Afro Leather Hoodie

Category: Apparel

The Afro Leather hoodie is designed to be an every day winter wear garment with an African touch. The main body, that is, the front and back panels are made of brown Leather sourced from our local tannery. The back will feature hand embroidery of a traditional dancer in a Zambian traditional outfit. The sleeves, waist belt and the hoodie are made from 2 ply wool knitted on a V-bed manual knitting machine. Ideally, the knitted parts would be made of sheep's wool spun into 2 ply yarn. Unfortunately, we do not have any wool processing plant at the moment but in view of sustainability I hope my garment will bring attention to the opportunity for wool processing. The sleeves will also be lined with a thin layer of filler to add to the warmth of the jacket. The inside lining is made of cotton fabric printed with an indigenous pattern inspired by the Tonga baskets made in the southern part of Zambia. The inspiration for this garment comes from our tradition of story telling through the rock art our ancestors drew, the fabrics and cultural outfits they wore and the art and artefacts they made which give us a glimpse of what life was like in their days. The knowledge of my heritage gives me a deep sense of pride and belonging and has built within me a need to find ways in which to share this knowledge. Overall, this garment is sustainable because it is made of leather and wool which are natural products to which value is added. it also gives me an opportunity to add elements of my culture and heritage that I want to communicate to the next generations so that they too can appreciate their heritage and pass it on to the next generation. This garment also showcases a blended set of skills in leather, art , textiles and garments. These too are skills that need to be appreciated and deliberate steps should be taken to pass on this knowledge to the nest generation of artisans and craftsmen and women. My hope is that this garments when seen by my parents and grandparents may ignite the passion to tell the African story as was done in the past.