The fabrics of Africa

It has been a week when African fabrics have featured.

South African Xhosa designer, Laduma Ngxokolo, has created his fashion lines based on traditional beadwork and, for men who have just undergone initiation, a fantastic line of "dignified formal clothing". Have a look at the collections here and here. Aren't they brilliant?

And just to show that the continent's fabrics are mainstream again, how about this window which is in the hippo enclosure at London Zoo. It is of different pieces of wax print cloth, pieced together to make a stained glass window. African fabrics are really everywhere!