Step into the Virtual Museum of Namibian Fashion

With Namibia’s clothing heritage being as historically rich as it is, it is a sad fact that not much of it is documented at our heritage sites or any other public galleries across the country.

To help change that, the Museums Association of Namibia (MAN), in collaboration with industry partners, recently unveiled the first ever virtual museum of fashion. The aim is to reactivate knowledge about our rich cultural heritage and how it is celebrated through clothing and accessories, as well as to document our immaterial cultural heritage and provide a source of inspiration for artists and designers alike.

Situated online at namibianfashion.com, the museum immortalises Namibia’s rich heritage with a showcase of prehistoric clothing and accessories right through to contemporary designs by various Namibian designers.

Couture by Kim is another featured fashion brand. Their Safari Line is a fusion of the traditional Aawambo odelela print with the fabric and colour elements of safari gear.

A walk through history

As soon as you enter the homepage, you are greeted by a brief history of Namibian fashion. This includes short writeups, video testimonies and visuals depicting the garments, accessories and body adornment of our people from yesteryear. All this can be found in the first few galleries which are host to images of artifacts and write-ups on beads and shells, hair and headdresses, leather and animal skin processing, metal accessories, plants, bones and rocks, tattoos and body scarification as well as textiles.

A short scroll down, you will be met with two additional galleries depicting Namibia’s fashion future, and how traditional garments continue to shape the identity of Namibians today. For anyone who is not from Namibia and would like to see what exactly our traditional garments look like today, the first gallery, aptly called the “People’s Gallery” is a must-see. Here, Namibians proudly show off their cultural heritage dressed in the finest outfits which represent their roots. The second gallery showcases collections of Namibian fashion designers whose work celebrate their cultural heritage while remaining relevant to current trends. Here you will find the likes of Couture by Kim, a local brand that fuses the popular print and colour palette of the Aawambo people’s traditional odelela print with the fabric and colour typical of safari gear.

As a final offering on the museum’s site, visitors are treated to blog posts featuring Namibian fashion news and designer collection profiles.

One of the best features about the Virtual Museum of Namibian Fashion is the user feedback option which allows visitors to submit their personal stories about any of the posts directly on Facebook or the MAN WhatsApp line. Visitors can also rate the content and subscribe to receive the latest news directly to their email.

What the experts say

For Maria Caley, a fashion designer, educator and contributor to the virtual museum, the museum is a tool for education, intervention, research, documentation and representation of 14our vibrant cultures. “It engages the past, the present and continuously builds into the future,” she says.

Maria contributed to the museum as part of the fashion council that was involved in the process of building the site since 2019. She served as chairperson on the Museum of Namibian Fashion Working Committee alongside Kavenauarue Tjiworo, a documentalist based at the National Museum of Namibia, as well as Kevanhu Alfred Muifi, the curator of the Museum of Namibian Fashion.

Speaking on the vision for the virtual museum, Ndapewoshali Ndahafa Ashipala from MAN noted: “MAN had two primary requirements for the website. The first was that it should be user-friendly and easy for the curator of the Museum of Namibian Fashion to update on a regular basis with new content. The second was that the site should be interactive so that visitors can post comments on specific images.”

The creation of the virtual museum was also made possible through collaborations between MAN and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Gerda Henkel Foundation, the Ethnological Museum (EM) of Berlin, the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture, the University of Namibia (UNAM) as well as the National Museum of Namibia (NMN).

To contribute any item, photograph or information to be featured as part of the Museum of Namibian Fashion collection, contact MAN on info@museums.com.na or by calling +264 61 302 230.

Rukee Kaakunga is a Windhoek-based Communications Specialist, Blogger and Freelance Fashion Writer. Contact her via email: rukeekaakunga@gmail.com and follow her on Twitter @rukeeveni and on Instagram @rukeekaakunga.