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Adama Amanda Ndiaye is best known as the founder of the fashion label Adama Paris.
Senegalese designer wants to reinvent the way African fashion is showcased
Fed up with the lack of black models on the catwalk, she founded Black Fashion Week.
Dakar, Senegal CNN —
Wearing a stylish red dress and a beaming smile, famed fashion designer Adama Paris sits comfortably in her spacious living room in Dakar, Senegal’s vibrant seaside capital, as we explore her inspirations. We are talking about.
“My design process always starts with myself,” Paris explains. “With what I want to wear. What’s in my closet. My style is multicultural, eclectic, a mix of my travels, bold, and rock,” she added. . “It’s Africa.”
In fact, for more than a decade, the Senegalese designer has been bringing African fashion to runways and clothing stores around the world, from New York and London to Paris and Tokyo.
But Paris isn’t just spreading her stylish vision around the world, she’s also drawing attention closer to home. Twelve years ago, she founded Dakar Fashion Week. Dakar Fashion Week is a popular event where designers from across West Africa and abroad showcase their colorful creations to fashion enthusiasts and an international audience. media.
“The fashion scene in Senegal is very bold,” Paris says. My real name is Adama Amanda Ndiayi. “I’ve watched it grow like a baby, and I’m so proud to be a part of this.”
black fashion week
Following Dakar Fashion Week’s initial success, Paris began receiving invitations to major designer shows in fashion capitals such as London and New York. However, while there, she quickly began to feel like an outsider.
“It was really frustrating,” she says. “When I looked around, there were very few black models, so I felt like I didn’t belong here.”
That frustration was behind Paris’ decision to launch Black Fashion Week in 2010 to promote talented black designers and models who felt ignored by the industry. The first Paris event was held in the Czech Republic, followed by Paris, Montreal, Geneva and Bahia.
“I thought it was right to try to do something to help my people and get more exposure,” she says. “It’s not saying they’re wrong, it’s saying, ‘Okay, we’re here,'” Parris added.
“It was also a statement [to] The fashion industry appealed, “Stop this discrimination, black is beautiful.” I’m tired of seeing all the skinny blonde girls on the runway instead of black women. ”
From the runway to the TV screen
The daughter of a diplomat, Paris spent much of her childhood traveling and absorbing other cultures, eventually settling in France to attend university. She first made a name for herself in the French capital, but decided to bring her fashion back to Senegal in 2001.
Now, with a growing brand and a thriving annual event, the fashion entrepreneur is venturing into her next venture: television.
With a two-year project underway, Paris has been keen to create new avenues to promote local fashion talent. Paris hopes to provide new opportunities for aspiring young models from the continent, starting with a reality show she describes as “America’s equivalent of Next Top Model.”
“We really wanted young girls, so we gave them to them.” [an] Opportunity to go outside Senegal and model in Africa – South Africa, Angola [and] Even in Europe. This will probably be a big deal as it will probably be the start of their careers. ”
Another of her goals is to introduce her audience to alternative fashion designers. Parris explains that although there are channels dedicated to fashion, they don’t show enough African inspiration, and when they do, they tend to focus on South African designers.
“We want people to see us in Nigeria, Ghana and Dakar. That was the purpose of this channel,” she says.
“I want people to know that we have great designers, and that’s what I’m trying to show – Africans wearing African clothes,” Paris added. . Fashion made in Africa by Africans. ”
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