Yinka Shonibare Opens at The Brooklyn Museum Today

As I start thinking about themes and inspiration for my upcoming trip to London to study fabric print design at Central St. Martin's, I cannot help but think about the nebulous relationship between Europe and Africa. Fortuitously, today marks the beginning of the Brooklyn Museum's exhibition of the work of Nigerian-born British artist Yinka Shonibare MBE. Shonibare’s artwork explores contemporary African identity and its relationship to European colonialism through painting, sculpture, installation, and moving image. Often working with visual symbols such as Dutch wax fabric (produced in Europe for a West African market), Shonibare evokes the complex web of interactions, economic and racial, that reveal inequalities between the dominant and colonized cultures of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Here are some samples of his work:

Afrobeat meets Afrochic at the Black Light Special on Ust.

Hey folks, If you are in town for DC Carnival weekend, come to LunchBox Theory Production's packed Afrobeat party on Ust on June 26th. Check out the site for more details but BiriBelle will be there in full effect to help Afrobeat meet Afrochic. Dance it out to vinyl spun by DJ Underdog, get your face painted, and shop super discounted summer pieces from BiriBelle. Best of all it's only $1!

Africa Arise Fashion Week Rundown

Mustafa Hassanali

As Africa Arise Fashion Week continues in South Africa, I figured I would live vicariously through my fellow African Designers who are participating. I love the use of texture and color, as well as the vintage and bohemian references. Hopefully you’ll see BiriBelle in the ranks next year! Until then, here are some more of my favorites:

Christie Brown Collection

Tiffany Amber

Eyola

Itueni Basi

Jewel By Lisa

Jewel By Lisa

Lanre Da Silva Ajayi

Lanre Da Silva Ajayi

Itueni Basi

Nkwo Collection

Making Lemonade

Yesterday I was invited by a friend to be a model for her makeup artistry class at the Bennett Career Institute in NE. Turns out yesterday was the one day they weren't doing faces at all, but were covering "the business of makeup" instead. It turns out that much of the information was pertinent to a fashion designer, and I learned some great personal marketing tips from instructor Tanna J. So yay to the free business class. One of the ladies in the class happens to be opening a new lounge in B-more this weekend called Ste. 18. As I love lounges and new venues, this was a welcome morsel of information as well. Finally it just makes sense as a designer to network with a room full of make-up artists duh! So even though I didn't get my makeover....I still made lemonade!