FOREIGN FASHION IN AFRICA: STYLES OF VICES?

FOREIGN FASHION IN AFRICA: STYLES OF VICES?

            Man is a social animal who cannot but live in the human society in the midst of other men; else he is either a beast or a Spirit. Due to the importance of others in the actualization of his needs, he forms associations with others resulting into the family, kindred, village, community, state, etc. In his desire to have a unique and separate way of doing things though not going to be totally abstract form what is being done, he chooses to behave in a particular way of life in all most all aspect of his life. It is in this context that culture is born. This way of life though static in one sense, remains very dynamic as it keeps on undergoing some modification. And so the popular way of behaving or the way of life at a particular time in their life is what we know as fashion. And that is why we can have many fashions within a given time and society. Put differently, fashion is the most general term and applies to any way of dressing, behaving, writing, or performing that is favoured at any one time or place.

            Given that as the case, different fashions abound in the world as there are many different societies in the world. And so each group of people have their own particular way of behavior in terms of mode of dressing, behaving, eating, etc. and in different moments. That is why in terms of clothing we can talk about European fashion, African fashion, etc.

One thing to note about people’s fashion is that they could be transferred to other people. This could take place in the processes of global socialization. This is exactly the case where one society is exactly imitating the fashion of other societies; as they practise exactly the mode of dressing, eating and ways of doing things about the others.

As a result of the fast global socialization, Africa has copied the fashion of other societies. These fashions though foreign are being practiced/imitated as if those fashions were original to them. Nigerians for a case of study highly value foreign fashion as if they are original to them, especially when it comes to the mode of dressing. This is expressed in the way our young girls imitate perfectly the mode of dressing of the Europeans, such that you may think that they are the foreigners that own the fashion except you judge biologically.

            Besides the above, all most all the fashion of the foreigners are practiced in Africa especially by Nigerians. The mode of dressing of the Europeans and Africans are almost the same. The eating and drinking habits of the Europeans is the order of the day in the Nigerian society.

            However with the practise of foreign fashion in Nigeria, and many Nigerians imitated them in their fashion, a fundamental question arising here is: is the practise of these fashion in Africa a vice or a style. Put differently, is the foreign fashion in Africa a style or a vice? The attempt to answer this question is the core of this work.

            No doubt, the above question did not come out from the air. Instead it is a product of observational facts in the society. If one looks around the society, the way the foreign fashion is gaining ground makes it seem as if they are original to Africa, a shared way of life or even something that should have been in existence in Africa. This is because the experiences of them so far in the society are not really good.

            An example of this is the experience of the African girls imitating the mode of dressing of these Europeans and other foreigners. These girls imitate the foreigners in the wears, the manner of wearing, the articles of clothing, etc. Given this as the case, we see many of our girls half-dressed; some put on very mini short skirts that are almost revealing the most sacred part of the female body. Again, their dressing s which no doubt is a product of imitation of the foreigners, leave their bodies very bare as seductive parts of the body are exposed, and many others cases. And at the long run these immoral and seductive dressings of the ladies become major influencing factor of so many problems in the continent.

            Moreover, apart from the ladies, the African men while imitating especially the manner of eating of the foreigners have done more harm than good to themselves.  While imitating the smoking habit of the foreigners, some Africans have continued to kill themselves gradually, because they have destroyed their organs through their smoking habit. These days, the way even young people consumed these substances without season makes us begin to wonder if these foreign way of life has come to stay such that we can say they are styles.

            These and many other foreign fashions which are being practiced in Africa have raised a big question whether they are styles and have come to stay. They may be called styles because for some the fashion is okay, especially by people who provide these goods and services. It can equally be called a vice because the negative comes out as the effect of making use of those fashions. These include creating temptations through immoral dressings, stealing in the bid to afford all these things, etc. So that is why people are referring it as a vice. And so given these different sides, do we say that these fashions are styles or vices?

            In answering the above question, we have to understand that while style implies a distinctive fashion adopted by people of taste, vice means degrading or immoral habits and practices. One thing about these foreign fashion is that it is practiced a particular society who may have defined it to be okay and most often for different situations and moments. And so for the original owners of these fashions, they are not bad. Again, culture can be shared and learned and likewise fashion. The presence and practice of foreign fashion in Africa alone do not make it bad at that instance so  long as there are used the same way the owners use them and at that there is no problem.

            Where the problem lies is not the fashion or its presence in Africa, but in the attitude of Africans towards them. That is, it is the ways the Africans practise these fashions that make it a problem. This is because the negative attitude of Africans towards these fashions is where the problem lies. The Africans do not practice these fashions under the same conditions the owners use them. For instance, the while the western girls wear mini-skirts for the swimming pool alone, the Nigerian girl wears hers for public gatherings. Also while the western girl wear her spaghetti  wear  for leisure in her apartment, the Nigerian girl wears hers to lectures and other public gatherings. In the same light, while the westerner smokes cigarettes under cold weathers, the Nigerian does his under the hot sunny weather.

            This is where the distinction lies- the attitude towards those fashions. And one funny attitude of Africans is that they cannot do without it and will go to any length to procure them. Thus, we cannot say that these foreign fashions are bad inherently; instead we can say that the way the Africans go about them makes them look bad whereas it is the attitude towards them and not them inherently.

            If when the western girl wears the mini-skirt only in her private residence, and the Nigerian girl wears hers publicly and boldly, which do you blame, the fashion or the user of the fashion? When our men and youths smoke cigarettes as if it is cold water during the hot weather, will you blame the cigarette or the user? Foreign fashion though culture-dependent may not actually be bad inherently even on a different soil, but the way people approach it, makes it look as if it is bad. If you give our girls chance, they will go on panties very soon. If they claim that the white do it, they should ask themselves whether they are the whites and they should know a people make use of one thing or the other.

            From the above, the foreign fashion and its presence in Africa is not a vice, but how the Africans make use of them, what goes into such usage and comes out of such usage which experience has shown to be negative is the vice we are asking or here. This is because if our girls use these sexy clothes only in their rooms, and not publicly and most often in lonely areas or at night where they create occasion for an often irresistible act, we will not be asking if these fashions are good or bad. And so it is more of the attitude of Africans towards these fashions that ought to be seen as the vice here.

            Consequently, because it seems that it has come to stay in Africa, as a distinctive fashion adopted by people of such likening, we can call the foreign fashion a style in Africa. This is because many people have embraced the fashion in their various different attitudes towards them. And so it is a style for the Africans. But considering the effects of this style adopted, and considering the attitude of our people towards it, we can say that the style is not a good one or rather that the attitude towards them are bad.

            In conclusion, the foreign fashion remain okay for the owners  and can still be okay wherever it is imitated just as exactly the same way the owners do even in Africa. On the contrary the African attitude towards these fashions remains very ill and at that paints the fashion badly. If these fashions are imitated exactly the same way the owners do, the question as to whether the presence of the foreign fashion in Africa is a style or a vice will never be heard. But the question is now frequently raised because of the poor attitude of the imitators. So is it the fashion or the imitators is bad? And since it has come to stay in the African society, what is it if not a style and a bad one indeed since the imitators do not use them the same the owners use them!

Nwanyanwu Chris