Straight Out of Africa
All eyes may be on Africa when looking at the spring 2005 collections, but for almost two decades, Ahneva Ahneva has been in her Leimert Park Village showroom creating suits, gowns and ready-to-wear designs that incorporate African elements. Known for mixing traditional fabrics with wool, raw silk, gabardine and leather, Ahneva makes cliched notions of “ethnic” and “classic” wear beside the point in her tuxedos, opera coats, bridal, sportswear and a line of stretch denim inset with mud cloth. The former model has outfitted everyone from Angela Bassett and Blair Underwood to Bill Clinton in clothing she likens to wearable art. We talked “cultural couture” with Ahneva, who plans to make her upscale label a household name.
How did your “cultural couture” come about?
It was my way of inspiring women of African descent to relate to their culture and heritage. I started using African textiles in America in a way that had never been done . . . with hand-woven fabrics made into suits and corporate [wear] and gowns. People are now gravitating toward this, and not just for Black History Month.
How do you see the current vogue for Africa?
I think it’s clear that we’re coming closer together, that it’s all right to embrace each other’s culture, because we all are one. Fashion is a way to do it softly. If it looks good, you want it, period. I love designers like John Galliano. He encompasses it all. He uses Africa, Asia and Turkey. I sometimes take fabric from Bangkok, India or China.
Spring 2005 is not the first time African influences have surfaced on European and American runways. What’s new this time around?
In the ‘80s, young men and women in hip-hop made us love Africa again. [With] music from groups like Public Enemy, youths were talking about Africa and the homeland. You started seeing the kente cloth, the crowns and the beads. It was hip to have on some kente and be referred to as a “queen.” This current wave is high fashion and African-inspired makeup, hair and gold neckpieces. When Dior and Galliano say it’s all right, then it’s all right.
How do you feel about non-African designers appropriating African style?
I salute them for honoring Africa. What they’re doing has helped me. When I create African fashion and say, “Love your heritage and culture,” some people think it’s just African stuff and dismiss it. But when Dolce & Gabbana does it, it is considered couture. They have the visibility, money and presentation.
What is often overlooked about African design?
There’s nothing in textiles today that does not reflect an African contribution. Patterns, beading, hand [weaving] have a birth in Africa. Geometrics were born in Africa through the use of body tattooing and scarification. And there’s no greater color palette than the one in Africa.
What African design elements do you love most?
The intricacy of the hand-woven fabrics is amazing. I use textiles from Senegal, Ethiopia, Mali and the Ivory Coast. Each piece of cloth is like an art piece.
You have shown your work in Africa and travel there to seek inspiration and source materials. What is the most rewarding part of your connection to Africa?
I’m feeding 150 women who live, eat and sleep because I bought a piece of fabric. I have helped sisters and brothers in the continent become self-reliant. They can buy toys for their kids or a new roof. It creates a sense of camaraderie.
What differences are there between your take on African design and how it is being presented in current high fashion?
The artistry and gift that I have is inherited. I’ve been working with these textiles for 30 years. What separates me from other designers is money, and that’s all. I’m the best-kept secret in Los Angeles.
Ahneva Ahneva, 3419-B W. 43rd Place, Los Angeles, (323) 291-2535.
