by
AFP
issued
October 8, 2012
The Senegalese-born French fashion designer has realized a long-held ambition by hosting the first Black Fashion Week in Paris, which aims to bring African talent to a global audience.
Models wearing Adama Paris creations wait before the Black Fashion Week show in Paris on October 5th (AFP)
Adama Ndiaye launched the event to showcase the best the continent has to offer, but dismissed criticism that it excluded non-black people.
“Some people ask, ‘Why don’t we have a white fashion week?’ But Paris Fashion Week is already white!” She is behind the show label Adama Paris and has been working with Senegal’s Dakar Fashion Week for the past 10 years. said Ndiaye, who has been organizing the week.
“We simply wanted to promote beyond Africa’s borders designers who are famous in Africa and their own countries but don’t have access to global markets,” she says, explaining that fashion was not yet seen as an industry in Africa. did. its own right.
Even if designers put together a collection, they often can’t sell it, she said, adding that fashion week is more than just an opportunity for designers.
“It’s also an opportunity for the models (the majority of whom are black) to be on the catwalk, as most shows demand more expensive white models. “Some people even quit ‘Black Fashion Week’ because of this,” she said.
Ndiaye, who held a black fashion week in Prague last year and is planning shows in Montreal in November and Salvador de Bahia, Brazil, next March, says this fashion is aimed exclusively at black people. He said it was not.
“These designs were not made by black people for black people,” she says.
The ultra-feminine styles showcased came in a variety of cuts with elements such as puff sleeves and backless dresses. Fabrics ranged from silk and satin to embroidered cotton.
About 15 black designers from Africa or living in France, Haiti or the United States presented their collections at Paris’ chic Pavillon Cambon Capucines.
Visitors to the event, which began on Friday and ended on Saturday, included Senegalese singer and tourism minister Youssou N’Dour.
Copyright © 2024 AFP. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited. All information displayed in this section (shipping, photos, logos) is protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. Therefore, the contents of this section may not be copied, reproduced, modified, transmitted, published, displayed, or in any way commercially exploited, without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.
