoroughly double checked and corrected to reflect accurate verbatim transcription. With the consent of the French speaking participant, the audio file

form the interview was transcribed again with the help of the native speaking colleague.

Quirkos, a qualitative analysis software was used to assist the process of coding the

transcription data. Using the process of inductive coding, an open, axial, and selective

method was used cyclically to code, categorize, and develop emergent themes in the data.

As Williams and Moser explained, the purpose of open coding is to identify “distinct

concepts and themes” in data for categorization in the next cycle of analysis (Williams &

Moser, 2019). The open coding process involved first reviewing the notes taken during the

interview and identifying initial concepts and themes from the data. These primary

findings were then separated and grouped according to their respective research groups

i.e, the African American group, the Diasporic African group, and the African group. Next, all interview transcripts were imported into the Quirkos software and similarly separated and grouped according to the research group. The transcripts were read and re-read as codes were defined. The initial codes and themes from the written notes were also added to the growing list of codes in the Quirkos software. Each code was identified with a single descriptive word or short phrase and if needed, expanded into sentence form for clarification. Coding was performed one transcript at a time and from one research group to another so as to keep the findings from each group distinct from each other and avoid concepts from on group influencing the analysis of the other group. As coding was conducted from group to group, similar and contrasting themes and concepts were identified. As a result of these findings, an initial codebook consisting of approximately 96 codes across all three groups were identified.

Following the first cycle of open coding, the 96 codes were categorized according to their relationship with each other. The refining of initial themes and concepts into broader

categories or “core codes” marked the beginning of the axial coding cycle (Williams &

Moser, 2019). At this stage, certain portions of the transcripts were re-read and re-

analyzed, and the codebook was condensed further to 25 categories across the three

groups but again, still keeping each group’s coding separate from the other.

During the selective process, the 25 categories were further condensed in a

continuation of the axial cycle. Categories in all three research groups were cross-

referenced and also grouped based on their thematic relationship to each other. 6 major themes with subthemes emerged from the final selective process of coding.

Analysis of the Collage Exercise

For the online collage exercise, the results served as both data and a representation of data (Leavy, 2015, p 232). As stated previously, participants were asked to explain why they selected the words and images in their collages and how those selections related to

Afrofuturism and fashion expression. These discussions were included in the transcripts and analyzed alongside data from the interview questions because they provided further insight into participants’ perceptions of Afrofuturism and fashion. The images and words

were also further analyzed separately as a “representation of” data to extract a holistic

representation of participants’ expressions, especially as it pertained to each research

group. This process further assisted the triangulation of the data. Thus, the goal of the data

analysis of the collage exercise was to identify the most frequently used words and images

in a specific research group to highlight the most popular themes relating to fashion in

Afrofuturism. The completed murals were then organized into their corresponding

research groups as a single master board. The images and words were ranked according to

their popularity by members within the group. The most frequently chosen words and

43 images by four or more participants or in other words, 80% of participants within a group, were then extracted into a final condensed board.

CHAPTER IV

RESULTS

Participants

A total of 54 recorded responses were gathered from the online pre-screening survey. Of the 54 respondents, 22 identified as African with 24.5% having lived in the US for over 5 years, 28 identified as African American, 2 identifying as first or second- generation American, and 2 others identifying as Caribbean or Caribbean. Of the 54 respondents of the survey, 20 reached out to schedule an interview. Of the 20, 5 participants were ineligible for various reasons. One participant however had to be

removed from the study due to audio quality issues that could have impacted the

transcription and subsequent analysis of the data. The final list of participants, with some

demographic information is located below in Table 2. Each participant has a number and

code letters assigned based on group association. DA refers to Diasporic African, AA refers to African American, AF refers to African American.

Theme Overview

Based on the data analysis, the 6 core themes that emerged were 1) Awareness of

Afrofuturism, 2) Advancement of Blackness, 3) Africa, 4) Tradition Meets Future, 5) The

Future in Afrofuturism, 6) Fashion in Afrofuturism. The themes are further defined and described below (also, see Table 3).

Table 2. Participant Demographics

Major/Career Administration Administration Human Services Human Services Fashion/Textiles Fashion/Textiles Fashion/Textiles Fashion/Textiles Fashion/Textiles Fashion/Textiles Law, Public Safety, Arts, Audio/Video, and Arts, Audio/Video, and Arts, Audio/Video, and Arts, Audio/Video, Government and Public Government and Public Government Information Technology Information Corrections, and Security Communication Technology Communication Technology Communication Technology

Male Male Male Male Male Gender Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female

Age years years years years years years years years years years years years 18 – 24 25 – 34 25 – 34 18 – 24 18 – 24 25 – 34 18 – 24 25 – 34 18 – 24 25 – 34 25 – 34 25 – 34 25 – 34 25 – 34 25 – 34

OH N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A Kent, OH City/State Bronx, NY Bronx, Toledo, OH Seattle, WA Florence, KY Amherst, MA Rockville, MD Columbus, OH Jacksonville, FL Jacksonville, Cleveland Heights,

U.S.

years

of the

N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A in years years

5 - 10 years 5 - 10 years 25 – 34 years lived I was born here I was born here I was born here I was born here I was born here Greater than 10 Greater than 10 Number

Ethnic / African African African African African African African African African African African African African African African Heritage Diasporic Diasporic Diasporic Diasporic Diasporic American American American American American Racial

Birth

of Coast

U.S.A. U.S.A. U.S.A. U.S.A. U.S.A. Ghana Ghana Ghana Ghana Ghana Ghana Nigeria Nigeria Nigeria Ivory Country

AF AF AF AF AF AA ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ AA AA AA AA DA DA DA DA DA ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ 9 8 7 6 1 2 3 4 5 11 12 13 14 15 10 Number Participant

Table 3. Themes and Subthemes

Awareness of Advancement of Africa and Tradition The Future in Fashion in Afrofuturism Blackness the Self Meets Future Afro‐Futurism Afrofuturism

Lack of Realism v. Visual Self-awareness Identity Sustainability Representation Utopia effectiveness

Exploring the Future looking Near Future v. Social awareness For us, by us Culture individual and to the Past Far Future the Collective

Normalization of Lifestyle Spirituality Exploration of Black Culture style Afrofuturism is not as popular as Hair it should be

Occasional Appropriation v.

Honoring Envisioning the Ambiguity Future of Fashion

The future of

fashion

Theme 1) Awareness of Afrofuturism

There was no distinct approach toward the discovery of Afrofuturism that was

unique to any particular research groups. When asked to provide information on when

they first stumbled upon the word Afrofuturism, the time period of discovery for

participants ranged between the years 2016 and 2020. Furthermore, the modes of discovery differed. For participant 9-AA, for example, she stumbled across the term while

performing research for a class project. Participant 14-AF discovered Afrofuturism through

fashion. Participant 7-AA, a 1-st generation African American born to Nigerian nationals in

the U.S., discovered the word Afrofuturism while reading the international YA best seller,

Children of Blood and Bones by Tomi Adeyemi. For others, information passed through

friends, colleagues and even random associates was the doorway to discovery of the term

Afrofuturism. However, one of the biggest avenues through which many acquired

awareness of Afrofuturism was as a result of exposure to pop-culture content.

Unsurprisingly, the Black Panther film was a major source of information in the understanding of the concept of Afrofuturism (n= 12). Music was also another platform for

awareness as participant 3-DA cited Jazz and Funk music by artists such as George Clinton

and Funkadelic as his primary source of awareness. Erykah Badu was cited by participants

6-AA and 7-AA as a prominent celebrity influence on their understanding and perception of

Afrofuturism, pointing to her unique mannerisms, hair and fashion sense, religious beliefs,

and even music as inspirations. Black Cultural festivals such as Afropunk in the United

States and Chalewote in Ghana were also among the many sources of awareness for some

participants (n=3). Afropunk and Chalewote are both annual arts festivals that aim to

celebrate Black/African culture. Afropunk originated in Brooklyn and has since spread to

different locations around the world. Chalewote is based in Accra, Ghana.

Despite the varied conditions of discovery of the term and concept of Afrofuturism,

an underlying catalyst for actual interest in Afrofuturism common to all participants

stemmed from a pre-established sensitivity to their Blackness both internally and

externally. For some participants, the interest in Afrofuturism was a result of self-

reflection as a process of identity development leading to self‐awareness. When answering

the question of how he discovered Afrofuturism, participant 15-AF talked about his

childhood and adolescent years dealing with identity crisis which began his journey of

introspection.

…it [the process of discovery of Afrofuturism] seems more like, you know, like an

evolution of ideology or like thoughts on me just finding myself in a new place. So

before then, I will say I was just like an individual. I wouldn't have considered

myself so self-aware…

This process of self‐awareness was furthered as he sought to answer self-reflective

questions such as “…what is reality around me?” and “How does that actually like, shape who I am?” Fashion was a key turning point in the self‐awareness of participant 7-AA who revealed “…high school is when I got introduced to these terms like black liberation, black rights, women's rights. So that's when I started to dress more of the African side or the

black side than I did before. “ High school was also a period of identity development for

participant 5-DA who explained,

...I went through a period of change when I didn't speak my language…to become

more American, to fit in a lot easier. But … specifically when I moved to Western

Mass [SIC],… in high school, I went to a social justice high school where I had a lot of

events about, you know, empowerment and identity focused things. And I think that

definitely changed my path on how I viewed myself and how I, you know, like my

identity and things like that.”

As much as being self-aware influenced many participants’ broad awareness of their individuality and identity as a Black man or woman, their social surroundings including daily interactions with friends, family, community, and even society at large also played a big role in their perceptions of Afrofuturism. The subtheme of social awareness was highlighted again by participant 15-AF who’s self-questioning turned outwards in an effort to understand what he deemed as his reality and the reality around him. He elaborated,

“…I started being more aware of my environment, you know, like what has brought us to

like where we are right now. and started being more interested in history, like,

psychologically and how African thought has evolved . And so naturally, just having that personal experience of asking questions and searching for answers within, I more or less started going down the path of like, okay. Yeah. I am in Nigeria and you know, like, what does that mean? … How was this construct put together? And…how did we find ourselves here? And then from there…what does it say about where we're heading to?” As indicated by participant 15-AF, his need to understand his world and the world around him led him to dive deep into learning about his history and issues dealing with Africa in order to envision his future. Amongst African Americans, this social awareness meant that they were more attuned to issues involving racism and how that affected them as Black men and women and as a community. For example, participant 6-AA mentioned dealing with racism while living in Louisiana and having to “come into myself”. For Diasporic African participants, social awareness was mainly directed toward recognizing their differing cultural practices as Africans and adjusting those practices and traditions to fit into

American culture. Participant 4-DA explained,

when I came here, it was just hard because I had a different accent versus the accent

that they had here. And also, the whole school culture was different. But I adjusted

really quickly because I realized that I'm in a different place.

She also identified the need to “blend in” and accommodate American cultural practices in her life if, according to her words, she wanted to survive.

For others, it is not enough to simply participate in Afrofuturism when one feels like it. As participant 7-AA made it clear, “It's [Afrofuturism] not just for… show and tell.

Literally, the beliefs and the values of that person. Like, we don't just see Jaden Smith dress

50 like that for the red carpet. He dressed like that all the time.” Jaden “Syre” Smith is an

American singer, songwriter, and actor who’s mannerisms and style of dress are at times considered eclectic. Some participants across all groups (n=8) agree that Afrofuturism should extend deep into the way one lives their lives. For Participant 6-AA this also meant going as far as being intentional about patronizing Black-owned businesses. The notion of

Afrofuturism as a lifestyle was also expounded upon by participant 15-AF who expressed,

“…Afrofuturism then becomes even more than just an artform that I observe. More like a lifestyle or like some sort of therapy that gets me to just think on a new canvas about like, who I am, what that could mean in the future, and what that means for the plan that I really feel that I belong to or like my heritage is within”

The subtheme of Afrofuturism not being as popular as it should be was another subtheme which all participants expressed. All agreed that although Afrofuturism was now making headlines every now and then, there is still a lot of room for growth. Participant 3-

DA expressed his concern saying, “I don't think it's that popular…it was even that popular in the past…It's something maybe people recognize but then don't really recognize as something major.” Moreover, few participants (n=2) expressed fears of Afrofuturism becoming a corrupted Black cultural movement. Participant 10-AA communicated his worries of Afrofuturism becoming another trend that could easily be appropriated if Black people did not take it seriously. Diasporic African participant, 1-DA on the other hand, expressed her observations of Afrofuturism being showcased more so by African

Americans than people of the Diaspora. Her uneasiness with this observation was regarding the possibility that if concepts such as African culture were pushed by African

Americans “not so well versed” in African culture, Afrofuturism may end up promoting

51 what she called, “a warped perspective” of African culture.

This topic led to the final subtheme of appropriation v. honoring. Participant 1-DA’s fear of appropriation of African culture by those she saw as the leaders of Afrofuturism, was clearly also an issue which (n=3) African American participants were aware of as a problem within the African American community and were working to address. Participant

10-AA admitted to this problem saying, “our understanding of African tradition is very nonspecific. It's very general. Even in my upbringing, when there was, let's say, a Kwanzaa festival or an event where we do want to honor our African roots, we might be using a framework from Kiswahili words when the majority of us are more than likely from West

Africa. Learning how to pinpoint all of those things is a little difficult.” Participant 8-AA, a queer woman from the Bronx who calls herself a Blerd, referring to one who is a “Black nerd” responded to this concern saying, “...I’m always on that cusp of like, is it appropriation? Or is it a proof appreciation and learning but like, as you can see, I do my research and I try to learn about these people that I could be connected to, and so that way

I’m not just doing it by like, oh, this is cute! I'm just gonna try this thing. Like No, I’m trying to understand how, it also connects to me.” Participant 8-AA understood the implications of using a vague knowledge of African culture and possibly corrupting the traditional practices of said culture being used, leading to appropriation and loss of or mis- information.

Participant 13-AF however, as an Ivorian national, did not see the use of aesthetics from different cultures as a problem. He argued that one did not need to be strict about applying only features or elements of one’s personal culture or ethnicity to their expressions of Afrofuturism. According to participant 13-AF, how one decided to express

Afrofuturism was up to the interpreter. This ambiguity in how one defines Afrofuturism or how one decides to express its concepts was recognized by participants. All knew that there was no one size fits all definition for Afrofuturism. Just as participant 9-AA defined it as the combination of “…African cultures throughout the Diaspora with technology and science fiction…,” participant 4-DA described Afrofuturism as “imagining or visioning the future for African Americans and Africans or in general black humanity…a future for us,” while participant 14-AF saw Afrofuturism as a way to change negative narratives of Africa and create “…a beautiful future for us.”

Theme 2) Advancement of Blackness

Because of the centrality of Black people in Afrofuturism, the advancement of

Blackness was a theme expressed by all participants but in varying contexts depending on the research group.

Lack of representation was a subtheme conveyed mostly by African American (n=4) and African participants (n=4). According to participant 6-AA, Afrofuturism is a movement because Black people have been excluded from many things leading to the betterment of the Black community. This sentiment was echoed by African American participants who also correlated the lack of proper representation a result of the propagation of false stereotypes of Black people. In terms of fashion, participants 6-AA and 9-AA also argue about the lack of representation of Black people in high fashion and other aspects of the fashion industry. For the African participants, the subtheme of lack of representation was more so realized in relation to cultural practices and traditions. For example, participant

11-AF said, “we have to be proud of what we have. Because if we don't, then I don't know what's going to happen to our children who are kids, what are they going to follow? If we

don't leave these things behind them? It means there wouldn't be anything for them to

celebrate as Africans.” The lack of representation leading to misrepresentation was also recognized by participants such as 15-AF who said, “…the number one common myth is that when you are Black, then you are, of lesser intelligence or you know, have lesser brilliance than, like a white counterpart.”

Even though the Diasporic African participants did not explicitly express lack of representation as a cause for Afrofuturism, there was a consensus by all participants that in order for Afrofuturism to be most effective, the solution for Black people had to be created by Black people, for Black people, or as the subtheme goes, for us, by us. Participant 4-DA defined Afrofuturism as “a future for us by us.” Participant 14-AF warned of the consequence of allowing someone else to control one’s narrative as she said, “…if we don't value what we have people will take it away from us. And then when they take it away and they turn it to a piece of things we don't really like or things we love, we start getting pain for somebody else taking our shine.”

A noteworthy observation though, was that through participant recounting, the subtheme for us, by us did not merely mean by Africans for African or by African Americans for African Americans. For example, participant 12-AF, a Nigerian national explained, “Even all my ideas, I involve them [African Americans] because yeah, we really are all together.

We have each other. We should have each other.” Participants made it clear that us referred to Black people of the African Diaspora by large.

The advancement of Blackness theme was not solely about promoting positive representations of Blackness or taking matters into our own hands. Some participants

(n=7) across the three research groups also agreed that advancement was also about

establishing a normalization of Black culture. For participant 7-AA, Afrofuturism also meant aspiring to a position where Black culture was seen as the norm but not to the extent where other cultures appropriate Black culture. She said,

I don't think it's going to be normalized to the point where people are going to

actively be doing it. People of different cultures will be like, ‘Oh yeah, I want to try

this.’ … ‘Oh yeah, it looks so nice on you, but I don't think it will look the same way

on me.’… Because they don't see it on a daily basis. So, normalized in the sense that

more Black people start these kinds of things and people are starting to see it and

they're starting to get used to it.”

For participant 14-AF as a fashion designer from Nigeria, normalization of Black culture also meant being able to freely express oneself without question. As she said, “by the time, we push Afrofuturism to a particular point, I feel like people will start embracing stuffs like this [Afrofuturistic fashion] on a regular basis. This is what Africa will later look like. You know, the strong, versatile woman that walks on the road and won't feel like, why is she

wearing that?”

Theme 3) Africa

As was expected based on the reviewed literature, Africa was another central theme

in participants’ discussions of Afrofuturism. Identity was identified as one of the subthemes

discussed by all groups from different perspectives. For the African American group, this was emphasized by the importance of embracing history and recognizing their ancestral

lineage dating back to Africa. As participant 6-AA shared, “instead of just trying to identify

with being an African-American, I try to take it all the way back to Africa as much as I can

like, no I'm black, black, black. Okay?”

Having pride in one’s identity as an African or of having African ancestry was also a sentiment expressed by all 15 participants. In the Diasporic African group, identity was also stated as a matter of not forgetting their roots, and if possible, practicing certain aspects of their customs and values of their home country in Africa and in the U.S.

Participant 5-DA said, “growing up, there were like some certain things about us that made me realize who I am and where I'm coming from. And wherever I go I shouldn't be able to forget where I came from…” Identity for the African group was revealed to be both pride in one’s self as a national of an African country or an ethnic group and pride in being African in the collective sense as well.

For participants (n=13), pride in one’s identity as an African also meant embracing

African culture in practice. As participants said time and again, African culture is an important component of Afrofuturism.

Spirituality was another emergent subtheme from the main theme Africa. All groups addressed the importance of spirituality in Black and African cultures. For African

Americans (n=3), spirituality was another means of connecting mentally and spiritually to

Africa. As participant 6-AA stated, “It's nothing specific but I have been looking into just

African spirituality. What were my ancestors doing? And so when I decided to do that I learned about the Orishas. I learned about Hoodoo, Voodoo. All that stuff.” According to participants 8-AA and 6-AA who had both left Christianity in favor of practicing African spirituality, it is also a means of fighting back against misconceptions of Black cultural practices and historic Western religious influences on Black peoples’ self-conception. For some African (n=4) and Diasporic African (n=2) participants, the idea of spirituality also sought to fight against common misconceptions of African culture. However, it was also

56 about embracing African cultural practices so as not to lose these important traditions.

Participant 1-DA clarified this as she said, “people are like, Oh my gosh, you are worshipping you know, deities and all these like bad Voodoo, and bad Juju and stuff like that. But that was our way of life so, if we can figure out a way to take that history, that part of us, add our own, whatever we feel comfortable with and making that flair, that's what, for me, Afrofuturism would be.”

Them 4) Tradition Meets Future

Technology was another important component of Afrofuturism which was recognized by all participants. In the definitions of all participant, technology was an important feature of Afrofuturism that was brought up at some point in the interview.

However, many participants across all three groups expressed concerns over the environmental impact of modern-day technology and industry. The subtheme of sustainability was expressed by n=6 participant throughout the three research groups.

Participant 6-AA revealed that she also refashions clothing so as to reduce her carbon footprint. Participant 8-AA also expressed, “…I feel like naturally, our people would have done that we would have only taken what was needed and not overuse the planet or its resources.” Participant 14-AF expressed concerns over the polluting nature of today’s fashion industry, citing again that it us up to us to become our own solution. However,

Participant 12-AF described sustainability not necessarily in terms of preserving nature, but more in terms of creating products that will last and can stand the test of time. As participant 12-AF said, “It's not just about peace. It's not just about fashion. It's also about lasting. It's about lasting, so we need to be able to build things where no one has built before. We just need to learn new things in terms of infrastructure, development, all that.

That's what I mean by sustainability. We need to do things our way. The way that works for

us.” For these participants, an Afrofuturistic future also considers the relationship between

technology and nature in an effort to create a sense of ecological harmony. Participant 6-AA

makes this clear as she establishes, “being an Afrofuturist isn't about just being a futurist

and thinking about technology. It's about how to incorporate technology that's not only

going to help us but help the world as well.”

Some (n=8) even defined Afrofuturism as a future looking to the past in the sense that Afrofuturism should look to old African traditional ways of living in tandem and respect with nature. Participant 8-AA stated, “It seems to me that Afrofuturism… is less about being futuristic and more so about coming back into who you are. It's doing that very simple thing... our people and most indigenous people are always connected to the land and it is like colonizers’ way to destroy nature and like be removed from it and our ancestors and people were never like that. ” Participant 5-DA sees Afrofuturism as a tool for embracing old culture and bringing them into a future space. In participant 12-AF’s perspective tradition should be timeless. He indicated, “whenever I use the word traditional, people always assumed I meant old. But that's not what I meant… I just meant…tradition should transcend time.” In another aspect, participant 7-AA observed that in one sense, Afrofuturism could be thought of as “the world outside of Africa that's rediscovering African tradition.”

Theme 5) The Future in Afro‐futurism

The future of Afrofuturism is without a doubt, the basis of Afrofuturism as a concept.

Participant 4-DA defined Afrofuturism as the future of Black people all over the world. But

there was a discussion by many participants, especially in the African American and African

58 groups as to what kind of a Black future Afrofuturism should represent. Some participants

(n= 6) debated as to whether Afrofuturism seeks to imagine a utopic future for Black people, or a future based on realism with realistic goals and expectations. The debate on the subtheme, Realism v. Utopia was addressed by participant 10-AA who argued, “I'm not on the alternate reality. I'm not on the utopia thing either… Even so, even once you realize a place that might seem utopic, as a utopia, you still will find problems because conflict is a human condition. Without problems, what are we? What do we do?” However, participant

6-AA countered in favor of utopia as essential to envisioning the future with the statement,” I also think of a utopia, because that's just futurism and not just necessarily our fashion Afrofuturism, but futurism in general. So, in order to visualize the fashion of the future, you have to visualize the future itself, the setting you're going to be in.”

Another topic for contention was that dealing with the idea of whether Afrofuturism should look towards a “near” Earthly future versus a “far” Future where Black people are situated in space. Participant 15-AF summarized this conflict of near future v. far future in a statement where he said, “I don't think Afrofuturism really talks of like post, post-future of human civilization or what happens when we evolved past the need to separate each other through race… So I think there may be a cap on the perceivable future of what Afrofuturism could be because… we do not know what humans will evolve to be. We do not know how technology will change.” He then proceeds to qualify this statement by explaining why a

“cap” may have to be placed on what one considers the future in Afrofuturism. According to participant 15-AF, Afrofuturism is Afrofuturism because of racial prejudice however, if that issue is overcome and Black people finally achieve equal playing ground with their Western counterparts, then it will no longer be Afrofuturism and simply futurism.

Theme 6) Fashion in Afrofuturism

When asked whether fashion played a role in Afrofuturism, there was unanimous acknowledgment from participants on fashion as an effective visual representation of

Afrofuturism. Participant 5-DA attested to this sentiment saying,

Yeah, I feel like that [fashion] is a major role because if we didn't have that, then we

really wouldn't have anything visually to represent when it comes to that. It would

just have to be we have to explain it to people, but if we have the fashion to show it,

then that is one step into a conversation that we don't have to explain.

Fashion was seen as an effective tool for non-verbal dissemination of Afrofuturistic ideologies and aesthetics without the need for verbal explanation. Some (n=10) also remarked on fashion as one of the major sources of Afrofuturistic mostly found through social media. For Participant 1-DA for example, fashion imagery on social media

(Instagram) was how she stumbled upon Afrofuturism in the first place.

Just as one person may define Afrofuturism differently from the next person, the same can be said about how one might decide to express Afrofuturism via fashion. Based on participant sentiments, fashion in Afrofuturism is about exploring the individual and collective identity of Black people within the Diaspora. For example, participant 15-AF described wearing Afrocentric clothing pieces as a way of embodying his identity as an

African. He explained, “so it's always like expression on like the very deepest level of like an

African because I may then decide to wear like a traditional piece or like wear pieces that have like African inspired prints.” Neither is one’s nationality contingent upon how they choose to visually express Afrofuturistic aesthetics through fashion. Majority of participant n=12 denied their national identity as a significant influence on their choice of clothing.

Likewise, fashion in Afrofuturism is also an exploration of style. For all groups, there

was no clear consensus as to what elements each group preferred to express in

Afrofuturism. But there were a few elements such as color, African prints, and even

geometry that were mentioned a few times by participants. For example, color was important for participant 8-AA who described having to unlearn false stereotypes of bright colors not pairing well with darker skin tones. Participant 13-AF also admitted the importance of geometry in African culture.

Participants (n=12) also revealed that fashion in Afrofuturism does not have to be revolutionary. It could be as simple as being able to walk around with a piece of African print cloth wrapped around your waist or your body, to even experimenting with hairstyles and accessories as participant 12-AF did.

I used to have locks. Okay, a few months prior…and in ancient, especially West

African tribes, we used to have cowries in our hair. So, I just thought if I could gold-

plate cowries and put them in my hair like how would I look? And I did it. And it was

cool you know. People liked it. I had the gold beads in there too, just hair jewelry. It

was nice.

Again, it is up to the Afrofuturist to decide how he or she would like to express

Afrofuturism.

And yet, as majority of participants among the three research groups (n=10) relayed, one of the easiest and at times, the first mode of expressing Afrofuturism through fashion is with hair. The importance of hair as a subtheme was upheld by participant 7-AA who began her Afrofuturistic journey with her hair. She said, “it started from my hair. It started from me doing different styles. If I wear braids, I just did so much things.”

Participant 12-AF defined Black hair as an expression of Black love, alluding to the

effectiveness of Black hair in evoking Black pride and empowering Black people. This

definition was backed by participant 6-AA who provided an explanation to the importance

of hair to Black people saying,

I think it started with the natural hair movement. And that taught people to start

loving themselves. After the natural hair movement is when we were like, okay,

maybe we shouldn't just love us because of our hair. We should love every aspect of

who we are no matter what type of black person you are. Whether you're an

immigrant or whether you're an African.

Despite the agreement by participants on the importance and effectiveness of

fashion in Afrofuturism expression, it is not every day or for every occasion that one must

dress or outwardly express Afrofuturism on their bodies. There was general agreement

among some participants (n= 12) that fashion is a representation of one’s mood and thus,

occasional. This subtheme was conveyed by participants in all three research groups.

Afrofuturism-inspired clothing does not have to be worn religiously everywhere and can be

expressed as subtly or as overtly as one determines. As participant 8-AA expressed, she

only dresses Afrofuturistically if she is heading out to a big event and she is aware that there will be many people around. In her words,

…that’s my opportunity to do it. There’s no point in going to the grocery store and

dressing like this. I try to do it in bigger settings because more people will be able to

see it and it does seem more culturally acceptable in those situations.

Participant 2-DA also expressed similar opinions saying that if it is an event she cares little

for, unless an aspect of how she expresses Afrofuturism is a part of her, she will not put in

the effort of dressing up.

Finally, one cannot talk about Afrofuturism without addressing the future

component of the word. As important as technology is to Afrofuturism, its importance in fashion was not as clear cut. Only few participants (n=6) in all three groups attested to its significance in fashion. Regardless, for participants such as participant 14-AF, technology was integral to envisioning the future of fashion. For her, technology was as much about functionality and necessity as it was a tool for preserving cultural practices. She disclosed this opinion in a statement saying,

…having a fan in a dress could actually…serve a lot of purpose. Part of it is like

technology helping us to stay alive. So it will be a function. A dress that has a

function. Not just making a dress that is just for the sake of, ‘let's just wear it to the

event and look good.

This statement is similar to the idea expressed by participant 15-AF who agreed that for the African, technology in Afrofuturism fashion may have to provide more functional outcomes as opposed to aesthetic only results such as a garment that lights up purely for its visual appeal. For participants 6-AA and 9-AA, Afrofuturism in fashion was about empowering Black people through fashion and supporting positive and meaningful representations of Blackness. Exploring Afrofuturism through fashion was participant 14-

AF’s way of celebrating her culture.

However, the prospect of envisioning the future of Black or African fashion was a problem in which many were thrilled to explore further. Participant 6-AA said, “I don't know what the future would look like, but if I could visualize what the future would look like this is what it would be. It's taking the unknown and giving it a flare of Afropunk

energy and spirituality in addition to science and technology.” The potential of

Afrofuturism serving as a platform for originality is limitless. As participant 12-AF said,

being an Afrofuturist means finding new ways to explore fashion and style.

Results for the Online Collage Exercise

The following data displays the master collage results of the online collage exercise.

Figure 3 shows the master board for the African American group, figure 4, shows the results for the Diasporic African group, and figure 5 shows the results for the African group.

As mentioned previously, participant collage works were grouped according to their research group. Each image and word that appeared 4 or more times or in other words, with a frequency of 80% within a group was condensed into a final master collage board.

Figure 3. African American master collage Figure 4. Diasporic African master collage

Figure 5. African master collage

CHAPTER V

COLLECTION

Based on the results from the analysis of participant interviews and the creative online collage exercise, a 3-look capsule collection was developed to visually conceptualize and summarize each research group’s views on Afrofuturistic fashion.

Development of Collection

The collection was developed from conception to completion from March 2020 through June 2020. In March, the process of conceptualization and sample-making began.

During this time, preliminary coding of interview notes served as an initial template for developing first sketches of the garments and creating fabric samples. Following the analysis of all interview transcripts and collage exercises, the final collection was created.

The words and images of each group’s collage master board as well as data from participant transcripts were used to inform the outcome of the capsule collection (See

Table 3). As previously mentioned, the collage master boards were used as a

“representation of data” to triangulate resulting data and facilitate the interpretation of participant’s views of Afrofuturistic fashion. Thus, the master boards served as the framework or main theme for each group’s final look. It is important to be clear that the outcome of the capsule collection was derived from the researcher’s personal interpretations of data.

Table 3. Summary of Results

Perceptions Fashion

 Hair  African culture  Immediate Future  Colour  Black  Pride in Identity  Geometry Collective  Diaspora  Past, Present, Future  Representations of  Black people  Sustainability African elements  Science Fiction  Lifestyle  Loud/subtle  Tech  Spirituality  Future

African  Colour  Spirituality  Creativity  Ancestor connection  Futurism American  Space  Diaspora  Spirituality Diasporic  Nostalgia  Tradition African  Criticism

African  Preserving culture  Culture  Tech advancement

In normal circumstances, the researcher would have had access to a Stoll ADF-3

digital knitting machine. However, due to lack of access (as a result of the 2020 Covid-19

school shutdowns) to the array of fashion technology available at The Fashion School, a

domestic flatbed knitting machine was selected as the main representation of technology

for the collection. Data showed that sustainability was a concern for participants, and

considering that knitting machines are considered to be somewhat sustainable, it was the

perfect tool to work with (Power, 2012). Furthermore, when thinking of the future of

fashion, knitted clothing is not usually the first thing that people envision thus, in some

ways, knitted clothing could be said to be a symbol of futurism especially when applied to

Black fashion. A beautiful cotton Indigo and blue hand dyed ikat Baule fabric produced in

Ivory Coast served as the main color and design inspiration for the capsule collection (see

figure 6). The fabric was also used throughout the collection due to its geometric patterning and bold use of colors. As a Ghanaian, the researcher also drew design ideas from Ghanaian cultural practices.

Figure. 6 Baule cloth

RESULTS/DISCUSSION

African Afrofuturistic Fashion

Results show that African participants valued the expression of culture above all other themes and concepts in Afrofuturism fashion. However, Afrofuturism in African fashion may not necessarily mean revolutionizing current aesthetics but rather, may suggest an approach toward complementing rather than drawing away from old and current traditions. Afterall, the sentiments toward culture were more on the spectrum of having pride in the value of cultural symbols, artifacts, and productions. This has been evident in the aesthetics of fashion designers such as Selly Raby Kane of Senegal (see figure 7) and Laduma Ngxokolo of South (figure 8) (Kane, 2019; MAXHOSA AFRICA,

2018). Although South African writer, Mohale Mashigo refuses to apply Afrofuturism to the African condition, her push for an African futurism addressing the unique needs of

Africa and her 54 countries still applies.

In conceptualizing a sustainable garment that addressed the past, present, and future of Ghanaian fashion culture, a knitted Kente and Baule-inspired jacquard print in orange and white was designed (see figures 9 and 10). The results showed that color was an important component of Afrofuturism fashion, a multitude of colors were used. The yarns used for the project were orange, white, green, magenta, blue, and yellow mercerized cotton, fine weight gold glitter acrylic yarn and 2-ply medium weight indigo wool. The design was created using the DesignaKnit 7.2 software and was knitted on the machine with the ribber attachment. The fabric was designed to emulate the strip cloth production of Kente and many other hand-woven fabrics in the regions of West Africa.

All-needle ribbed strips of indigo, orange, and gold fabric were hand grafted horizontally onto the base of the dress to contrast the vertical pattern layout of the orange kente.

Strips of the Baule cloth were attached to the sides of the indigo strips and represented the only machine sewn components of the dress. Colorful 1/2-inch tubular strips of fabric inspired by the colors on the Baule cloth, were hand stitched to the front and back of the dress. These strips represented the lines of demarcation visible on joined woven strips of Baule and Kente cloth and doubled as decorative sleeveless straps as well.

Magenta strips were also draped across the shoulders and neck. Finally, to encapsulate the importance of hair and spirituality in Afrofuturistic fashion, beads were used to embellish the dress.

Figure 7. A Selly Raby Kane design from her 2019 collection.

Figure 8. MaXhosa by Laduma Ngxokolo. Designs from 2018 collection.

In Black culture, beads are sometimes used in braids and hairstyles as decorative elements (Durosomo, 2020). In several West African countries, some beads, such as waist beads, are also used for spiritual purposes (Burch, n.d.). The colors yellow/gold, used throughout all individual looks in the capsule collection are also symbolic of spiritual purity and feminine energy (Thompson, 2019; "What does the Bible," n.d.)

The outcome of the completed look is a bold, colorful, and fun dress that reimagines the traditional weaving processes of West African cultures. As a knitted equivalent, it is not a replacement for the woven fabrics but rather provides a novel way of approaching African fabric while still honoring artisanal handcrafting practices and production in Africa. The bright colors add a vibrant and youthful flair to the dress which, coupled with the body-conscious silhouette, not only explores the future of

African fashion, yet challenges the norms and assumptions of African print as a knitted garment.

Figure 9. Side, front, and back views of the African look

Figure 10. Close-up image of the African look

Diasporic African Afrofuturistic Fashion

The Diasporic African participants were marked by the cultural double-

consciousness of being an African in America and an African living in America. while the

balance of how close one felt to their African culture was dependent on how young they

were when they moved to the U.S. or their ties to friends and relatives back in their home

country, the yearning to hold true to their ancestral traditions is still strong. And although these participants stated that they mostly wore their traditional African attires when attending cultural events, this may not be the case for Afrofuturistic fashion especially when considering a possible future where Black or African fashion cultures become a common feature in Black communities.

The Baule cloth was selected to be the main feature for the Diasporic African look and while the garment was not completely zero-waste, effort and care were taken to minimize the amount of fabric wasted. As a result, the Baule fabric, which was made of strips of cloth joined side-by-side with a zig-zag stitch were seam ripped. The separated strips of cloth were used to create a zero-waste skirt and a low-waste pleated cropped top.

The use of the Baule cloth was representative of the pride that participants have in Africa and represented participant opinions on the use of color and geometry in Afrofuturistic fashion. Although the fabric was purely African, the silhouettes were very modern yet fashion-forward. The pleated top’s playfulness aimed to represent the group’s position in a cultural milieu. The addition of Kente and African print was a signification of the link between Africa and the diaspora. The top also emphasized the cropped trends of Western fashion, yet, still retained its African-ness (see figures 11 and 12).

Figure 11. Side, front, and back views of the Diasporic African look

Figure 12. Close-up image of the Diasporic African look

The Diasporic African look was an exploration of the past, present and future traditions of West African fashion culture. The use of the Baule cloth was just as much a celebration of the traditional West African weaving heritage and a glimpse into a future where Diasporic Africans can openly celebrate their heritage in a seamless blend of African and Western cultures.

African American Afrofuturistic Fashion

When it comes to African American fashion, results suggested that Afrofuturism may offer African Americans the opportunity to recreate a unique sense of identity independent of established notions of Blackness. The sense of empowerment which

Afrofuturism affords was a sentiment echoed by majority of the African American group who viewed Afrofuturism as a safe space to be who they wanted to be. Additionally, with the centrality of African culture and aesthetics in both African American fashion and

Afrofuturistic expressions, Africa becomes a natural source of inspiration for Afrofuturistic fashion. This freedom to explore identities of the past and present while employing creative improvisation through a futuristic lens may encourage a bold and at times eclectic compilation of visual Afrofuturistic aesthetics. The design represents this collaboration of past, present and future African, Euro-American and African American fashion aesthetics via a very colorful and fun top created with 1-inch strips of tubular knitted fabric. The yarns used were magenta, yellow, and green mercerized cotton. The colors represent a variation of the pan-African colors – red, green, yellow and/or black. Inspired by the 20th century Harlem Renaissance era fur coats that many African Americans wore with pride, a similar calf length oversized sleeveless coat was designed to emulate the traditional fur coat (Sanders, 2019). African print scrap fabrics were stuffed into tubular pockets of

knitted fabric. The fabrication was created using yellow and blue mercerized cotton, white

sustainable unmercerized cotton, blue and yellow silk, medium weight yellow wool, and clear .004-inch monofilament thread. The tubular pockets of the coat were designed in the

DesignaKnit software and knitted and shaped on the ribber in a color sequence alternating between white and clear monofilament to showcase glimpses of the African print pieces stuffed in-between the knitted opening. The sequence was also broken up halfway with a stretch of blue yarn. Each pocket was sealed with a ¾ wide yellow all-needle rib stitch. The coat aims to honor African American fashion traditions of the past whiles celebrating current African print fashion aesthetics popular in Africa and throughout the Diaspora.

Although all participants saw spirituality as essential to Afrofuturism, this was even more so emphasized by the African American participants. With respect to this observation, the use of yellow in the garment was consciously intensified (see figures 13 and 14). The look serves multiple functions of bridging the gap between the human and the spiritual, while acknowledging their ancestral ties to Africa and the global African diaspora. It also tackles sustainability and futurism through the creative integration of African print scrap fabric pieces into knitted fabric. As a result, the coat in particular becomes a distinct futuristic representation of Black Diasporic culture and African American tradition.

Figure 13. Side, front, and back views of the African American look

Figure 14. Close-up images of the African American look

CHAPTER VI

DISCUSSIONS

Afrofuturism has been gaining slow visibility over the past few years in Black communities and social circles all over the world. This has also filtered into the fashion

world as we see an emerging number of Black designers and creatives exploring this

concept in their creations. However, it is not well understood how these designers

approach the use of Afrofuturism in fashion. The purpose of this study was to explore the

connections between Afrofuturism, fashion, and cultural identity in relation to peoples of

the African Diaspora. This study focused primarily on three participant groups within the

African diaspora: African Americans, Diasporic Africans, and Africans. The following points

of discussion relate to the results of the study with reference to the research questions and

theoretical frameworks such as the Agency and Power of Black dress framework with supporting theories of post-colonial cultural identity, Afrocentricity, Post-colonialism, and symbolic interactionism. The research questions that have guided this research were:

1. What are Black peoples’ overall perceptions of the Afrofuturism movement?

2. How is Afrofuturism expressed in style of dress?

3. What are the comparative differences in nationality and cultural upbringing that

influence Black Peoples’ perceptions of Afrofuturism?

Black Peoples’ Perceptions of Afrofuturism

Research question one aims to understand people of the African Diaspora’s overall perceptions of Afrofuturism. When asked to provide personal definitions of Afrofuturism, participants provided a wide range of answers. Several even provided multiple personal definitions of the term. However, the concepts and keywords that were the most identified

throughout all the answers were future, advancement, African culture, Black people, Black

culture, Diaspora, science fiction, and technology. This is in line with Womack’s (2013)

observation that these key themes constitute the backbone of Afrofuturism. While

references to the Black Panther film were made by almost all participants, there was also

general consensus that Afrofuturism goes beyond the tropes presented within the film.

For participants, Afrofuturism was more than purely aesthetic. It was about

showcasing pride in one's Blackness and African ancestry. And in terms of how one

presents one’s Blackness, participants understood that there were many ways to showcase

pride in one’s Blackness or African-ness. For example, participant 8-AA, who identifies as a

queer Black woman and is a self-proclaimed ‘Blerd’ is aware that she does not fit into the

stereotypical mold of Blackness. However, she chooses to embrace this uniqueness openly

and believes that Afrofuturism provides a space where many other queer or non-

stereotypically Black individuals can express themselves freely. In this case, Afrofuturism

indeed works as a space where Black people and Africans included can challenge

preconceived notions of Blackness (Womack, 2010). Events such as Afropunk and

Chalewote, which were brought up as sites of influence toward the perception and

aesthetic presentation of Afrofuturism also function as sites where differences in one’s

expression of Blackness are highly regarded and celebrated. As participant 6-AA said,

Afropunk encourages Black people to embody their individuality. In as much as these

perspectives suggest a shift toward Toure’s (2011) ideas of post-Blackness, it is important to note that African American participants especially did not particular mention any aversion to being labeled Black. In fact, some emphasized the pride that they had for their

Blackness.

hFor participants, Afrofuturism was also about celebrating and loving the uniqueness and diversity of cultures and people in Africa and throughout the Diaspora.

However, there was also a clear emphasis on the importance of African culture and

showcasing pride in their connection to and roots in Africa. These perceptions relate

directly to Hall’s (1994) second definition of postcolonial cultural identity. Although

participants are expressing a pan-Africanist point of view of a unified African Diaspora,

they also realize that the beauty of Black culture lies in its diversity. For example, going

back to participant 8-AA, she grew up in the Bronx deeply influenced by African American

hip hop culture yet grew up in a highly multicultural community surrounded by Africans

and people of the African Diaspora. And yet, she does not choose to focus solely on African

aesthetics in her Afrofuturistic expressions but rather chooses to blend influences from her

community to create a unique identity. This illustrates Hall’s point of an identity

representing the move past the idea of a “oneness” of identity into that exemplifying the

historic implications of “what we have become.”

But more than that, Afrofuturism was a hope for a future where African and Black

culture will be normalized to the point where it will not seem out of place for someone

wearing an Afrocentric piece of clothing to a corporate setting and where there is

acceptance for all types of Blackness and appreciation for Black culture. They also agreed

that in order for progress to happen, we [Black people] have to take matters into our own

hands and be our own solution. This is as much a pan-Africanist point of view as it is

Afrocentric in its awareness of a unified need for Black advancement and for Black control

of Black futures. Participants also argued that in order to look to the future, it was just as

important to look to the past as a source of inspiration and guidance. For participants, the

80 intersectionality of Black history and legacies of the past and present was very important in order to “(re)-envision” progressive Black futures (Womack, 2013). Many were also critical about sustaining the practices and observations of important cultural and ancestral customs and traditions while adjusting these traditions accordingly to suit the times and needs of people.

While the concept of futurism and technology was integral to participants’ definitions of Afrofuturism, they were also wary of placing too much focus on progress and technological advancements while disregarding modern-day effects of technology. Womack

(2013) explained that the importance of technology in Afrofuturism originated during the

20th century era internet boom where Black people lacked “access to progressive technology” (p.18). Unfortunately, this still remains the reality for many Black people.

Although Black people account for 13.4% of the U.S. population, according to MarketWatch, only 9% of Black people were represented in core information-technology related jobs in

2019 which was only up 1% from 2015 statistics (Swartz, 2020). In many parts of Africa, internet connection is still a problem for the continent which, as of 2020, has a 39.3% penetration, which is still lower than the world average of 58.8% (Africa Internet Users,

2020). However, for participants, Afrofuturism meant finding ways in which technology served a supportive and practical function to human life and the ecosystem rather than overshadowing it. Concerns regarding the environmental and ecological effects of modern- day technology were voiced by participants who preferred a more sustainable and wholesome approach toward Afrofuturism. The theme of sustainability and indeed spirituality which was also mentioned as an important concept in Afrofuturism, may be tied to Black peoples’ hope of rediscovering the practices of their ancestors as a way of

strengthening the ties between past and future. For many, Afrofuturism was more of a

lifestyle than something practiced every once in a while. For participant 6-AA, this even

meant going as far as seeking to patronize more Black owned businesses. As Womack said,

Afrofuturism is not just for “personal change, but societal growth” (p.191).

In the debate of whether Afrofuturism should exist in the near future versus the far future, participant sentiments leaned more towards an Afrofuturistic future situated in the near future where real advancements and real results can be experienced and observed if not by them, then by the next generations. Although space is used quite frequently in many references of Afrofuturism, Womack (2010) notes that it is not only the literal outer space that Black people are aiming for but rather space in a figurative representation of any space

(virtual, creative, physical, metaphysical) where Black have the freedom of the ‘space’ and imagination to express their creativity (142). Despite the many definitions of Afrofuturism, participants also recognized that there was not particularly right or wrong way to define or express Afrofuturism. When asked about their opinions on the current state of the

Afrofuturism movement, many participants expressed disappointment over its current level of saturation in the African Diaspora. All agreed that currently, the movement was not as popular as it needed to be and there was definitely room for further growth and exposure. However, the period of discovery of Afrofuturism for all participants ranged between 2015 and 2020 attesting to their recent discovery of Afrofuturism as well. The fact that it is only within the last 5 years that Afrofuturism has gained renewed relevancy may very well be thanks to the Black Panther film. However, as professor and technoculture critic Michael Bennet was quoted saying in a Guardian article, it is “”more relevant than in the early and mid-1990s” because back then he’d feel weekly that “I was living in a science

fictional environment”” (Thrasher, 2015). Bennet noted that these days he feels that

several time a day, which may be attributed to the recent rise in the visibility of police

brutality against Black men and women.

The preceding findings provide answers to the first research question on Black

peoples’ overall perceptions of the Afrofuturism movement. It also identifies the important

themes and concepts Black people of today’s generation see as important in the practice of

Afrofuturism. It shows that Afrofuturism is more than a dream of the future but provides a

holistic lens to guide Black people toward a better brighter future of limitless possibilities.

Fashion Expressions of Afrofuturism

Research question two examines how Afrofuturism aesthetics are applied in the fashion expressions of Black people. The analysis of the data showed that participants perceive fashion as a symbol of identity, an indicator of mood, and a medium of self-

presentation and representation. When asked whether fashion played a role in

Afrofuturism, all participants concurred that the visual nature of fashion makes it an effective tool in communicating Afrofuturistic ideologies and aesthetics. They agreed that

as a visual artform, it may not be necessary to verbally explain to someone the concept of

Afrofuturism thus, making it an effective conceptual representation through fashion. In essence, participants viewed fashion as a blank canvas where there was no limit to what one could conjure up in the exploration of Afrofuturistic style and fashion. While participants claimed to use fashion as a representation of their individual identities, there were certain fashion elements mentioned by majority of the participants that expressed an underlying collectiveness in the fashion expressions of Afrofuturism. These mutual forms of expression transcended the boundaries of nationality and cultural identity. These

elements were color, geometry, and some type of African-related element. This again, goes to show the Afrocentric centrality of Africa to Afrofuturistic expression. And just as in how

one approaches the definition of Afrofuturism, participants also acquiesced that there is no

right or wrong way to how one chooses to present themselves outwardly with

Afrofuturistic aesthetics.

Hair was another very important fashion feature identified by almost all participants. The importance of Black hair to Black people was attributed to expressions of

empowerment, Black love, and unity. Hair was often identified by participants as one of the

first and easiest ways in which people could begin to explore Afrofuturistic concepts

through fashion.

Regardless, as data from the creative collage exercises suggested, there were certain

themes in Afrofuturistic fashion that resonated more strongly among participants of each

group. For African American participants, themes that explored color, creativity, futurism,

the Diaspora, and spirituality in fashion were the basis of Afrofuturism for the group.

Diasporic Africans were more partial toward expressions of tradition through

Afrofuturistic fashion, perhaps in an attempt to always remember where they came from.

The expression and celebration of culture was the most important Afrofuturistic element

identified by African participants in relation to fashion.

As important and effective as Afrofuturistic fashion may be, participants recognized

that it was not an obligation to always wear something Afrofuturistic to be an Afrofuturist.

Expressions could be occasional and as subtle as wearing a headwrap or a piece of jewelry

or as loud as a complete Afrofuturistic costume complete with makeup and extravagant

hair. Many participants voiced their opinions on preferring to showcase more overt fashion

expressions in settings where it could potentially promote dialogue and awareness of

Afrofuturism. And of course, futurism being the hallmark of Afrofuturism, the goal of

Afrofuturistic fashion as presented in data was to envision the future of Black fashion.

Whether that is through technology – traditional or new, sustainability, or a combination of

both, participants were thrilled about the amount of unrestricted creativity and problem-

solving available through the lens of Afrofuturism.

These statements relate to Davis’ (1992) association of fashion as a language that

communicates information about one’s self and cultural identity. However, symbolic

interactionism points that the symbolic meaning one places on a thing is dependent on how

it is interpreted by another because “the goal of interaction is to create shared meaning.”

Without shared meaning, proper communication becomes difficult (West &Turner, 2018).

However, the efficacy of the shared meaning relies on what Blumer (1969) calls “role-

taking” (p.9). Role-taking requires that those performing the social interaction place themselves “imaginatively” in each other’s shoe to understand from the other’s point of

view (Blumer, 1969; Kaiser 1983). Thus, the efficacy of the interpretation of symbolic

meaning may only be realized if those in interaction understand the cultural contexts of the symbols being communicated. It may also be that a non-Afrofuturist or an individual outside of Black culture may not have the full capacity to correctly interpret the context of

Afrofuturistic fashion. For this reason, many voiced that Afrofuturism, and indeed,

Afrofuturistic fashion can only truly be effective if practiced by a Black person. As participant 6-AA said, “Afrofuturism specifically is for us. A White person can't wear anything Afrofuturistic because it wouldn't be Afrofuturistic. It'll just be appropriated.” In that respect, Afrofuturism becomes an exclusive space for Black people to express and

interact with each other their individual and collective identities.

These findings are important in the understanding of how contemporary Black men

and women visually showcase Afrofuturistic. The specific elements identified through

participant data further contribute to the understanding of additional themes important in

the overall understanding of Afrofuturism as a phenomenon.

Differences in Nationality and Cultural Upbringing and its Influence on Perceptions

Research question three sought to understand points of differences, if there were any, that may have influenced how participants across the African Diaspora approached

Afrofuturism. It is important to note first that majority of participants had some sort of artistic background. Two thirds of participants were either in the field of fashion and textile

(n=6) or in technology with a focus in art (n=4), if not professionally, then personally. And even then, participants such as participant 7-AA and participant 11-AF expressed their strong interest in the arts whether it was in fashion or music. This could imply that there may be a connection between one’s interest in the arts and an interest in Afrofuturism.

Afterall, the origins of the 20th century concept of Afrofuturism were based in the literary

arts and music (Womack, 2010). Furthermore, participant ages ranged between 18 and 35.

This was a deliberate choice so as to assess contemporary perceptions and opinions of

Afrofuturism. In any case, the sources of discovery of the word Afrofuturism were varied and could not be distinguished based on nationality or cultural upbringing. Many had heard of or were made aware of the word and concept of Afrofuturism through friends, colleagues, social media, personal research, and even through books. And although social

media was a major source from which participants gained exposure to Afrofuturistic

content, other mediums such as music, fashion, and even celebrities were popular amongst

all participants.

As was apparent in the data, the influences of participants’ nationalities and cultural

upbringing were quite significant in shaping their perceptions toward Afrofuturism.

African American perceptions of Afrofuturism were very much related to issues

dealing with identity, race, negative racial stereotypes, and lack of representation of Black

people in positions of visibility and consequence. Womack (2010), aware of the influence of

racism references Professor and Author, Alondra Nelson, as she stated, “there’s something

about racism that has produced a fatalism that has impacted futuristic thinking.” As Nelson

further explained, statements like, “We don’t know what tomorrow will bring” and “The future is not promised” tend to leave deep and lasting negative impressions on people of

the African Diaspora. However, Afrofuturism offers a counter to these bleak perspectives of

the future were hope for a better future can be envisioned and acted upon (p.41).

This group of participants saw Afrofuturism as a space in which Black people could

be themselves, embrace their uniqueness and claim control of their own narratives outside the influence of Western and Eurocentric perspectives. It also prompted fear on the part of

participant 10-AA who was worried about Afrofuturism potentially being appropriated by

the West or even not taken seriously by Black people and essentially becoming a short-

lived trend. These fears stem from the unfortunate phenomena of Black culture’s tendency

of being unfairly “co-opted” by Western cultures (Tate, 2003).

Participants were also candid about the legacy of slavery in America and its effects

on African American identity. Participants were aware of African American customs and

traditions that sought to retain African cultural practices such as wearing dashikis, the

celebration of Kwanzaa and the pouring of libation. Spirituality was also mentioned as

essential in their cultural upbringing however, for n=2 participants, it was a priority to be

able to connect to their ancestors if not physically, then mentally. For these participants,

spirituality provided an opportunity for them not only to learn and practice African and

Diasporic traditional spiritual practices, but also to challenge negative Western misconceptions of Black and African religious practices as well as the historic influences of

Christianity on Black self-perceptions.

This was also the case for Diasporic African participants, but more so for the younger participants (n=2) who had lived in America for greater than ten years therefore had more time to acculturate to American culture. However, the group’s perceptions were also highly influenced by their cultural identity as nationals of Africa. This unique vantage point allowed this group insight into both African and American cultural practices and the opportunity to critique any issues they saw in the practice and conception of Afrofuturism in both perspectives. This is in line with Arthur’s (2000) statement that African immigrants acculturate but never assimilate fully. He revealed that the disconnection that African immigrants feel toward the constructs of race in America at times distances them from fully participating in American cultural affairs. For example, participant 1-DA regarded African

Americans as the primary leaders of the Afrofuturism movement and raised her concerns over potential issues that may arise involving the appropriation of African cultural practices by African American Afrofuturists who may not have taken the time to fully understand the significance of certain African practices. Another example was a remark made by (n=3) participants whose insights, much like Mashigo’s (2018) statements gave them the impression that Afrofuturism was the African Diaspora rediscovering African culture and traditions. Interestingly, participant 7-AA who was a young 1st generation

African American woman born to Nigerian nationals also voiced a similar view. She saw

herself not as an immigrant but caught in-between both cultures and openly discussed her

vantage point as both an American and African which gave her similar insights as

experienced by Diasporic African participants. For example, she drew Afrofuturistic

inspiration from celebrity musicians like Erykah Badu and Jaden Smith as inspiration as

much as she did from Nigerian musicians like Yemi Alade and Burna Boy.

When it came to issues regarding Africa, the Diasporic Africans’ vantage point relied

on their position in the West as both an ‘insider’ and ‘outsider’ to African perspectives. All

participants were keenly aware of Western influences in Africa and its effects on cultural

practices in Africa while some (n=2) were even critical of these influences. Although the

Diasporic African group were at times critical of how African Americans might apply

African cultural symbols in their Afrofuturistic practice, they still acknowledged the global

African Diaspora as an important element in Afrofuturism. Nostalgia was also observed in participant expressions and tone of voice when recounting aspects related to their culture.

So, it was not a surprise that according to participants (n=3) in the group, Afrofuturism was a way for them to reconnect with their African heritage and traditions.

When the Agency and Power of Black dress theory is applied to African Americans, the centrality of Africa in terms of its cultures and its ancestral signification to African

Americans is quite firm (see figure 15). Nonetheless, because the Diasporic African

participants were keenly aware of their duality and the position it provided them, their

fashion expressions had a higher degree than their African American colleagues to veer on

the side of accepting the cultural differences. This means that based on the agency and

power of Black dress scale, the Diasporic African group would have a higher degree

towards an African agency than the African American group (see figure 16).

African perceptions of Afrofuturism were influenced by issues centered around the nationality of the participant as well as the collective African identity. These participants were also highly conscious of the many impacts of Western influences and colonization in

Africa and were critical of issues regarding the devaluation of customs and traditions.

Participants (n=4) were critical of the decline of certain cultural practices due to efforts of

Westernization and modernization of certain traditions. Participants (n=4) were also aware of racist Western prejudice perspectives towards Africans and Black people with participant 11-AF even citing US president Trump’s recent controversial commentary on

Africa. Another element brought up by many African participants was the importance of technology. The low rate of access to technology in comparison to the rest of the world places Africa and its people in a disadvantageous position. African participants in particular were more vocal about the importance of technology in Africa’s future. Afrofuturism presented a way for them to change the negative narratives and perceptions of Africa and its people and imagine a more technologically advanced continent rivalling that of the

West. The concept of Africans controlling Africa’s narrative was just as important to

Africans as it was for African Americans. Furthermore, having pride in African culture and embracing traditional cultural practices and customs was also essential to many African participants. Through the lens of the agency and power of Blackness, Africans were unsurprisingly more rooted within the agency of being African. Although the group viewed the Diaspora as important, the results were mixed where for some (n=3), it was necessary.

However, as much as it was necessary to unite, it was just as important for the African participants to embrace their own cultures. These sentiments were also reflected in their

views of the “codes” of African futurism which again, was culture. Figure 17 below

shows a diagram of Africans’ agency and power of Black dress.

Figure 15. APBD – African American Figure 16. APBD – Diasporic African

Figure 17. APBD – African

These findings provide more insight into how different cultural backgrounds and identities shape Black peoples’ perceptions of Afrofuturism. It shows how one interprets

Afrofuturism is dependent on factors such as nationality, cultural upbringing, cultural identity, as well as the socio-political environment that one finds themselves in.

CONCLUSION

Afrofuturism originated in twentieth century America on the wave of the growing technoculture as a literary criticism of the lack of Black inclusion in future conversations both speculative and present (Dery, 1994, p.3). Today, Afrofuturism is a growing phenomenon not only in America, but also throughout the rest of the African diaspora and on the African continent. In Africa, for example, there has been a recent cropping of fashion designers exploring Afrofuturism aesthetics in their works. But there is also criticism as to whether Afrofuturism as an African American concept can be applied to the African. This study examined the contemporary applications of Afrofuturism in the fashion expressions of Black people in the African Diaspora and how the cultural identities of these people influence their perceptions of Afrofuturism. The importance of this study lies in its exploration of cultural identity and fashion and how these two concepts relate to

Afrofuturism. Although literature exploring Afrofuturism exists, there is very little that dives into the fashion expressions of Afrofuturism. However, given how fashion is becoming the more popular medium through which Black men and women in the Diaspora are critiquing and challenging issues relevant to Afrofuturism, it is important that this phenomenon is addressed. The purpose of this study was to examine three specific groups within the African Diaspora: African Americans, Diasporic Africans, and Africans to understand how their cultural identities were manifested through their perceptions and fashion expressions of Afrofuturism.

Through this research, it was clear that Afrofuturism can be applied to the African

92 condition. As the analysis of the data has revealed, Afrofuturism is largely perceived on the basis of several factors relating to cultural identity, location, and cultural upbringing.

Although Afrofuturism was coined in 1993, for some reason, its popularity had lessened because participants reported only having discovered the term ‘Afrofuturism’ recently between the years 2016 and 2020. However, the reason for the resurgence of this movement could be a result of recent heightened issues involving racism and the rise of the exposure of police brutality toward Black men and women in the U.S. The Black Panther movie also certainly aided in the heightened exposure. Regardless of the specific reasons, many participants claimed to have already been unconsciously practicing some form of

Afrofuturism unconsciously either through their works or through their lifestyle before they gained awareness of a term related to their practices.

Although there were similar themes related to Afrofuturism important to all participants regardless of the group they belonged to (e.g. hair), this research also showed that there may be themes specific to one’s nationality and cultural identity that might influence how one perceives or even expresses Afrofuturism. For example, among the

African American group, there was a heightened awareness of issues relating to identity, race and race relations in America that influenced how they approached Afrofuturism. In fashion, these problems were challenged through themes representing color, creativity, futurism, the Diaspora, and spirituality. While analyzing data for the African Americans group, one participant’s discussions of Afrofuturism closely aligned with that of the

Diasporic African participants. This was determined to be a result of that participant’s background as a 1st-generation African American born to Nigerian parents.

For the Diasporic Africans, their dual positionality as both African and African

American meant that they were influenced by issues related to being Black in America which for the most part, encompasses the issues identified by African American participants, as well as some issues related to the African participants. However, the fact of these Diasporic Africans being 1) an African in America and 2) an African living in America also gave them an outsider perspective both to African and American problems which provided them the unique ability to critique issues that may arise in the practice of

Afrofuturism. When it came to fashion, tradition was paramount in Afrofuturistic expression.

African participants’ perceptions of Afrofuturism as similar to their African

American counterparts were influenced by issues relating to their countries of birth. But they also were sensitive to issues relating to issues involving the collective agency of being

African. These issues were racial prejudice, Western influence on culture, and the devaluation of traditions. The importance of technology in shaping an Afrofuturistic Africa was also emphasized. Understandably, the theme that was the most important in

Afrofuturistic fashion expressions among this group was culture. In relation to the theoretical frameworks, it was evident that participants possessed Afrocentric views based on how much Africa and African culture was central in their perceptions and interpretations of Afrofuturism. Similarly, the role of the global Diaspora as a symbol

African unity and the way in which the Diaspora was positioned as having a common interest toward advancement and liberation was quite pan-African in its ideological perspective. But in as much as participants expressed a Diaspora-wide “common interest”, it was not about forming one unified identity. Rather, participants recognized what Hall called, the points of differences of “becoming” and “being” differentiated by unique Black

experiences. The nuanced cultural identities and cultural productions developed as a result are seen as worthy of being celebrated. That being said, there is still that common sense of grounding in ancestral heritage that inextricably links the past, present, and future cultural identities of the Diaspora.

Finally, fashion expressions in Afrofuturism are indeed a language of symbolic meanings attached to the Afrofuturistic “codes” of fashion. As participants showed,

Afrofuturism fashion reflects identity, culture, and beliefs. Based on the agency and power of Black dress, participant opinions tied their Pan-Africanist and Afrocentric viewpoints to self-presentation while still holding on to concepts that embodied their cultural identities.

These opinions were, in turn, interpreted by the researcher as research output to visually represent data addressing each group’s Afrofuturistic fashion expressions. However, through a symbolic interactionism perspective, the meaning derived from Afrofuturistic fashion can only be properly interpreted by another if they are culturally aware of the symbolic meanings associated with the wearer’s Afrofuturistic fashion.

Implications

This study has larger implications for academia, fashion professionals in the

American and African fashion industries and Black people throughout the African Diaspora.

It also contributes a unique knowledge on how Afrofuturism connects not only to fashion but to cultural identity as well. The research-based understanding of contemporary fashion expressions of African Americans and Africans living in Africa and America represents another important contribution of this study. It also adds to the current literature of how

Black people negotiate their identities in a post-colonial world. Fashion professionals in

America and Africa may benefit from the first-hand accounts of participant viewpoints on

95 the themes and concepts most relevant in contemporary Afrofuturistic fashion. For example, participants’ views of sustainability in Afrofuturism may help fashion professionals consider ways of creating Afrofuturistic fashion that will appeal more to their target audience. It may also help these professionals understand the importance of symbolic meaning in Afrofuturistic fashion and better target specific groups of people when creating Afrofuturistic fashion pieces. In terms of Black people in the Diaspora, this research may shed light on the phenomenon of Afrofuturism as a concept not just for those looking to learn more about Afrofuturism but also for those who may not realize that their works or lifestyles fall into the cultural genre of Afrofuturism. The design output of this study may also benefit academia, industry, and Black individuals throughout the African

Diaspora to better understand Afrofuturistic fashion and for that matter, Black fashion.

Limitations

There were many limitations to this study. First, there were some problems in the process of recruitment of participants for the research. Although many completed the pre- screening survey, only few responded to the request for an interview. It could be that the scheduling email I sent were reaching their junk email rather than their inboxes. Also, due to busy schedules, scheduling was a bit erratic as well.

The next limitation was that participants were not required to have any particular affinity for fashion. As a result, some of the less fashion-conscious participants had some difficulty expressing their views on fashion. The participants in the African group were selected specifically based on their residency in West African countries and almost entirely recruited through intensive searching on Instagram and Twitter. However, there was difficulty in finding practitioners of Afrofuturism from different regions of Africa thus, the

sample group was represented by only 3 African countries. Additionally, all African

participants were between the ages of 25 and 35 which further limited the range of

diversity of the group. The Diasporic African group also lacked important diversity as

Ghana was the only representation of these West African nationals. Another limitation was

the distribution of male and female. Males represented 1/3 of the participants. A larger and

more diverse sample size in all groups may have helped to broaden the representation of

the research. Finally, the online collage exercise was reduced to a minimum of 4 participant

repetitions of words and images per group which did not take into account more nuanced

representations of Afrofuturistic fashion expressions.

Heuristic Researcher

The researcher is a young Black woman from Ghana who works in the field of

fashion design and possesses personal interest in the exploration of Afrofuturism and its aesthetic application in fashion. The researcher thus acknowledges potential and unavoidable researcher bias that may arise due to her positionality. As a Ghanaian living in

America with knowledge of Afrofuturism, the researcher understands and is aware of

assumptions and preconception she may have prior to the conduct of the study. However,

conscious effort was taken to minimize the interference of personal reflections, ideas and

confirmation bias as related to the study and analysis of data. However, as fashion design

is a personal reflexive exercise, bias was unavoidable. The researcher used cultural

inspirations from her heritage as a Ghanaian and West African as design elements for the

collection. That being said, the cultural elements were carefully selected based on their relevance and appropriateness with respect to the resulting data from the participants.

Future Research

The exploratory nature of this research is such that it leaves much for future research. While the study addressed the intersectionality of Afrofuturism, fashion expressions, and cultural identity, there is still much more in terms of understanding the role fashion plays in contemporary expressions of Afrofuturism. Furthermore, though only three research groups in the Diaspora (Africans, African Americans, Diasporic Africans) were selected specifically for this study, the vastness and diversity of the African Diaspora leaves room for a wide variety of groups to be studied. A potential future research may also decide to target one group specifically, like African American women or Ghanaian men. It could also focus solely on people with specific backgrounds such as fashion designers. The lack of research in this field means that the direction in which one could take is endless.

Potential modifications of this study may be that researchers either isolate 1-st generation Americans as a separate research group or add them to the Diasporic African group to facilitate data correlation. A revision of interview questions to better generate relevant data for the research questions is needed. Finally, a refinement of images and words used in the creative exercise might be necessary so as not to overwhelm participants with too much information.

APPENDIX A: INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD (IRB) APPROVAL LETTER

Maame Amoah

UPDATED WITH STAMPED CONSENT ‐ IRB approval for protocol #19‐402 ‐ retain this email for your records

Wed, Nov 20, 2019 at 2:58 PM

R E: IRB # 19-402 entitled “The Afrofuturistic Approach to Cultural Identity in Contemporary African American”

Hello, I am pleased to inform you that the Kent State University Institutional Review Board reviewed and approved your Application for Approval to Use Human Research Participants as a Level II/Expedited, category 7 project. Approval is eﬀective for a three‐year period:

November 19, 2019 through November 18, 2022

For compliance with:

 DHHS regulations for the protection of human subjects (Title 45 part 46), subparts A, B, C, D & E

IMPORTANT:  You must report any external funding or contract to our office (as well as Sponsored Programs) related to this project – some funders require continuing review at intervals less than three years.  A stamped copy of the IRB approved consent form may be attached to this email if the study is recruiting in person. This “stamped” copy is the consent form that you must use for your research participants. It is important for you to also keep an unstamped text copy (i.e., Microsoft Word version) of your consent form for subsequent submissions.  You must file the following as necessary: continuing review requests, submit a closeout form when all interaction/interventions are completed and data is de‐identified, and file an amendment form to request a project change. You must promptly report any changes in risk and any adverse/unanticipated events.

The IRB has determined that this protocol requires continuing review and a progress report by the expiration date listed above. The IRB tries to send you continuing review reminder notice by email as a courtesy. However, please note that it is the responsibility of the principal investigator to be aware of the study expiration date and submit the required materials. Please submit review materials (continuing review form and copy of current consent form) one month prior to the expiration date. Visit our website for forms.

HHS regulations and Kent State University Institutional Review Board guidelines require that any changes in research methodology, protocol design, or principal investigator have the prior approval of the IRB before implementation and continuation of the protocol. The IRB must also be informed of any adverse events associated with the study. The IRB further requests a ﬁnal report at the conclusion of the study.

Kent State University has a Federal Wide Assurance on ﬁle with the Oﬃce for Human Research Protections (OHRP); F WA Number 00001853.

To search for funding opportunities, please sign up for a free Pivot account at http://pivot.cos.com/funding_main If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Oﬃce of Research Compliance at [email protected] or 330-672-2704 or 330-672-8058.

APPENDIX B: INFORMED CONSENT FORM

Study Title: Fashionfuturism: The Afrofuturistic Approach to Cultural Identity in Contemporary Africa and America

Principal Investigator: Dr. Tameka Ellington and Maame Amoah

You are being invited to participate in a research study. This consent form will provide you with information on the research project, what you will need to do, and the associated risks and benefits of the research. Your participation is voluntary. Please read this form carefully. It is important that you ask questions and fully understand the research in order to make an informed decision. You will receive a copy of this document to take with you.

Purpose: Afrofuturism is a creative cultural aesthetic within Black communities throughout the African Diaspora that seeks to reimaging and recontextualize the past, present, and future Black experiences with emphasis on Afrocentricity and technology. The purpose of this research is to understand the concepts of Afrofuturism as it is defined and applied in relation to cultural identity among peoples of the African Diaspora.

Procedures In order to be qualified for this study, you will be required to complete a 5-minute online pre-approval survey to address basic demographic questions. If you meet the required criteria for the study, you will be contacted via email promptly and asked to attend one focus group session. If you would like to partake in the focus group but for any reason, cannot attend the focus group in-person, you will be provided the option of joining the focus group remotely through Zoom video chatting services. Prior to attending the focus group, you will be required to read and sign this consent form and either bring in a physical copy or email a scanned copy of the signed document. We will briefly go over the consent form during the first 5 minutes of the focus group. Focus group sessions will take place in a private room on the Kent State University campus and is estimated to last approximately 1 hour. The focus groups will be set up as an informal group discussion with the aim of gaining insight into the various perceptions of Afrofuturism and generating ideas that will ultimately be used in the creation of a capsule collection. You will be asked to answer a few questions related to the research and will also have the opportunity to complete a short creative exercise. Your active engagement and participation in the group discussions and exercises during the focus group will be greatly appreciated.

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The data gathered from the focus group sessions will be interpreted into an Afrofuturism-inspired capsule collection. Images of the looks will be sent through a follow-up email for feedback. Please be on the lookout for the follow-up email in the months following the focus group. Also, please note that NO sensitive information will be used, nor will your name or facial identity be present in any form in the research. Those will be kept strictly confidential.

Audio and Video Recording and Photography A video camera and audio recording will be used to document the focus group sessions for further data analysis. A personal phone camera will be used to photograph the results of the creative exercise. No sensitive biodata information will be shared. Upon completion of the focus group sessions, the video and photo data will be safely transferred onto a flash drive and will be stored in a secure location under lock and/or password protection. The audio data will be transcribed into hardcopy paper documentation and stored in a secure location under lock and/or password protection. The recordings will not be used for any other purpose outside of the research. Transcriptions of the audio records and photographs of the results of the creative exercise may be included in the paper research. However, please note that NO sensitive information will be used, nor will your name or facial identity be present in any form in the research. Those will be kept strictly confidential. All audio and video recordings and photographs will be destroyed upon completion of the research. You have the right to refuse to be recorded.

I agree to be (audio/video/photography) recorded: YES ☐ NO ☐ If you selected NO, a separate individual appointment will be arranged. The researcher will record interview proceedings solely through note-taking.

Benefits This research will not benefit you directly. However, your participation will help us to better understand the perspectives of Afrofuturism as it is defined culturally by Africans and African-Americans. Additionally, this research may benefit society by educating Blacks and non-Blacks about Afrofuturism and its application in fashion especially as it becomes more visible in Black communities and popular culture.

Risks and Discomforts Some of the questions we ask may be upsetting, or you may feel uncomfortable answering them. If you do not wish to answer a question, you may skip it and go on to the next question. Risk of confidentiality breach will be minimized by securely storing research data and results in a location different to that which was used to conduct the

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research. All data collected during the focus group will be destroyed upon competition of the research.

Privacy and Confidentiality Information gathered during the focus group(s) will remain confidential within the limits of the law by the researchers. No identifying information will be collected or used in the research. Your signed consent form will be kept separate from your study data, and responses will not be linked to you. However, because of the focus group arrangement there is no guarantee of confidentiality by participants. With that in mind, participants are asked to keep information shared in discussions confidential. All data collected during the focus group will be destroyed upon competition of the research.

Compensation Participation in this study is voluntary and will not involve any form of compensation.

Voluntary Participation Taking part in this research study is entirely up to you. You may choose not to participate, or you may discontinue your participation at any time without penalty or loss of benefits to which you are otherwise entitled. You will be informed of any new, relevant information that may affect your health, welfare, or willingness to continue your study participation.

Contact Information If you have any questions or concerns about this research, you may contact Dr. Tameka Ellington at 330-672- 4646. This project has been approved by the Kent State University Institutional Review Board. If you have any questions about your rights as a research participant or complaints about the research, you may call the IRB at 330-672- 2704.

Consent Statement and Signature I have read this consent form and have had the opportunity to have my questions answered to my satisfaction. I voluntarily agree to participate in this study. I may print a copy of this consent statement for future reference.

Click or tap to enter a date. Participant Signature Date

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APPENDIX C: RECRUITMENT EMAIL Invitation to Participate in a Survey Hi! You are invited to participate in a research study about how differences in nationality and cultural upbringing may influence the expression of Afrofuturism through clothing! This is a thesis research project conducted by me, Maame Amoah, a graduate student at Kent State University in the Master of Fashion Industry Studies (MFIS) program. Participation includes:  A brief 5-minute pre-approval survey  An invitation to participate in a 1-hour IRB approved on-site focus group if approved In order to participate in this survey, please click the link below. You will be directed to read and sign a consent form after which you will proceed to complete the survey. {Insert Link Here} Thank you for your time and please consider to be a part of this research! Have a wonderful day!

Sincerely, Maame Amoah

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