The Shweshwe Story @ the Slave Lodge

I will probably not be making it to see this year's costume exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum's Costume Institute, a must-do on my annual social calendar back in Ol' New York, but I did make it to a costume exhibit of sorts recently in Cape Town.

And if you find yourself in Cape Town before the end of the year, you should check out the shweshwe costume exhibit too at the Iziko Museum's Slave Lodge where the diverse uses of this cloth, from the apron of the Xhosa makoti to high fashion clothing, will be on display .

By means of costumes, accessories and contextual images, this exhibition traces the origins of shweshwe cloth from its roots as a trade item in Asia and Europe, to its establishment as a much-loved southern African material icon.  Many of the items on display were collected by Dr Juliette Leeb-du Toit over many years, and generously donated to Iziko in 2012.

It was fascinating and it gave me some great inspiration for ways to use my recently purchased shweshwe fabric from the Fashion District in Joburg.