Talking Fashion With Literary Elegance
Chimamanda Adichie
From ‘Purple Hibiscus’ to style icon, Chimamanda Adiche has certainly crafted a space for both fashion and literary culture to cohabit in equal measure. Inspired by the buy home products to grow the Naira campaign of the Buhari administration in 2016, Adiche launched a “Wear Nigeria” project patronising Nigerian fashion designers for her public appearances. With the aim to create more visibility for the fast growing and versatile community, designers like Gonzel Green, Lola Baej, Tnld Designs, Moofa Designs and many more featured on the big scenes courtesy of Adichie.
Pop stars are certainly no stranger to fashion and lifestyle, where it is considered a cultural norm. The Intellectual space is not one to have a fashion enthusiast sprinting to for inspiration. Adiche, however, has had no trouble huddling this stereotype, creating a new perspective of culture fusion for intellectuals . “Your love of fashion doesn’t have to be a metaphor for the consciousness of multiple metaphysical selves or something. Your love of fashion can just be your love of fashion,” she had said.
At the Dior 2017 Spring ready-to-wear collection, Adichie took her front row perch alongside fashion power players, a perfect vantage point to see Maria Grazia Chiuri’s debut female-empowered designs for which she is very much the inspiration.
The brand’s first female creative director in its 70 years sent her models gliding down the wood-planked runway to the sound of the Nigerian writer’s rousing manifesto ‘We Should All Be Feminists’ as they sported T-shirts that proclaimed the righteous statement. It is little wonder that she has been named the first black female to represent the brand.
In a piece, titled, ‘My Fashion Nationalism’, published in ‘Financial Times’, she further explores her interest in fashion. The essay furnished with images drawn from her Instagram page, is a short history of her love affair with fashion. The essay is a thoughtful reflection on the evolution of personal style. It briefly documents her journey to becoming a fashion inspiration to over 90,000 Instagram followers. A few take homes from her paper?
- Find a fashion icon
- It’s okay to be misunderstood. It’s called originality
- Always read between the lines of fashion industry cliches
- Wear what you like
- Don’t be afraid to let your fashion mic with your politics
Adichie’s journey to becoming a fashion influencer has shown that style is self defined, hinged on passion, honesty and attention to detail.
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