Sapeurs: The creativity of African fashionistas

For years, designers have used African influences as their inspiration for their collections. This reverse fashion fusion fully exploded onto the British fashion through the work of British Ghanaian tailor and designer Ozwald Boateng. Boateng burst on the scene in 1991 and became famous for his innovative creations, which included colourful linings inside suits, and the use of more colour in men’s formal attire, which in many ways comes from the vibrant African heritage of colour and panache. This become Boateng’s signature touch.

His groundbreaking creations are worn by Hollywood A listers such as Will Smith and Idris Elba, furthermore, he is also responsible for attracting younger crowds to Mayfair’s Savile Row, the quintessential location for the best tailors in Britain.

Earlier this year we witnessed another twist the Anglo- African fashion tale: An advert by the drinks giant Guinness showed us that this courtship between African and western fashion started long ago in Africa, and it is gaining notoriety around the world. The Guinness ad featured a group of men from Brazzaville, Congo, who call themselves the Society of Elegant Persons of the Congo, or Sapeurs, for short.

These remarkable men are known for their elegant and flamboyant attires, which stand in a stark contrast with the poverty stricken background of Brazzaville. Their style and way of living not only underline the inherent creativity of African culture, but they also show a sense of protest against their circumstances through fashion.

The Sapeurs are part of a tradition that has been passed down from father to son for many generations in the Congo. Nevertheless, with time, they have evolved into a distinct culture with social norms that guide it. Within this society, men are encouraged to have their own sense of style, bringing an individualised definition of sophistication and elegance that suits each character and enriches the group as a whole.

This movement has been criticised for its emphasis on designer labels and expensive fabrics, because the men, after all, are not rich; yet some of them spend as much as an entire pay check on a single garment. Nonetheless, although they have a soft spot for luxury fashions, the Sapeur ideology does not care about expensive labels; their clothes can be cheap or expensive, bought, made or even passed down, and in fact, they all borrow clothes from each other to reduce costs and increase their number of choices.

One of the men explained in a short documentary made by Guinness about the Sapeurs:

It’s not the price of the suit that counts, it’s the worth of the man inside it”

The Sapeurs are also more than an expensive looking exterior that emphasises elegance and fashion. The men have to match their sense of style with a particular behavioural code. One of the men declared in the documentary that:

a Sapeur respects people; a Sapeur is polite, not vulgar.”

Therefore, there is a sense of moderation, nobility, and eloquence that comes with the lifestyle.

Another man said:

When there is peace there is sape, and when there is peace there is life.”

Sapeurs reject war and violence, as they don’t see their suits as compatible with this.

It is remarkable that this movement has gained vibrancy among the people of the Congo, a country that just went through a civil war and has been hit by various waves of violence throughout its history. It is also worth noting that Sapeur culture defies the western stereotype of uncreative and violent Africans and stresses the fact that there are so many layers of African culture that we don’t know about.

The Sapeurs of the Congo are only one example of the emerging African fashion movement, but similar groups to the Sapeurs and innovative designers are arising from the DR Congo, Namibia, Zambia, Ghana, and South Africa. They have found ways to incorporate African elements into classical Western fashion by using tribal patterns and bright colours, while employing the high quality craftsmanship that traditional African garments and accessories are known for.

Moreover, they are using design as a means of rewriting a narrative on Africa way beyond its usual down trodden negative view.

Vive Sapeurs !

Angelica Encinales