Focus on Fabrics: Bogolanfini

Bogolanfini, otherwise known simply as bogolan has recently taken the Western design world by storm, with the distinctive geometric cloth popping up in all sorts of homewares and decoration sites. Despite this recent emergence in the Western design world, bogolanfini has a long history in Mali, where it originates and where it continues to play an important cultural role.

Bogolanfini by Naktune Diarra, The Smithsonian

West African Inspiration: SRK by Selly Raby Kane

Selly Raby Kane in front of the old Dakar train station (Photo by Jean-Baptiste Joire) 

Selly Raby Kane is the young Senegalese designer behind label Seraka. With a diverse background, Selly brings an enormous amount of creative energy and uniqueness to the fashion scene in Dakar and indeed, internationally. She began Seraka in 2008 and since then the label has grown exponentially - both in terms of artistry and size. Selly has recently launched her A/W 2014 collection - Alien Cartoon. It is stunning mix of textures, patterns and lines with delicate wax print touches and lots of stonewashed denim and clear vinyl ponchos. The collection was shot by Jean-Baptiste Joire and Omar Victor Diop and the styling is impeccable. 

West African Inspiration: Omar Victor Diop

I was thrilled to meet Omar at an exhibition held at a swanky new hotel in Dakar in December - I had seen his images online, and was particularly struck by the African remake of Frida Kahlo's 'The Two Fridas'.

Omar is relatively new to the art of photography, but has quickly developed a huge following in Senegal and abroad, and is in demand for designers and artists when it comes to promoting their new creations (Senegalese fashion labels Bull Doff and SERAKA have both had their recent collections shot by him).

 SERAKA by Omar Victor Diop

There is a real depth to Omar's work - he has a masterly eye for composition, and a wonderful aesthetic for all things textile and texture. He describes his work as lying somewhere between fashion and conceptual art, with a very modern edge. Working with French photographer Antoine Tempé, Omar created a series of cinematic posters which reference classic American and French cinema for the 'Onomollywood' exhibition. The below shot is an 'African remake' of the poster for "American Beauty".

Whilst my meeting with Omar was very brief, what struck about his work is how dedicated he is to promoting 'africanity' and 'normalising' the African continent by steering away from cliches images often associated with the continent. He acknowledges that 'Africa' suffers from a deficit of positive images, and even though it is important to be clear about the realities of life, it is equally important to show the normal, less-dramatic side of life on the expansive continent. He underlines that for him, it is important to highlight his experience of living in Senegal, because it means his work is authentic, and it gives a voice to the country, and to the continent in whole. 

Omar Victor Diop

Below are some photos from my favourite collections - Wax Dolls, which cheekily references the growing popularity of wax print fabric amongst the 'afropolitans' of West Africa. Given the history of wax, particularly in Senegal where the bright fabric is generally reserved for day-to-day wear, Diop cleverly plays with wax print's recent reemergence as a contemporary fashion staple.

All photos from Omar Victor Diop Photography

West African Inspiration: Nio Far by Milcos

One of my favourite things about producing Madame Tây garments in Senegal was meeting young Senegalese creatives working in fashion, photography, graphic design, music. cultural promotion, theatre….everything! Dakar, the capital city of Senegal, is such a buzzing, vibrant city with a really tight-knit creative scene. This kind of atmosphere has bred a whole range of innovative and clever artists, and over the next few weeks I will be sharing with you the work of a few of these emerging creatives.

Nio Far by Milcos

El Hadji Malick Badji wearing Nio Far
Photo by Djibril Dramé 

El Hadji Malick Badji, like many young Senegalese designers, fell into his work in the fashion industry. Driven by his love of natural fabrics like linen, and disillusioned by the lack of such fabrics in contemporary Senegalese fashion, Malick soon realised that if he wanted to wear linen shirts, he’d have to make them himself.

 Luckily for Malick, his sister owns a fashion boutique in the leafy suburb Liberté 6 in central Dakar, and she was quick to help him learn the basics. Working closely with his sister and her tailor, Malick was able to design a range of beautifully detailed shirts, pants and dresses. Malick spends hours trawling through markets all over Dakar (his favourite is Colobane) to find high-quality linen to make his pieces. Nio Far’s aesthetic is perfect for balmy Senegalese nights, and features a lot of beautiful neutral colours with accents of marine blue, dark sea green and warm orange hues. Malick tends to favour contemporary silhouettes – most of his collection consists of loose fitting mens shirts and pants, and a few casual dresses, but he also creates traditional Senegalese outfits with his trademark Nio Far linen at the request of his friends.

 

For more information and to see more of Malick's creation you can check out Nio Far's Facebook Page

If you’re in Dakar and you’d like to meet Malick and visit the Nio Far boutique you can contact him on 77 251 32 81 or 77 456 21 88.

All photos courtesy of Guillaume Bassinet, Skillzography, Djibril Dramé and Djibril Ciao

Know Your Wax

Wax Prints at a store in Tamale, Ghana

When purchasing wax print fabric here in Dakar it can be hard to really know where the fabric you find in the big markets comes from and who was responsible for its design and its production. Often the fabric sellers won’t be too sure themselves, and some prefer to feign ignorance when the wax they sell is foreign, out of worry their customers won’t pay a decent price if they know the fabric is made in India or China. Adding to this, most people I’ve spoken to here just don’t know where the wax they wear comes from - in the same way that I couldn’t tell you where my Cue shirt was produced, or where the cotton used to make it was grown and manufactured.

Whilst I can’t tell you where the cotton for every wax print I bought came from, I want to share with you what I’ve learnt since being here in Senegal about the different wax prints that are available and particularly those that are used in Madame Tây garments. Most of this information I learnt from talking informally with a few Senegalese textile industry professionals who import textiles into Senegal. For a country whose second main export is cotton, there is an incredible amount of importation of textiles – mainly from Asian countries. This is due to the lack of processing plants in Senegal to turn the cotton they grow into thread or fabric. When I’ve asked any of the Senegalese designers or tailors I’ve met here why such processing factories don’t exist, they have all thrown up their hands in exasperation and been unable to answer! 

When you purchase a Madame Tây piece from Senegal, please don’t hesitate to ask us for more information about the fabric – we’ll be happy to share with you what we know!

Read more after the jump

Print Stories: Eyes

This is one of my favourite fabrics. You see it all over Ghana, with both women and men wearing it all the time. Called ‘L’Oeil de Boeuf’ (Bull's eye) in many francophone countries, the print is known quite simply as ‘Eyes’ in Nigeria, as well as being called ‘God’s eye’ in Ghana.

 

In Benin, the print has a bit of a story behind it. It is called ‘Lisu ya pite’ which means ‘lustful eye’ and is worn by a woman to show a man that she desires him. So if you’ve got any seducing to you and need a bit of help, you’ll be able to have your own lustful eye shirt or bag when Madame Tây launches in January!

Madame Tây's 'Eye' fabric

Mini Madame Tây in Senegal

Working at our tailor Diogomaye’s house in Dakar means we often have three enthusiastic helpers always on hand – Diogo’s three nieces. One day, the girls decided to have their own fashion parade with some Madame Tây samples. Cuties!

West Africa Production - Phase Two: Samples

After doing preliminary design with Martha in Ghana, the next step was starting production in Senegal with our tailor, Diogomaye. On a Saturday afternoon I was invited over to Diogo’s family’s house in Parcelles – the Northern suburbs of Dakar, right next to the beach – super beautiful!

Diogo and I going over measurements

The first step was going over the first designs with Diogo, and seeing how these could be translated to the fabric we had purchased at Sandaga earlier in the week with Diogo’s cousin and Aunty. After reworking a few of the measurements, Diogo got to work in his atelier to produce the first lot of samples we would use to finalise the pieces we’d make for Madame Tay’s first production lot.

Diogo hard at work on our first pieces

Cutting table

Diogo at work at his atelier

After Diogo had completed 15 samples, I gathered a few of my friends to have a casual clothes fitting to see how the pieces worked and if we needed to do any adjustments. The clothes fitting turned into an impromptu photoshoot, here are a few shots:

It was really useful to see what the pieces looked like on a range of different sized women, and made me realise just how difficult correct sizing and fit could be. My friends were really helpful, and made plenty of suggestions to Diogo and me as to what should be changed. After taking lots of notes, and working out what pieces needed some work, Diogo and I set to making a few more samples, just to make sure we were on the right track.