The Nthambi street dance group in Malawi, who don a unique style dressed in elderly people’s clothing They have grey hair, wear thick rimmed glasses, carry walking sticks and swing winnowing baskets.
“After reading the stories from colonial times and speaking to some elders, we realised the fashion of the past,” he said. Group member Blessings Malikebu, 21, leads a performance in a Beretta hat, necktie and briefcase, displaying a rare sort of confidence away from the shy soft-spoken person just a few minutes before the acts.
African culture including Malawi’s has been influenced by Western culture between the 60s and 90s, when Europeans, including the British, highly influenced fashion. Fortune Mlenga, 19, one of the two ladies in the group, said the journey to join Nthambi was not easy.