It would be easy to believe if you travel to Mozambique you would discover a place that is so full of intrigue, beauty and famine that it would take your breath away. You would be right.

Spend a few days in Maputo and you will see a handful of contradictions. From the wide avenues, tropical trees, shiny new cars and fancy seafood restaurants on Costa Del Sol to the to narrow dusty backstreets holding vibrant markets, energetic salesmen with an underlying desperation and the local chapa vans bursting at the seams with locals trying to get home.

Travelling through some of these communities, you will countless children walking with their smaller siblings wrapped tightly into little bundles on their back made from traditional kanga fabrics. The children have a special companionship with each other, the woman treat you like old friends and the men are proud and hard working.

The way the Mozambique people dress mediates the merging of the counties contradictions, reflects the vastly differing cultures that are injected into the city and depends on the individual’s economic status. In the cities, women wear Western-style dresses made from fabric with brightly colored African patterns. Women in rural areas, however, generally have kept their traditional garb of long strips of fabric that are wrapped around the body, under the arms, and over one shoulder. They have also retained the traditional head scarf or turban.

The rise of clothing and accessory collections inspired by the bright fabrics of Africa and relaxed dressing of these regions has increased over the past couple of seasons. Brands including SOKO, Choolips, MADE, and ASOS are all getting in on the action and with sustainable fashion becoming trendier by the day, it shows no sign of slowing down. With these labels supporting communities in Kenya, Mozambique and Tanzania this is a very positive trend that will only continue to grow.

One of the companies working on producing ethical fashion that is particularly close to my heart is SOKO. Feast your eyes on the beautiful shots and hear all about them in my next article after I return from a visit to Kenya. Stay tuned for more info on the very magical place that is Africa…

Tweet

If you enjoyed this feature, you may want to Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for our latest style updates, giveaways and other juicy stuff.

Featured Contributor: Kelly Love

Discover More Stylish features below:

• Q&A Emily Burns | Painter & Photographer
• Q&A Kaitlin & Aaron Tait | Humanitarian Workers
• Lagom Dawn Spring Spring Summer 2011 collection
• Zaishu Swedish Cross Stitch and Indian charity project