Africa Fashion at Brooklyn Museum
Spanning the vibrancy and ‘liberated creative expression’ of Africa’s mid-century cultural resurgence from its era of independence to contemporary times, Brooklyn Museum’s Africa Fashion exhibition stands as a testament to the continent’s enduring creativity and stylistic influence on a global scale. Running from June to October 2023, this premiere showcase, unparalleled in scope, brought together an eclectic mix of over 180 artefacts – including couture, photographs, and an array of multimedia displays – to narrate a story of innovation and tradition, weaving together the diverse threads of African and diaspora experiences to reflect on fashion’s integral role in societal transformations. Meanwhile, maintaining and contributing to the ongoing dialogue between past and present design sensibilities.
Courtesy of Director of Graphic Design and Brand Creative Adam O’Reilly and his team, the exhibition identity for Africa Fashion, which took over physical and creative spaces – from enormous flag signage to tactile digital films – opted for a typographic approach that mirrored the show’s confidence, consideration and vitality. With a robust sans and sans serif combination of ABC Diatype by Dinamo and Grilli Type’s GT Alpina for practical secondary text, O’Reilly leant into the dramatic versatility of NaN Holo Compressed from NaN as the headline typeface.
Unconventional in its take on neo-Grotesks, NaN Holo’s contrasting rectangular and rounded details, warm character and rigorous structure made for a hero font that embodied the uncompromising and avant-garde nature of the exhibition, offering something that feels both familiar and remarkably original. This choice of typeface mirrored the exhibition’s thematic exploration of blending tradition with modernity, reflecting the dynamic interplay of historical legacies and contemporary innovations within African fashion. Through such meticulous attention to typographic detail, the exhibition’s visual language itself became a narrative tool, encapsulating the essence of African fashion’s transformative journey.
