At the forefront of African fashion
DAKAR, Senegal — When it launched 15 years ago, Dakar Fashion Week had a handful of aspiring local designers and models gathering in often rundown hotels. Now dozens of designers from around the world present their creations to thumping DJ mixes as drone cameras hover above the runway shows broadcast live on national television.
Among the guests at the recent event was Jenke Ahmed Tailly, an Ivorian and Senegalese stylist who has worked as Beyoncé’s creative director and now advises Kanye West and Kim Kardashian. Africa’s fashion scene has grown steadily over the past two decades, with sub-Saharan Africa’s apparel and footwear market now worth $31 billion, according to data by Euromonitor. Michelle Obama and Beyoncé have worn labels such as Nigeria’s Maki Oh.
Johannesburg, Lagos, Nairobi and Casablanca are at the forefront of African fashion but Dakar is an equally creative hub, with much of its energy driven by Adama Ndiaye, the 39-year-old organizer of Dakar Fashion Week. “When I started it was a young girl’s dream to build something in my country,” she said.
Industry challenges include managing clothing production costs, quality control, distribution logistics and reaching large markets. Such concerns, however, were an afterthought as stylish crowds gathered for the fashion spectacle that ran June 27-July 2.
One evening, a street show was held for free in a low-income neighbourhood to allow other Dakar residents to sample the glamour and hype. Amid the excitement was a strain of concern. After attacks on hotels by al-Qaida-linked militants elsewhere in West Africa, security was tight at the various fashion events.
And organizer Ndiaye was compelled to address the issue of Africans migrating to Europe after one of her friends and collaborators was among 180 people who drowned when a boat sank off the coast of Libya earlier this year.