This TED Talk features designer and creative director Wale Oyejide, recorded live at TED Global 2017.

It is often said that the stories of history are written by its victors.

But this is true what becomes of the downtrodden.

How can they ever hope to aspire for something greater if they are never told the stories of their own glorious pasts?

Ostensibly, I stand before you as a mere maker of clothing,

but within the folds of ancient fabrics and modern textiles,

I have found a higher calling.

Through my work as a designer, I've discovered the importance of providing representation

for the marginalized members of our society,

and the importance of telling the most vulnerable among us

that they no longer have to compromise themselves,

just so they can fit in with an uncompromising majority.

It turns out that fashion, the discipline many of us consider to be trivial,

can actually be a powerful tool for dismantling bias and bolstering the self-images of underrepresented

populations. My interest in using design as a vehicle for social change happens to be a personal

one. As a Nigerian or American,

I know how easily the term African can slip from being an ordinary geographic descriptor to becoming a pejorative.

For those of us from this beautiful continent,

to be African is to be inspired by culture

and to be filled with undying hope for the future.

So, in an attempt to shift the misguided perceptions that many have

about the place of my birth,

...