“UNGERMAN” – Structural Racism and Representation in the German Fashion Scene
Status Quo:
Five years after the global protests under the banner of Black Lives Matter (2020) and within the framework of the UN Decade for People of African Descent, we ask: What has truly changed – in the fashion industry, in power dynamics, and in economic emancipation of Black creatives? On Wednesday, July 2nd at 11 AM (CEST), we will come digitally together for Fashion Africa Now’s third press conference with leading women from the creative industry and business consultant to reflect on the progress made since. In Germany, racialized groups – particularly Black people, Roma, and Muslims – continue to be structurally marked as “UNGERMAN” . A term unpacked by author Fatima El-Tayeb in her book Undeutsch, where she reveals how national identity in Germany is constructed through racial exclusion and whiteness as the unspoken norm.
Nowhere is this more apparent than in the German fashion scene: Power structures remain largely intact. Visibility is selectively granted. And “African Fashion” is being celebrated – yet often without the very people who have shaped, built, and embodied it for decades.
Recognize Potential – African Fashion is not a trend. – Beatrace Oola
It is resistance, memory, identity, culture, a billion dollar market and a vision for the future. The question is not whether it is being celebrated, but: Who has the right to define and profit from it?
Five years after Black Lives Matter – what has really changed? – Kemi Fatoba
It’s no longer enough to post statements of solidarity or to showcase token diversity, while the old systems of exclusion remain untouched. It is time to dismantle these structures – not later, but now.
Structural Exclusion? Let us build Solidarity Economies – Meriem Lebdiri
In a system that often marginalizes, extracts, and erases, Muslim creatives of African origin, we are building our own economies — rooted in solidarity, care, and visionary thinking. Whether through initiatives like the Women’s Business Iftar, Fashion Africa Now, DADDY or other community-led platforms, we are witnessing the emergence of counter-publics that center self-determination.
Why now? Because intersectional thinking is not a theoretical luxury, but an urgent political necessity – one that determines access, visibility, and justice. Because a society that claims to be democratic can no longer look away while systemic exclusion is normalized. – Boitumelo Pooe
Our Demands: Toward a Just and Equitable Fashion Future
We advocate the establishment of an independent Fashion Advisory Board—a body of seasoned experts of African descent who have long been part of Germany’s fashion ecosystem, who have built its foundations, and who possess the structural vision to drive meaningful change. Operating through sustained dialogue across political, economic, and social spheres, this board would provide the strategic guidance and accountability needed to transform the industry from within.
A Dedicated Structural Investment of at Least €5 Million to support Black and African creatives – particularly in the areas of education, research, capacity building, training & production, infrastructure, market access, and economic participation.
About Speakers:
Kemi Fatoba is a writer & creative consultant. She is the founder of DADDY, a Berlin-based culture magazine and consultancy with a focus on diversifying the media landscape. Her newly launched platform South-North Conversations examines the impact of fast fashion and waste colonialism, in sustainability journalism.
Meriem Lebdiri is an award-winning German-Algerian fashion designer, entrepreneur, and advocate for women’s rights. She pioneered Modest Fashion in Germany and founded her luxury label MERIEM LEBDIRI to build bridges between cultures.
Beatrace Oola is a German-Ugandan creative consultant & entrepreneur. Visionary, founder of Fashion Africa Now—an award-winning multimedia brand and international network—and CEO of APYA, a purpose-driven agency for high-end fashion partnerships anchored in Africa and its diaspora. Her work is both cross-disciplinary and transnational
Boitumelo Pooe is a fashion business consultant, researcher and academic, currently awaiting the conferral of her PhD in Fashion Marketing and Retail Management, focused of support structures for fashion design entrepreneurs in South Africa and Germany.
Jacqueline Shaw is a writer, consultant & Market Researcher for African Apparel. She is the founder of Africa Fashion Guide and Fashion Africa Trade Expo, a leading platform for market research and business insights.
Moderator Marcellous Jones is a fashion critic & consultant. He created, produced, & hosted Men’s Fashion Insider, the world’s 1st TV show on global menswear.
Join us. Share widely. Reimagine fashion. This press conference is an invitation to media representatives, policymakers, fashion stakeholders, and allies to move beyond symbolic diversity and confront the power structures that decide who is seen—and who is not. Together we will map the next steps toward a fashion future grounded in justice, mutual recognition, and imagination. It’s time for meaningful dialogues!
REGISTER HERE
Press Contact for inquiries & interviews:
E: press@fashionafricanow.com
Foto Credit: Foto Credit: Chimenem-Leo
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