Spring / Summer 2019
Part of ACF’s research and travels around Africa is based around discovering growing subcultures. There was one thing most of the cities had in common and that was surf.
Surf Afrika
Learned so much about youth culture by
travelling through Africa, we’ve had great experiences but one of the things which
stood out was how much surfing was happening around A
frica by the local youths.
Senegal is not only one of our favorite countries in A
frica but also where surfing have been growing for years. In Dakar the local youths teach young tourist
to surf.
Text: Sam and Shaka
Photography: Felix AAA
Model: Dennis Nyero & Alani
Surfing may seem a mainstay of the West or for white people but that’s in fact a falsehood.
There’s been a cultural history of black surfers in Africa dating back to the 1940s.
Currently Africa is home to some of the world’s best surf destinations.
A research paper titled, “A Cultural History of Zulu Surfers in South Africa” sets out a genealogy of Zulu surfers in surfing magazines,
surf industry advertising and films featuring surfing (surf films, documentaries and feature films) from 1965 to the present.
According to the papers two films have foregrounded Zulu surfers, the feature film Otelo Burning (2011) which is the story of 16-year-old
Otelo Buthelezi, his brother Ntwe and documentary film Kushaya Igagasi (2013), translated as “Hitting the Waves”.
Black surfing were impacted heavily in 1953 when the Reservation of Separate Amenities Act No. 49 that was signed into law prohibited different
races from using the same public amenities (such as beaches). Under this law, those not classified as “white” were allocated under-resourced
and more dangerous beaches, very few of which would later be good surf spots.
In 1985 pro surfers worldwide boycotted the South African leg of the World surfing tour due to Apartheid. This happened despite South Africa having some of the best waves in the world and the longest running surf competition thus increasing isolation, both from other races and international surfers. This changed in 1991 when South African amateur surfing returns to international competition due to intervention by the South African Surfing Union.
Playing around the idea of vacation as a local habitant, soaking up inspiration from the environment while still keeping the style modern/vintage.
Location: Dakar, Africa - Almadies Beach
Photo by: Shaka
Inspire by the local people and culture.
The silhouette of the collection revolves around 50s Americana with a
mix match of house core punk tailoring details. You will find key pieces
such Varsity Jackets, M48 Parkas, bowling shirts & Trench Coats, all in
mixed fabrications.
From Satin, Velvet to cotton, introducing their own flower/scissor print to fit theme as well as unlined and loose fit pieces, to be able to layer them over each other over varying sizes depending on ones specific styling needs.
PRINT HIGHLIGHT
Our first time to create our textile print design; the idea was not to make a traditional surf print with palm trees and sunset. We ACFied it by using this flower motif, which represents how we view Africa, soft but edgy by adding our craftsman weapon of choice " scissors." Imitating the African textile print look with a modern flare.
Spring Summer 2019 LookBook
The latest collection takes inspiration from surfing communities in Africa, in cities such as Dakar where a big part of the youth culture in love with the waves is eminent. Playing around the idea of vacation as a local habitant, soaking up inspiration from the environment while still keeping the style modern/vintage.
