Written by Mercy Williams
Tell me! What’s typically your go-to favourite fashion piece? And if you’re even remotely familiar with the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards, what was your favourite look from this year’s edition?
The AMVCA 2025 event, held in May, completely had the internet in a chokehold for days. My Twitter timeline was a non-stop stream of hot takes and endless threads: from swooning over the most jaw-dropping red-carpet looks to celebrating the year’s standout films. But it wasn’t all applause. Some people felt certain talents and projects were unfairly sidelined, and the fashion police were out in full force, dissecting every outfit they believed didn’t quite make the cut.
However, in the midst of all the fanfare that comes with such a vibrant event, I couldn’t help but notice something. While the majority of women were dressed in the most dazzling ensembles, most (perhaps unintentionally) had chosen outfits that fell neatly into the “slim-thick” hourglass silhouette. Now, while there’s nothing wrong with this, it felt like a quiet betrayal of the incredible diversity of bodies we own as women. It reminded me that, much like generations before us, we may still be bowing to the idea that beauty can only have one definition at a time. And honestly, my observation felt like a small glimpse into a much bigger problem: that more and more women seem to be shaping themselves, or dressing themselves, to fit just one body ideal they’ve been told is the only kind worth celebrating.
But the need to fit into trends isn’t new, and it certainly isn’t uniquely African. It’s a global human story. If we peel it back and look through a more primal lens, it’s a basic survival instinct found in most animals. Belonging to a species of social creatures means you must do what makes you easily identifiable and acceptable to the pack. Rejection isn’t some trivial sentiment you can shrug off. In the wild, it often means vulnerability to predators. And even for us, as so-called “higher animals”, being cast out by our communities carries its own set of unpleasant consequences.
Still, to define the act of owning one’s uniqueness solely as a kind of defiance that risks rejection is to oversimplify the human experience and to diminish just how far we’ve evolved together. As humans, standing out shouldn’t always be framed as an act of courage. We already arrive in this world in every imaginable size, shape, complexion, race, and height and with quirks which are entirely our own. If anything, choosing to honour that uniqueness should be the bare minimum: a quiet ode to self, a way of saying, ‘I am here, exactly as I am.’
This conversation takes me back to my early adolescence. Even though I’ve always been small in size, puberty came early and I began developing breasts when I was only eight. For someone as overly self-conscious as I was (and verrryyy averse to the kind of attention it brought), the most annoying part was how it left me with what I saw as a P-shaped, or Apple-like body: bigger in my torso, yet noticeably smaller from the hips downward. Almost like an inverted triangle. All I could think for those years was that I looked like a parachute, and I despised my body for presenting itself in a way that wasn’t considered the most popular and desirable figure.
Another perspective worth considering is how this reflects a lag in the African fashion industry, which still seems fixated on a narrow, generally accepted idea of what is considered trendy and couture. Too often, our runways and red carpets default to corseted silhouettes; a choice that’s become almost as convenient as it is creatively lazy.
Out of curiosity, I glanced through some of this year’s Met Gala looks and was met with a breathtaking spectrum of styles: from bold, palazzo-inspired two-piece sets to blazer playsuits, metallic gowns, and caped suits. It was a colourful, flamboyant, and elegant display, rich with detail, intentionality, diversity, and personality. Each look carried a unique point of view, reminding me that fashion, at its best, isn’t just about beauty: it’s about storytelling, identity, and the courage to be different.
When we circle back to the conversation at hand, what we’re really looking at is a dilemma; one that speaks to the unbearable monotony quietly eroding the intersection of culture and beauty within the African context. Zoom in, and you’ll see it: our sense of style has been compressed and squeezed into one narrow visual – a single story of what beauty should look like.
One way we can begin, both individually and collectively, to break free from this hourglass-shaped cliché is by accepting the simplest truth: we are not all shaped like hourglasses. And that is more than okay; it’s glorious. It’s the very thing that makes each of us extraordinary. The call now is to return to ourselves, to honour our bodies, and to curate textures, artistry, colours, silhouettes, and fashion statements that reflect who we are, not who the trend says we should be.
A few years ago, I was watching America’s Next Top Model when I discovered for the first time that the iconic, award-winning Naomi Campbell, who has played a major part in shaping contemporary beauty standards, shares the same inverted-triangle figure that I had once despised. It was a defining moment for me, as I realised that beauty is what you make of it, and life is all about perception. The only thing that made my supposedly apple-shaped body unattractive was my pre-notion that it was—not because it was a universally accepted fact.
So, the next time you’re picking or designing an outfit for yourself, pause and ask: Will this truly flatter me as the person I am? Or am I simply blending in with the crowd, another copy of the same body, dressed in a different font?
About the Writer:
Mercy Williams is a multi-passionate creative whose non-linear career blends storytelling, product design, and advocacy, with a gift for writing everything from scripts and poetry to essays and fiction. As the founder of Denlaa Creative, she nurtures a vibrant community of African storytellers, using her layered voice to immerse, disrupt, and leave a lasting impression. She is on the writing track for the 2025 Adventures Creators Programme.
