• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.104-116
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• 2004

Kanga is a type of cotton clothes with splendid patterns that East African women throw on their bodies. It first appeared in the East African shores in the mid-nineteenth century. A new style of squared handkerchiefs brought to Africa by Portuguese merchants for the first time was referred as to leso of which early designs were in a basic form of white dots on dark background. Consumers called such material by kanga as they began mentioning its craftiness and comparing its elegant nature to a sociable red rooster and graceful feathers. From the early 1990s, Swahili characters have been embroidered in designs of kanga, mainly consisted of proverbs. Kenya's kanga products are widely known and well represented whereas Tanzania makes the best use of it for political and social events. Fascinating and practical kanga has established its position as an essential part of East African cultures that is being well received as a fashion style there in these days.

• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.42-52
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• 2022

The goal of this study is to analyze the value of Kanga as an ethos of the Swahili culture. The theoretical background of the research method was the analysis of the domestic and foreign literature, journals, and research data from various internet sites related to the subject, and the conclusion was drawn based on these studies. With the spread Pan-Africanism, the interest in African ethos has become a source of inspiration for contemporary fashion. Moreover, as a symbol of Swahili culture in East Africa, Kanga has been developed by embracing its own diverse cultures, The unique feature of Kanga is that it can easily be transformed created ceaselessly and creatively. Consequently, the following results were obtained based on the theoretical content. Firstly, as a representative of Women's Voice, Kanga serves as an outlet for the voices of women coming from a poor social status under the political background in East Africa. Secondly, as a Reliable Advocate, Kanga performs the positive functions as a medium of communication through its traditional usage and distinctive arrangement of clothes. Thirdly, as a Versatile Messenger, the uniqueness of Kanga with the external elements in most interestingly and active mannerly, and it has become the value of communication channel which clearly inspired the fashion designers. I believe that it will be interesting and meaningful to study the strategies on the social role of Kanga in the future which has started receiving more attention in the 21st century. And it can be said that Kanga's unique identity lies in the attraction and value which influences contemporary fashion.