Despite its influence on Western designers, African fashion is still struggling to make itself known. With the ambitious pursuit of reinventing urban fashion, many young African designers are breaking away from the expectations imposed on them to infuse ethnic and folkoric themes into their work, without ignoring rich textiles and fashion heritage. Bringing together archival images, illustrations, and photo-graphs, this book paints a lively picture of this constantly evolving world, looking at designers and labels from Alphadi to Xule Bet, from Oumou Sy to Juliette Ombang, Mickael Kra, and others. 60 photos, 80pp, FRANCE. ASSOULINE.

The highly distinctive styles created by black men and women of the African diaspora have been moulded by politics, cultural exchange and the desire of different social groups to forge a distinct identity. The author analyses the diverse approaches to style in clothing, textiles, hair and accessories of black people in west Africa, Jamaica, the USA and the UK. Index, 128pp, UK. V & A PUBLICATIONS.

A large format photographic exploration of a timeless art form. The longest chapter is given to Africa, with sections on Berber tatoos, Wodabe bridegroom parades, the Ethiopian Karo, the Nuba, the Masai, the Xhosa and Fingo, Yoruba and general subjects. Over 400 illustrations, mostly in colour, and four maps. Bib, index, 249pp, UK. THAMES & HUDSON.

An exploration of the political meaning of clothing in Africa and its diaspora. Topics include the relationship of clothing to the construction of a cosmopolitan Zanzibari identity, the reflection of a nation in the dress of Somali women in Minnesota, dress and politics in Nigeria, the globalisation of an African textile and nationhood and clothing in Nkrumah's Ghana. Index, notes, b/w illus, vi, 247pp, UK. INDIANA UNIVERSITY PRESS.

The globalisation debate is given a new perspective in this analysis of the circulation of African textiles and fashion in Kenya, Senegal and Los Angeles. Explores the tensions between the global markets and local artisanal skills and looks at how textiles can reflect postcolonial identities. Index, gloss, bib, notes, xii, 212pp, UK. BERG.

Published to accompany an exhibition at the Museum for African Art, New York. The enormous significance of hair in African art and life through the centuries is explored through photographs, masks and figures, combs, hairpins, beads, head-rests, and painted barber shop signs. Hairstyles among the diaspora, especially the African-American community, are explored, and cross-cultural influences traced. Field photographs show the use of hairstyles depicted in traditional art-works. Techniques of styling and adornment in the creation of contemporary coif-fures are also examined. Well illustrated with b/w and colour photographs. Bib, 192pp, USA. PRESTEL.

A wealth of previously unpublished photographs documenting black British subcultures, emphasising how they influenced fashion, music and culture in the UK. Includes contributions from June Sappong and Trevor Nelson. 192pp, UK. THAMES & HUDSON.

Using over two hundred coloured photographs and descriptions, the author presents a variety of belts and cache sexe from across Asia, Africa, Oceania, and America, describing how they fulfil particular symbolic functions within their societies. Leurquin also presents the pieces as beautiful objects that transcend their useful purpose. Index, gloss, maps, 318pp, ITALY. SKIRA.

Head ornaments provide the theme for the last volume in this series of books on the remarkable Ghysels collection of ethnic jewellery. The most precious part of the body, the head, attracts the gaze of all. At times deformed, scarred, tattooed, crowned, plumed or pierced, over time it became the main setting for the body-spectacle it had to protect. Most peoples accord particular care to hair, the site of a vital force. Long, plaited or raised into a chignon, hair is also adorned with various accessories. Lavishly illustrated, the Africa section runs to almost sixty pages. Bib, index, maps, 305pp, ITALY. SKIRA .