A History of African Fashion: 10 Skills in 90 Seconds
· Episode 6 of 10
Episode 6 / 10
Dressing Independence: Fashion as Political Statement 1950s–1970s
Why did Kwame Nkrumah choose to wear kente cloth draped like a Roman toga at Ghana's 1957 independence inauguration?
He wanted to signal African pride and sovereignty — rooting Ghana in its own heritage — while also speaking the visual language of international statecraft, showing the world that Ghana was both distinctly African and an equal among nations.
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