A picture is worth a thousand words but a picture in the iconic Kaunda suit that is a darling wear of African leaders is probably worth more. The unique suit incorporates the rich African history in it and presents both political and cultural connotations.
The suit is an African-fashion masterpiece that can be worn on official occasions and also during casual events. Since his election in August 2022, Kenyan President William Ruto has breathed fresh life into this traditional African wear that remains iconic in the continent’s fashion history.
The Kenyan president has adopted the fashion and appears in most of his public events donning a Kaunda suit. Only the color changes but the legendary design remains.
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What is a Kaunda suit?
This is not your ordinary suit. Kaunda suit is the sleek dress that has given several African leaders a presidential killer look over the years. It is the single-breast, two-button, double back-slit, slim-fit type type of suit. In the African Lifestyle, it was known as a Safari suit before the name changed to Kaunda suit.
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Why is it called a Kaunda suit?
Zambian first president Kenneth Kaunda dons a Kaunda suit. The suit got its street name Kaunda suit from the former leader/Courtesy
The fashionable suit has a deep history in the African continent and was a sign of power, opulence, and an alpha leader. A simple search on the internet for former Zambian Kaunda is enough to give you hints about where the name of the suit came from.
The former president made the suit famous because it was a legendary wear that was always in his wardrobe and gave him the Pan-African look. In other parts of the globe, it is referred to as a Safari suit but in Africa, the former president caused ripples in global politics.
He promoted African nationalism on the political front. However, in the fashion sense, his love for the Kaunda suit was a darling to many, with the continent giving the suit a street name; the Kaunda suit to celebrate his legendary contribution to fashion and Pan-Africanism.
According to The New Time, the late Kenneth Kaunda inspired African fashion through the suit.
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Why is the Kuanda suit trending?
Kenyan president William Ruto inspects a guard of honour while donning the iconic Kaunda suit
In the last few years, Kaunda fashion has been slowly disappearing from the African Lifestyle as people embrace modern fashions that are more sleek and stylish. A window of change is however sweeping through the continent after residents and leaders started embracing the modern Kaunda suit for both official and casual events.
In most weddings, the Kaunda suit has become a common theme as grooms paint their weddings in the African culture and revive the legendary Kaunda suit. In the 1990s one could dismiss you as old if you were seen donning a Kaunda suit which was deemed to be a reserve for the elderly and Statesmen.
Younger generations, loathed them as they shifted their focus to classy fashionable trends from the Western world. The trend is rapidly changing as the new generations begin to embrace them for their simplicity, cool, and comfortable design, given they were not accessorized by ties.
In the continent, however, Kenyan President William Ruto has breathed a new life into the Kaunda suit since he walked into office in August last year. The president who is attempting to revive the spirit of Pan-Africanism has made the Kaunda suit his primary fashion for a majority of his events.
Unlike the ones Kaunda used to don during his stint as the president of Zambia, Ruto’s style is more modern, more stylish, and with better materials that are eye-catching. And just like the former Zambian president, Ruto wears a Kaunda suit in almost all his official functions in Kenya and other parts of Africa.
The style adopted by the Kenyan president has inspired several other leaders from the continent who have also started wearing Kaunda suits, further breathing a new lease of life to the legendary wear that is darling to African leaders.