Personal Style as Protest in Nigeria’s Alté Movement
Since 2014, a youth subculture—the alté movement—has been dedicated to breaking societal conventions in order to challenge many of Nigeria’s conservative beliefs. Now, the movement’s protesting in the form of fashion. Daring make-up, bold hair styles and colors, flesh-revealing apparel, fur, feminist slogans and “nail polish on the fingers of boys and those who identify as male” are all on the list of the gender- and genre-defying style of protest aesthetic. Essentially, if it speaks to an individual sense of expression in place of convention, it’s alté fashion. This defiant style is an extension of the movement’s celebration of freedom to be and look different—especially as doing so often results in criminal profiling, police brutality or being socially restricted. Despite institutional backlash, more young people across the country are empowering one another to dress for their themselves. Learn more about this liberating fashion revolution at Dazed Digital.
Image courtesy of @dunsinwright/Dazed Digital
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