Ubuntu is back! After a yearslong hiatus, the African Caribbean Society’s charity fashion show will return on 29th March with the theme Imbewu, a word that means “seed” in several Bantu languages and aptly suggests rebirth, renewal, and growth. According to their Instagram, the show “will explore the connection between people, plants, and community through two guiding ideas: Ubuntu and ethnobotany.” I recently had the chance to speak with several members of the Ubuntu committee about their vision for the show and the ethos behind it.
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ID: Two models posing in front of the sea. Credit: Rina Anshina |
The southern African philosophy of Ubuntu can be paraphrased as “I am, because we are; and since we are, therefore I am.” Ubuntu recognises the interconnectedness of all human beings. To this idea, ethnobotany—the study of the relationship between people and plants—adds an explicitly environmentalist dimension. As Ubuntu’s Substack puts it, “Modern-day Black farmers, herbalists, textile artists and ecologists … understand that sustainability is not a trend, but ancestral.” In an African and Caribbean cultural context, ethnobotany reclaims the knowledge of how humans and plants traditionally interacted from knowledge systems imposed by colonisation. A plant is also a participant in a network of connected life. The show will therefore emphasise the kinship that humans and the natural world share, as well as the kinship of the present with the past that the history of ethnobotany highlights. “A major part of it is our connection to the Earth and to our ancestors,” Aliya Trovoada, the artistic director, told me. Another committee member added, “Although we do have the theme of environmentalism, we want to connect it to the name Ubuntu and what that means about community and culture and connection.”
This means that, alongside the use of designs and textiles that reflect nature, they hope to engage the audience in an experience of connectedness through immersion—scent, sound, lighting, and the incorporation of other art forms. Aliya emphasised that they don’t want audience members just staring at a runway: “We really value the relationship that the audience and the models are going to have.” The show is divided into three stages: Seed, Growth, and Bloom. These are intended to mirror both plant life cycles and “cycles of heritage and renewal in African and Caribbean history.” The committee member said, “I think connecting with other people can help you feel the cycle that you’re in. So that metaphor of seeds blooming, it’s not only about nature.” People grow and bloom together, too.
That philosophy has extended into the work surrounding the show. If you’re involved with the show in any way, as committee member, model, or contributing artist, “you’re part of Ubuntu … it’s all one community,” said Ufuoma Ehwerhemuepha, who is modeling and also responsible for community outreach. This latter role has involved reaching out not only to local groups, like the Fife Afro-Caribbean Network, but also to Black artists and creative collectives all over Scotland. “It’s been really interesting trying to get all parts of Scotland to come together and celebrate Ubuntu.” She continued, “We’re here to help Black arts and Black creators be seen. We’re not just about, ‘Hey, come to our show.’ We want to help you grow.” The committee member stressed the importance of involving the wider community, because “we rely on them in ways that are not so obvious all the time”—another tenet of Ubuntu. Focusing on pan-African communities both near and far, they are working with designers “from continental Africa but also a little bit everywhere” and have partnered this year with DataKirk, a programme that provides data literacy and analytics training to ethnic minorities in Scotland.
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Two models looking towards the sea. Credit: Rina Anshina. |
We also discussed how the intersection of queer and ethnic minority spaces is represented in Ubuntu. “I think a lot of people forget the role Black people had in queer history,” said Aliya, mentioning the ballroom scene in the United States. “We really focus on the intersectionality between Blackness and queerness because it is a part of our history and culture, and we’ve almost forgotten that.” The committee member pointed out that, “If you look at a lot of African languages, there’s no grammatical gender.” In many cases, rigid, Eurocentric notions of gender and sexuality were another thing imposed on Africans by colonisation. “What we’re finding when we look at Black creative spaces in Scotland and the UK generally is that a lot of the people creating things are queer Black people. It’s just important to have this space where queer Black people feel safe … and the platform to showcase our art and culture in a way that Christianity and colonialism and white supremacy do not infect it.”
“In St Andrews, whenever I’m like, ‘I’m working on this fashion show,’ people are like, ‘Oh, another one’ ,” Ufuoma said. But Ubuntu—like any show—has a unique outlook, style, and mission. “Look at Ubuntu as its own thing and not just another St Andrews fashion show, because no one is just another St Andrews fashion show.” What is its thing? The committee members talked about celebrating African and Caribbean arts and culture; sustainability; awareness one’s ancestors; and, ultimately, encouraging their audience to look both inward and outward: “I want people to be able to reflect on their role in their communities,” Aliya said. Ufuoma underlined that the goal of Ubuntu is not to exclude, but to connect. Ethnic minorities, queer people, people with less social access—all are welcome. “We can celebrate, we can dance, we can make music together.”
Tickets for Imbewu (Ubuntu 2026) are now available.
By Eliza (she/her)