LIFESTYLE - The African Mirror

Jun

06

2021

From apprentice to fashion icon: Ivory Coast’s Pathe’O, 50 years on

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

LOUCOUMANE COULIBALY WHEN 20-year-old Pathe Ouedraogo left his Burkina Faso village in 1969 in search of a better life in neighbouring Ivory Coast, his dream was to return with a bicycle and a transistor radio to prove he had made it. He was too thin to work on a cocoa farm, so took the chance to learn how to make clothes instead - a decision that propelled him to fashion stardom. "The most accessible job at the time was to be an apprentice tailor," said Ouedraogo. The man mostly known as Pathe'O is now celebrating a 50-year career during which…

May

31

2021

By The African Mirror

Black feminist writers in South Africa raise their voices in a new book

LITERATURE

DESIREE LEWIS, Professor of Gender Studies, University of the Western Cape GABEBA BADEROON, Associate Professor of Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies and African Studies, Penn State IN the third decade of the new millennium, despite many publishers still seeing black women’s writing as having a limited market, readers have far more access than before to publications by writers from the global South. In particular, the perspectives of black women are certainly more visible in the public domain. Yet gaps and erasures – based on intellectual authority, financial resources and visibility in the knowledge commons – mean that it’s still easier…

Jun

05

2021

By The African Mirror

Former minister’s memoir is a candid critique of South Africa’s political economy

LITERATURE

A new book by Rob Davies, a former South African Trade and Industry Minister, provides a candid and detailed insider’s account of the evolution of the country’s post-apartheid political economy. MILLS SOKO, Professor: International Business & Strategy, Wits Business School, University of the Witwatersrand He makes it clear from the outset that this is a memoir and not an autobiography. But, as one reads on, it becomes obvious that it is impossible to separate his personal experiences from the momentous events that have shaped democratic South Africa. The book’s fourteen chapters cover topics as varied as the apartheid context, the…

May

30

2021

By The African Mirror

‘It means everything’: Mary J. Blige inducted into NYC’s Apollo Walk of Fame

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

MARY J. Blige has nine Grammy Awards, eight multi-platinum albums, two Academy Award nominations, and now, the singer-songwriter has a plaque on the Apollo Theater's Walk of Fame. Blige, also known as the queen of hip-hop soul with millions of fans across the globe, was inducted into the Walk of Fame on Friday just outside the legendary theater in Harlem. Wearing a sparkling green and black jumpsuit, Blige personally thanked her fans and announced a release date of June 25 for a new documentary that celebrates the 25th anniversary of her second album "My Life." This was a return home…

Jun

04

2021

By The African Mirror

‘Rihanna by Rihanna ‘ – on Vogue’s cover

BEAUTY AND FASHION

MPHO RANTAO RIHANNA has graced yet another one of Vogue’s sought after covers, and got captured in the best way - through her own eyes. Rihanna posed as the cover star for Vogue Italia’s June issue, rocking an edgy, minimalist aesthetic in a photoshoot that was directed and styled by the singer herself, for the issue titled “The Do-It-Yourself issue”. "Rihanna By Rihanna!" Vogue Italia explained on social media. "When for our Do It Yourself issue Rihanna Did It Herself photographing and styling her own cover." Rihanna for Vogue Italia. Picture: Instagram/badgalriri "On set Rihanna played simultaneously the artist and…

May

28

2021

By The African Mirror

10 African fashion influencers you should follow

BEAUTY AND FASHION

MPHO RANTAO IT is no secret that Africa is home to some of the world’s most fashionable, both in the creation and wearing stylish garments. One of the most riveting aspects about Africa’s multi-ethnic landscape is that it brings about so many ideas and concepts to conventional fashion terms and inspirations. Africans, like other indigenous groups around the world, have the ability to make their own traditional attire to be a visionary fashion art piece, styled in their own way. Influencers like to (and effortlessly do ) mix their own style signatures with global fashion trends, to which some of…

May

28

2021

By The African Mirror

African femcees take to the stage

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER CARDI B, Megan Thee Stallion and Flo Milli are just a fraction of the names that come to one’s mind when they think of women rappers. The world of hip-hop has been rocked sideways by the growing number of women rappers skyrocketing to the top of music charts, excelling as on-stage performers, and walking away with hip-hop’s coveted awards like Best Rap Artist or Best Rap Album at award ceremonies. There has also been more visibility in the production and acknowledgement of women in the industry, both on stage and behind the scenes. So many of those…

Jun

01

2021

By The African Mirror

Beyoncé & JAY-Z splurge on world’s most expensive car

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

BEYONCÉ and JAY -Z are the new official owners of the world’s most expensive luxury car, a Rolls-Royce valued at a whopping US$28 million. According to an anonymous source that broke the news to The Telegraph, musicians Beyoncé and JAY-Z reportedly commissioned the Rolls-Royce custom-built Boat Tail, which features a rear deck with high-end double coolers, matching chairs, and a parasol. The Rolls-Royce Boat Tail. Picture: Twitter The American couple have not released any confirmation on their recent purchase (as they never have in the past with other luxury or business purchases), but many of Beyoncé and JAY-Z’s fans, as…

May

26

2021

By The African Mirror

Naomi Osaka creates melanated skincare line

BEAUTY AND FASHION

MPHO RANTAO TENNIS champion Naomi Osaka is venturing into beauty with her own skincare brand for melanated skin. Osaka announced that she will be launching a sun and skincare line specifically made for darker-skinned people called KINLÒ. “What drew me toward this project is having memories of being a kid and not knowing how to protect my skin,” Osaka told Business of Fashion. “I only started wearing sunscreen recently.” Naomi Osaka continues to explain that one of the reasons behind the creation of her skincare line is that she felt that like herself, many darker-skinned people don’t have the right…

May

25

2021

By The African Mirror

Abi Daré among nominated for NOMMO Awards

LITERATURE

AFRICAN fantasy authors are preparing to celebrate their nominations for the literary NOMMO Awards. The NOMMO Awards are literary awards presented by The African Speculative Fiction Society, that aims to recognise works of mythical, science fiction, horror or alternative historic fiction by Africans. The literary award is named after the Malian mythological creature known as a Nommo, an amphibious being with a cosmological perspective on mastery. Nigeria’s Abi Daré, South African Lauren Beukes, and Kenya’s Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, among others, were shortlisted in categories such as "Best Novel", "Best Short Story" , “Best Novella” and "Best Graphic Novel". New York…