In the mid-1970s, Brigitte Bardot, star of 1960s and 1970s cinema, took part in a photo shoot in St Tropez, in France, posing with her then husband, the photographer and playboy Gunter Sachs (1932-2011). For the shoot she wore a dress made from the “Alaa Kumbe” kanga. In one hand she is holding a cheetah on a leash. These are among the earliest photographs showing the use of khanga fabric in an international fashion. The pictures were taken in 1975, following Bardot’s retirement from acting the previous year. She was then at the start of her career as an animal rights activist, work she continues today. The meaning of the Kiswahili phrase “Alaa Kumbe” is “Oh, I see!”, indicating that the speaker – or the wearer of the khanga – has just realized that things are not as they had imagined.