Ethiopia’s Surma and Mursi tribes in the southwest Omo River valley region present a unique perspective on self-expression in the African style. As a result of their nomadic lifestyle, location near lush vegetation, and inventive nature, tribe members have taken body painting and adornment to a new level of creativity which has inspired the color palette for ethniciti collections.
Sophisticated color palette
Colors taken directly from nature, the various strata of rock in the vast Rift Valley geologic formation, yield subtle shades of ochre, red, pure white, off white, and light gray. Green is obtained from stone found in the riverbed. The canvas for this sophisticated mixture of colors is the flesh of the tribe members, a reddish, copper hue, lighter in shade and more reflective of light rays compared to the darker skin of the Ugandans, Kenyans, and Sudanese to the south and west.
Natural accessorization
Flora and fauna found near the river – grass, leaves, stems, flowers, roots, shells, nuts, wild fruit, papyrus, and gourds- are accessories to this creation of natural fashion.
Shapes and forms
The amazing and aesthetically brilliant juxtapositions of color, texture, shape, and form, are not pondered and studied. Spontaneity is key to the effects achieved with body painting done rapidly to preserve the natural colors. Pigments created using water and stone fragments dry within a minute’s time. The result is a creative work worthy of any modern artist or fashion designer, but with the natural freedom of childhood.
The design spirit of the Surma and Mursi exemplifies ethniciti’s philosophy of organized eclecticism, freedom of self-expression, and African-inspired design. We have organized items from our five collections – foundations, décor, bon appétit, boudoir, entre nous, into color groups based upon palettes inspired by the Omo River valley tribes. What do you think?



Photography by Hans Silvester in his book, Natural Fashion: Tribal Decoration from Africa.

There is a new breed of young, talented, and aggressive African designer in the market. Inspired by the Xhosa face cutting tradition, ceramic designer Andile Dyalvane cuts into tile in a decorative manner combining his technique of paint, bold shapes, and color.


As a good steward of the environment, I am always on the lookout for products that satisfy my fashion sense as well as being responsible to the land.






As designers we begin each assignment with a high expectations in creating an exciting and memorable living space for our clients. As we move through the discovery, then the creative phases, we begin to visualize the end game, what will it look like what will it feel like. What we do know is our clients expect a space that reflects who they are and how they want people to see them.
gathering that ties together the notion of African-inspired interior design with tangible expressions of styles and tastes.
As I’ve emphasized in the ethniciti blog, dramatic changes in demographics and lifestyles have created a heightened interest in African-influenced design. Manufacturers of home fashion goods must understand the need to develop collections inspired by regional artistic styles: East African, sub-Saharan, West African, etc. During my seminar presentations, I define African styles to help designers grasp the modern African-American consumer’s fundamental preferences.
before. As one of the country’s premier lifestyle retailers, they have mastered the concept of predetermined solutions: if we didn’t sell it to you last year we simply recycle the palette with perhaps some small modifications of style and present it again as new and trendy.
when do we move from room-in-a-box to a more open and eclectic approach that reflects a modern reality, in particular a response to the tastes of the modern African-American consumer?
licensing and manufacturing of home furnishings. From my point of view that will not change in the short term.
collaboration of professional designers formed to pool our energies and resources to create African-American home fashion collections that will be developed and licensed to mainstream manufactures and distributors. Our goal is to create new lines of home fashion developed, designed, and managed by African Americans.
We have been told time and time again that the retail landscape is dramatically over stored, some say by hundreds of thousands of stores. This fact is undeniable, but finding a source for African-inspired home furnishings on a reliable basis still remains a huge challenge.
Are there any retail outlets carrying high-quality, African-inspired home furnishings? I encourage you to make us all aware of the retail/gallery owners in your city who are grass-root movers in this struggle. We would like to recognize and support them where it counts… LET’S SHOP!
I am always fascinated by the migration of style from one segment to another. The notion that fashion is driven only by high-minded designers seems not to tell the whole story. While it is true that couturier design concepts at times seem over the top, they do signal to me a trend that creative types need to pay
attention to – African cultural inspirations.
essence of African culture – textiles thought about in a unique and creative way.
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