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.

African fashion is as diverse and dynamic as the continent and the people who live there. While experts have long recognized the importance of clothing as a marker of ethnic identity, life stages, political affiliation, and social class, they have only just begun to discover African fashion. This book puts Africa at the intersection of world cultures and globalized identities, displaying the powerful creative force and impact of newly emerging styles. Col photos, 248pp, USA. INDIANA UNIVERSITY PRESS.

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.

Colour photographs of the sartorial cult of the Congolese Sapeur. Each one has his own repertoire of gestures that distinguishes him from the others. They are also after their own great dream: to travel to Paris and to return to Bacongo as lords of elegance. Preface by Paul Smith. 224pp, UK. TROLLEY.

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.

New in paperback. Over the course of numerous voyages to the Omo Valley, Hans Silvester became fascinated by the beauty of the Surma, Mursi, Hamer and Kurma peoples, who share a taste for body painting and extravagant decorations borrowed from nature. For these people, flesh becomes a raw material on which wonderfully inventive decorative fantasies can be played out. Hans Silvester's photographs capture these accoutrements to form a parade of African fashion that is as rich as it is ephemeral. 160 col photos, 168pp, UK. THAMES & HUDSON.

Ever since the late 1960s when Yves Saint Laurent and Paco Rabanne presented African-inspired collections, the textiles, details, and colours of Africa have moved into the realm of high fashion. In the past few years, young designers from the continent itself have emerged as people to watch in the fashion world. Helen Jennings, editor of award-winning ARISE magazine, offers in this book a brief history of African fashion, beauty and style, follows its influence on modern designers, and spotlights the best designers, photographers, and models from across the continent and the African diaspora. Profiling popular lines such as Duro Olowu, Jewel by Lisa, Black Coffee, and Eric Raisina, Jennings explores the myriad reasons why African fashion is having its moment in the sun. She shows how designers are looking beyond cliches of the African aesthetic by embracing both traditional and contemporary fabrics and garments, and how the passion for ethically and environmentally conscious clothing is fueling this trend. 256pp, UK. 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 .