ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to map the actors, timelines, precise garment types, supply chains, grand scale and motivations of Madagascar’s early dress reforms under the reigns of Radama and his successor, Queen Ranavalona. Many rulers in the Global South were observed to don suit coats and hats of European origin. Radama was precocious and unusual in also requiring tailored clothing for thousands in his service, possibly over 10,000 people by 1828. Nevertheless, a fixation on Radama’s military uniforms has masked the large and varied nature of his wardrobe and his hybrid assemblages. Many dress studies link the global adoption of Western dress forms to increased garment flows from Europe, while Madagascar historiography tends to accord agency to British agents, missionaries and/or their wives. Finally, from Description Ranavalona I’s reign comes the first evidence of imported second-hand clothing, especially hats and military outfits.
