Fashion As A Wake-Up Call: A Conversation with Beatrace Oola Founder of Fashion Africa Now
- Hedi
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
If you still think “African fashion” means animal prints and souvenir fabrics, this Change_liscious episode is going to flip your mental wardrobe inside out and send it to the tailor.
I sat down with Beatrace Angut Lorika Oola - visionary founder of Fashion Africa Now, CEO, curator, consultant, lecturer, and movement-maker - to talk about a paradigm shift already changing what we wear, how we produce it, and who gets seen and paid.
This isn’t a trend piece. It’s a reality check with a shot of rocket fuel.
Why this conversation matters so much right now
Overconsumption has a return address. The “gift” of our throwaway clothes becomes mountains of waste in places like Ghana and Kenya. Designers across the continent are answering with radical upcycling - think “old curtains to couture suit” - and calling the movement “Return to Sender.” It’s not charity. It’s ingenuity, economy, and environmental justice.
African fashion is not “ethno.” It’s luxury, premium, streetwear, wearable art - designed by creators of African origin who center Afrocentric and Afrodiasporic aesthetics, materials, and knowledge systems. It’s high-end, modern, and utterly original.
Value over volume. Instead of overproduction, brands in this movement embrace limited editions and pre-order—people over profit, craftsmanship over churn. The result: fewer drops, more meaning, and pieces you’ll wait six weeks for because they’re worth a lifetime.
Who is Beatrace? And what does she do at Fashion Africa Now?
Beatrace founded Fashion Africa Now to break stereotypes, expand eurocentric narratives, and make room for contemporary designers of African origin on the global stage.
Through her creative agency and platform, she:
Highlights talent and creates a “visual business card” for designers - more visibility, real economic opportunities, and serious cultural impact.
Builds bridges between fashion, culture, education, and policy - opening conversations that usually die in mood boards and press releases.
Curates collaborations with museums, cultural institutions, corporates, and brands - Mastercard, Zalando, independent labels, and more.
Champions cultural appreciation and responsibility - supporting brands mindful of their social impact and contributing to a fair, sustainable fashion ecosystem.
What you’ll hear in this episode and why you should not miss this one
The paradigm shift: Fashion is a tool, strategy, and language. Where codes, identity, and spirituality live in the garment.
Return to Sender: How deadstock and secondhand “trash” become limited-edition, high-end pieces - and why this flips the global fashion script.
Names to know: From Uganda’s Bobby Kolade, IAMISIGO to Ghana’s collectives like Ghana the Revival and designers pushing materials like raffia, banana fiber, and mud cloth into the future.
Production reimagined: Limited runs, pre-order models, and consumer education that rebuilds value - patience as a sustainability practice.
Mindset and movement: Courage and willpower as prerequisites for change, and why intersectionality isn’t optional if we want a real shift.
Women, power, and sharing: The healing work inside women’s networks - and what happens when we actually share power and opportunity.
Source: https://www.therevival.earth, Ghana The Revival
What's a little different here
It replaces pity with partnership, cliché with craft, and “helping” with truly seeing.
It treats African knowledge systems as frontier tech: already here, already scaling, already changing the rules.
It invites you to be part of a living movement - by what you buy, amplify, believe, and support.
What to do next
Watch the episode. Let this reframe bake in. Expect to rethink “new,” “value,” and “fashion” in under an hour.
Follow and support the movement:
Explore designers on Fashion Africa Now: FashionAfricaNow.com
Share their work. Credit the talent. Open doors. Kindness scales faster than carbon footprints.
Upgrade your habits:
Pre-order. Wait. Wear longer.
Choose limited runs over limited attention spans.
Swap “what’s cheap?” for “what’s changing the world?”
This isn’t just about looking good. It’s about looking again. Fashion can be exploitation—or revelation and beauty. Beatrace is inviting you in. Press play. Bring your curiosity.
And leave with a different compass. Enjoy.
➡️ This episode runs also via Spotify, Apple Podcast.
And for those who want to access the transformation ecosystem to boost the change maker mindset: enter Hedi's The Impact Boutique for free - here: The Impact Boutique
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