2020 has been a challenging year to say the least, but now that holiday season is finally here, it's officially time to celebrate. Celebrations are sure to look a little different this year. In the face of an ongoing global pandemic, huge family gatherings are certainly not recommended, and indulgent overseas vacations have been grounded until further notice. One thing that remains the same, however, is that a little gifting goes a long way to keep the spirits up at this time of the year. And who better to guide us along in this endeavour than some of the continent's top cultural influencers and tastemakers? In our effort to make snagging the perfect gift a little less stressful this year, we asked eleven arbiters of cool—from celebrated fashion designers and photographers, to curators and performers—with serious style credentials to tell us exactly which Industrie Africa gems they’ll be ‘adding to cart’ this Christmas. So whether you’re looking to treat yourself (and after a year like this one, you deserve it!), or spoil those closest to you, here’s a little help from a selection of the continent's top tastemakers to make your gift-selecting task a triumph.

Touria El Glaoui

Morocco

The founding director of the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, the Morocco-born-and-raised Touria El Glaoui (who is now based in London, one of the three cities in which 1-54 is hosted—the other two being New York and Marrakesh) has always had an affinity toward art. The daughter of the late Moroccan artist Hassan El Glaoui, with the smell of paint never too far off, she was surrounded by creativity from the youngest age. And though she’s admitted to not having inherited any of her father’s artistic talent, her deep-rooted connection to art and displeasure at the lack of international visibility for contemporary art from Africa and the diaspora, ultimately propelled her toward the art world and the work she does today. As far as her personal style, El Glaoui tends to lean toward uncomplicated basics. Classic silhouettes paired with understated jewelry pieces create a down-to-business aura that conveys authority and smarts, while the incorporation of expertly  cut closet staples (including blazers, coats and coveralls) reveals an inclination toward confident tailoring and classic comfort.

Lisa Folawiyo

Nigeria

The perfect brand ambassador for her own label, Nigerian designer Lisa Folawiyo’s style is the embodiment of the chic, culturally rich aesthetic for which her eponymous label has come to be known. Founded in 2005, the brand remains as popular as ever (celebrities including Lupita Nyong'o, Lucy Liu, Thandie Newton have been known to don her garments), Folawiyo’s innovative use of Ankara cloth and other traditional African fabrics shares the limelight with sharp, modern tailoring. Her personal style embraces these same qualities, demonstrating an inclination toward texture, vivid color blocking, and luxe accessories, and revealing a knack for unconventional garment pairing. Her own designs also feature heavily in her fashion rotation, with the celebrated creative often stepping out in the dynamic creations that have emerged from her own imagination. Fun, experimental, and unburdened by fickle trends, Folawiyo’s covetable style shirks the rules, prioritising fresh takes on banked-on basics.

Yasmin Furmie

South Africa

Yasmin Furmie defies categorization. A designer, mother, brand owner, former social worker and all-round creative, the Johannesburg-based style maven marches to the beat of her own drum, the enthusiastic energy and androgynous air of her personal style challenging convention. Alongside Cynthia Allie, she’s the co-founder of SiSi the Collection, a label through which the two close friends produce collections of white shirts in different styles, putting their own distinct spins on a contemporary classic. This creativity extends to Furmie’s own wardrobe, through which a sense of self assuredness and adventure permeates. A cursory scroll through her Instagram feed reveals that there’s nothing she won’t try style-wise, appearing as at-home in feminine, tiered fabrics and oversized accessories as she does in an ultra cool T-shirt, checkered pants, and sneaker combo. She plays with proportions and layering to whimsical effect, consistently displaying the kind of forward-thinking fashion flair that saw her win the Most Innovative Style Award at this year’s SA Style Awards. And though her fashion sense is certainly experimental, there’s no doubt that, when it comes to putting together an outfit, Furmie knows exactly what she’s doing.

Sofia Guellaty

Tunisia

Born and raised in Tunisia, Sofia Guellaty—founder and editor-in-chief of Mille World—carries herself with the confidence of a woman sure of herself and of her style. Christened the reigning fashion queen of the Middle East by some, Guellaty is both an aspirational and relatable style icon for the modern woman, one whose distinct aesthetic is wholly her own. A champion of Arabian culture, lifestyle, and fashion, she’s often seen in chic basics, albeit with her own unique spin: clashing patterns liven up an otherwise simple jumper, boot and midi skirt combination, while the incorporation of traditional Tunsian garb gives life to an otherwise neutral Fashion Week ensemble. But for Guellaty, fashion—and consequently, her own style—is more than just frivolous fun. It’s also the lens through which she seeks to explore both her own identity and that of the Arab world, using her platform Mille World and her own personal dress code to encourage Arab creatives (particularly fashion designers) to take control of their own narratives.

Selly Raby Kane 

Senegal

A key figure within Senegal’s cultural and creative spheres, fashion designer and artist Selly Raby Kane is a true original. Through her eponymous label, the Dakar-based creator delivers an experimental confluence of art and fashion, expressing her own personal truth through the creation of collections that speaks to a deep reverence for the city that she calls home. Bold prints, woven embellishment, and strong colors all come out to play, with striking appliqué work and rebellious silhouettes providing touches of whimsy to her garment. According to Kane, the energy, history, and culture of Dakar inspire everything she creates, an assertion that blooms from many of her projects. Her 2017 Virtual Reality short film The Other Dakar served as a tribute to Senegalese mythology and other stories that make up the cultural fabric of the city, while the work she created for IKEA (in 2019, she was selected as one of the first of ten creatives from the continent to design for the Swedish homeware giant) was an ode to the rituals of hair braiding that form part of her heritage and culture. Kane’s personal style, unsurprisingly, is fearless and eclectic. Uninhibited by any adherence to trends, her fashion choices lean toward the avant-garde and fantastical, a thread of humor and lightness running through every one.

Fisayo Longe

Nigeria

A quintessential millennial fashion star, British-Nigerian blogger-turned-designer Fisayo Longe’s Instagram is an online distillation of her effortlessly cool personal style, and it was through utilizing the reach that comes with social media platforms like it that she translated her fun, color-drenched dress sense into a flourishing ready-to-wear label called Kai Collective. Boasting an ethos that celebrates the female form in all its diversity, and the same kind of unabashed vibrance that dominates Longe’s own personal style, the label’s girly frocks, flattering fits, and vivid colors garnered a place in the pages of Elle magazine’s September 2020 issue, where it was worn by model Adwoa Aboah. But it was the brand’s 2020 drop of a piece called the Gaia Dress that all but broke the internet. A sheer, figure-hugging creation with brilliant shades swirling upon it in a hypnotic, marble-like pattern, it’s been seen on the likes of rapper Saweetie and singer Tiwa Savage, and has even spawned the hashtag #GaiaTakeOver, leaving its designer with something of an anomaly: a brand that hit it big during a pandemic.

Meryanne Loum-Martin

Morocco

A paragon of good taste, Meryanne Loum-Martin—a Parisian of Senegalese and West Indian descent—is the woman behind the creation (from the ground up) of one of Marrakech’s finest showcases of architectural magic and opulent decor: Jnane Tamsna, a boutique hotel situated in the Red City’s Palmeraie. Having relocated from Paris to Morocco in 1985, she and her husband set about creating a holistic hospitality experience that, through every aspect of its physical form, connected the visitor to an authentic cultural experience of the country. Loum-Martin’s singular eye for interior design and architecture, as well as her ethnobotanist husband’s passion for indigenous vegetation, has resulted in a boutique space that sits upon 9-acres of rich and diverse greenery (much of the food served at the hotel is grown in the garden); the dreamy space is a fusion of rich, earthy shades and boast a carefully curated design aesthetic inspired by various cultures—including those of Turkey, North India, and West Africa—that speaks to the nomadic spirit. The only black hotelier in the city, Loum-Martin’s recently released book, Inside Marrakesh, published by Rizzoli, offers a peek into the carefully curated world of her hotel, as well as a glimpse of the other sites and interiors that have cemented Marrakesh as a design destination. Her own style choices often feel as if they’re a reflection of the aesthetic of her hotels: baubles of varying shapes and sizes sit side by side, practical and breathable fabrics dominate, and joyful, optimistic shades shine brightly. Like the objects that fill her hotel, Loum-Martin turns to statement pieces that tell a story, and timeless garments that never go out of style.

Flaviana Matata

Tanzania

Tanzanian model Flaviana Matata has enjoyed an illustrious career walking the runways for major brands and designers such as Jason Wu and Vivienne Westwood. And though you may have spotted her on the pages of Vogue embodying couture gowns and high fashion looks. Matata’s off-duty style is definitely more casual, with the former beauty queen appearing to prioritise comfort above all else. With her tall, lean frame, she pulls off classic tailoring and clean lines with aplomb, and despite the relaxed air of her everyday style arsenal, there’s an unmistakable sophistication to her looks, perhaps it's due to her charisma and grace that’s served her as a model, or perhaps its inherent refinement that’s emphasised by her style choices. Whatever the case, there’s an aura of poise she lends even to a simple sneaker and mini-dress, or jeans and button-down combo, her partiality to simplicity, versatility and authenticity conveying a self-assured attitude toward everyday dressing.

Nana Mensah

Ghana

An established screen and stage actor (her performance in a 2017 production of Man From Nebraska earned her a nomination for a Lucille Lortel Award, which honors Off-Broadway excellence), director, and writer, the Ghanaian-American Nana Mensah’s personal style embraces the archetypal New York “cool girl” aesthetic, her easy-going, practical city uniform one that’s a balance between sensible and playful. Never one to shy away from bright colors or mesmerising prints, the relentlessly ambitious performer—whom you may have spotted in the film The King of Staten Island or Netflix’s hit show 13 Reasons Why—pulls off both statement making garments and accessories, as well as casual basics with equal ease, demonstrating an affinity for both drama, and practical versatility. A fan of pairing vintage designer items with African-inspired modern pieces (Christie Brown and Osei Duro are a couple of her favorite designers from the continent), the actor once revealed that her style tendency is to outwardly contradict with how she feels inside, telling platform M.M.LaFleur’s editorial platform The M Dash in 2015 that it’s when she’s feeling a little bit insecure that her dress sense tends to be more put together.

Thandiwe Muriu

Kenya

One of Kenya’s most accomplished young fashion photographers (she was recently shortlisted as one of the 10 emerging photographers by Photo London), Thandiwe Muriu uses her work to both celebrate and challenge global and local perceptions of Africa. Through her use of bright, primary colors, unusual perspectives and the incorporation of household items and other found objects, she communicates visual stories rich in cultural significance, her distinct aesthetic providing a dynamic backdrop for designer garments. Muriu began taking pictures at just 14 years old; the budding image maker would race home after school, pick up her camera and begin capturing whatever she saw. And though she began her professional career in marketing after graduation, the art of photography kept calling her back until eventually, she couldn't keep telling it ‘no’. Today, much of her work is an unapologetic, visual celebration of blackness, the striking prints and styling of her imagery having become her signature. As for her personal everyday style, it’s a toned down exercise in minimalism that’s practical enough for her to get the job done, while her space to experiment with colors, patterns, and form lies in photography.