The Heritage of L.G.R. Sunglasses

Last year I spent some time on the island of Sardinia researching ancient menswear as I explored the ruins of the Phoenicians and Carthaginians.

This year—the second week of September, to be precise—I will fly to Tunisia to visit the ancient ruins of Carthage.

In preparation for this trip, I have been researching the history of menswear in Northern Africa, such as with the nomadic tribe known as the Tuaregs.

Recently I came across another Italian, born 1982 in Rome, who also shares an affinity with the continent of Africa.

Luca Gnecchi Ruscone has strong ties with the continent as he spent his childhood between Italy and Africa.

His father lives in Kenya today, while his mother was born in Eritrea, where his grandfather had been working since the 1930’s.

Interestingly, this grandfather imported optical frames from Italy. Several years ago, Luca was in Eritrea rummaging through his grandfathers warehouse of Italian imports. There, the young man came across an old model of sunglasses, which sparked his creativity.

This rich heritage has provided Luca with a source of endless inspiration behind every timeless frame of L.G.R. sunglasses, which are hand-crafted and name after geographical locations in Africa.

See the models here.

Photos Copyright L.G.R. Sunglasses.

Digging Deeper into West Africa—Yoruba

Yesterday I described the men’s attire of West Africa: the main gown or robe known as the Grand Boubou or Agbada, which is accompanied by Sokoto pants, a Dashiki shirt, and the Aso Oke or Kufi hat.

These names are the common appellations from Yoruba—the largest ethnic group of West Africa, which numbers about 30 million individuals who live mostly in Nigeria but also in Benin, Ghana, and Togo.

The Yoruba are an ancient people that established the powerful Kingdom of Ife, which endured as an artistic center for many centuries.

The Yoruba language is actually tonal with 3 tones, and it possesses a wide assortment of sounds.

Interestingly, the Sokoto and Kufi garments derive their names from various cities in Nigeria. Moreover, Kufi means ‘crown’, whereas Aso Oke translates as ‘top cloth’ and comes in brown (the Sanyan), red (the Alaari), and blue (the Etu).

Of note, NBA basketball player Hakeem Olajuwon is of Yoruba origins, as is King Sunny Adé, who popularized Jùjú music of Nigeria, which is based on Yoruba percussion.

Now, Dupsie’s online store has made it possible to own your own West African attire! Have a look at the designs while you listen to some Yoruba rhythms.

Photo Courtesy & Copyright Dupsie’s.

Nomadic Men of the Sahara—the Tuareg

Of recent, nomadic tendencies have appeared within modern menswear trends, especially those of Northern Africa and the Middle East, such as with the 2010 spring/summer collection at CAMO.

In another article that I posted today on African menswear, I made mention of the nomadic peoples called the Tuareg, who were originally from the Sahara, most likely Libya, but migrated southward 2,000 years ago.

The Tuareg belong to the Berber peoples of North Africa, who call themselves Imazighen—‘free people’.

Many of us are familiar with the footballer Zenidine Zidane, who is an Algerian Berber.

Interestingly, prior to the 9th century most of Northwest Africa was Berber speaking but were slowly arabized.

Still, the Berbers are the largest minority group in Northern Africa.

Today, the Tuareg inhabit the central regions of the Sahara throughout North and West Africa.

In the Tuareg culture, the men cover their face with a veil or turban rather than the women.

Normally this veil (Alasho) is indigo blue and, hence, the Tuareg nickname—“the Blue People.

Photo top left Copyright CAMO.
Photo bottom right by Garrondo, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license at Wikipedia.

The Rich World of African Menswear

After Asia, Africa is the globe’s largest continent with 1 billion inhabitants, 54 sovereign states, 2,000 languages, and hundreds of ethnic groups.

Considered the place of origin for the human race, Africa produced the earliest Homo sapiens circa 200,000 years ago—hence, the oldest inhabited territory on Earth.

Prior to colonization, Africa was home to nearly 10,000 different states, ranging from small family groups to major kingdoms.

By the late 19th century, however, most of Africa had been divided up by European colonial powers. For this reason, a number of African countries speak European languages.

Although post-colonial Africa has faced a multitude of challenges, there has been a resurgence of traditional African cultures, some of which strive for economic and scientific revitalization.

Despite the challenges, the richness of the African heritage is undeniable, as the magnificence of the multicultural treasures is replete throughout the entire continent, including in then menswear!

Take, for example, the Grand Boubou (from mbubb or gown) found in West Africa—also known as the Agbada by the Yoruba and Babariga by the Hausa.

The garment found its way to West Africa in the 8th century through Berber nomads of the Sahara called Tuareg, who refer to the garment as K'sa.

The Boubou is characterized by intricate embroideries and can include tie-up trousers called Sokoto, a shirt known as Dashiki, and an opulent gown.

Finally, no Boubou would be complete without the Aso Oke hat!

Recently, I found a very cool site where you can purchase your own Bubu attire—Dupsie’s!

Photos Courtesy & Copyright Dupsie’s.