Oumou Sy from Senegal is one of the outstanding personalities in the world of African fashion. The self-taught fashion designer lives and works in Dakar, one of the most important centres of African fashion. In contrast to Europe, this branch of the economy is dominated by women. There are about 3000 different creators and designers of fashion in the capital of Senegal. There is not a single street without at least one couturier with an intricately painted shop sign to attract customers. For the wives of ministers as for sales girls, elegance and beauty are a matter of honour. In Senegal clothing also shows the wearer's conscious individuality, it is a game with sensuous and provoking creations. Here the creators of fashion celebrate their love of decorating, dressing up and beautifying and blend African tradition with European modernity.

Oumou Sy is one of the most scintillating figures in the Dakar fashion scene. In her case the concept of fashion designer is just not enough. She works at the interface between fashion, art, the spectacular and her social surroundings. Oumou Sy designs and creates Haute Couture, Prêt-à-Porter, jewellery and accessories and she also produces fashion shows, film costumes and street parades. She is a central figure in the Dakar's art scene.

Her fashion is subject neither to fleeting fashions of the day, nor to conventions nor to ideologies. For her, fashion is a matter of playing with styles. She has no particular preferences, works with almost all materials from palm fibres to plastic threads, from hand-woven material to industrially produced fabrics - everything is of value and suitable for her fantasy to play with. She mixes everything that African history and modern global elements can provide.

She taught herself the various techniques of dyeing, weaving and embroidery and combines tradition African patterns, textiles and designs with Western elements and motifs to produce innovative, often incredibly elegant or amusingly ironic creations. "Métissage" (mishmash, hybrid) is what Oumou Sy calls her style. She named her company "Metissacana". It is a concept from the Bambara language meaning: The "métissage" will come. The concept is associated with Léopold Senghor, the great poet and the first President of Senegal after it became independent, who always emphasised his African-Portuguese origins.

There is great response to Oumou Sy´s innovative creations in the international world of fashion. In addition to her numerous fashion shows in African countries, Oumou Sy has been presenting her collection in Europe since 1982, at the Expo 2000, on St. Mark's Square in Venice, at the Millenium Dome in London, on Broadway in new York, at the Louvre in Paris and at the Altamoda in Rome.

Carnival and costumes

Since 1998 Oumou Sy has initiated, conceived and created the "Carnaval de Dakar". A parade with 80 floats, a thousand costumed people, dancers and musicians, horses and more processes through the streets. For this multi-coloured parade Oumou Sy, characterised by the historical heritage of the continent, has been creating a collection of African royal garments. Her "Rois et Reines d'Afrique" collection now contains several hundred traditional "royal costumes".

Oumou Sy has also designed the costumes and fittings for numerous African films. She gained much popularity in working with artists in the music scene, for example the well-known Senegalese singer Youssou N'Dour wears her fashions.

In 1997 she founded the annual SIMOD (Dakar International Fashion Week) which has become an institution. Every year fashion creators and designers from all over the world meet in Dakar to exchange ideas and present their latest collections.

In 1998 Oumou Sy was awarded the "1er Prix de la Fondation Prins Claus" in Amsterdam for her outstanding contribution to African fashion design and for her work in setting up the local, national and international framework for African fashion design.

In the next few years Oumou Sy is planning to build on her work by establishing the label "Made in Africa", creating African fashion for the African market and increasing exports.

The Label "Made in Africa"

Although the textile industry in Africa is gaining in importance, most of the garments produced are for the local market. It is also of significance that many Africans cannot even afford the local fashion and so they buy cheap textiles from Asia or second-hand clothing from Europe. With her latest project, the label "Made in Africa", Oumou Sy intends to provide impulses which will assist in changing this situation. She believes that the vital traditions and creativity in the area of fashion are not used enough by Africans. Her aim is to combine development and fashion by machine-producing affordable fashion in Africa too. New technologies are to be utilised to produce off-the-peg garments locally at competitive prices and to stand up against the imported second-hand clothing. Fashion "Made in Africa" as "first-hand" clothing should enable the African market and export capacities to grow. Local resources such as raw materials, the cultural heritage, knowledge and creativity are to be more highly valued and used to local advantage.

Training and professionalisation

The training and professionalisation of all those employed in the area of fashion design, fashion production and fashion craft is one of the keys to the development of the local fashion market and will guarantee the quality of the "Made in Africa" label and secure its commercial success in the long term.

Oumou Sy has received much acclaim for her work in promoting young designers in Senegal. She is the head of "Leydi", "Ateliers de Stylisme et de Formation aux Arts et Techniques Traditionelles et Modernes du Costume et de la Parure en Afrique et en Occident", which she founded and in which she trains young designers. She also founded "Macsy", a school for models and mannequins. Both institutions have received many awards.

The craftsmen and women, tailors and fashion designers trained by the Leydi ateliers learn the craft with which they can later set up businesses as self-employed people in their own villages and make an economic success of their ideas of African fashion and identity. When village production of fashion and crafts have been revitalised and built up with innovative concepts and designs, then it will also be possible to increase exports considerably on the basis of a developed local market. With their creations which have already gained recognition worldwide, the African fashion designers will be able to take on a central role in the promotion of African jewellery and African "Prêt-à-Porter".

Images and text courtesey of Cultur Cooperation e.V and Documenta 12