Original Story Published by: Sam Olukoya for DW
Photo Source: ©DW/S. Olukoya
The fashion industry is reputed to be the second-largest polluter in the world. The pesticides and insecticides used on crops grown for fabrics, coupled with the chemicals used in the production process, can cause enormous damage to the environment. It is for this reason that some designers are turning to the oceans, seas and lakes for natural and sustainable materials to make clothes.
This new wave of so-called "blue fashion" has been making it onto runways at fashion shows between Paris and Lagos. Leather from fish skin has become a symbol of the growing trend, while clothing and accessories made of seashells and seaweed are also featuring in designer collections.
The answer to this provocative query can be found in each of the episodes that utilize a diverse range of models to creatively reimagine celebrity styles in Africanized versions of iconic movie wardrobes.
African designers on board
In Nigeria, one of the most popular natural materials sourced from oceans and lakes for "blue fashion" is fish skin.
The outfits and shoes trending with shoppers at the Ikeja City Mall in the Nigerian metropolis of Lagos this festive season hint at how fashion is gradually going green as concern over pollution associated with it grows in Africa.
Robert Popping of the Rift Valley Leather in Kenya is among the continent's leading designers who are embracing "blue fashion."
"Fish skin is a very interesting material, it has a very distinctive texture, it can be finished to give you either smooth leather or a leather with a very rough textured look," says Popping.
"It can be finished in fabulous colors and there are enormous opportunities, I believe, to develop this material as an alternative luxury material."
