Dakar is glamor wave of African fashion show

  DAKAR - The Adama Ndiaye dressed to leave the bank in Europe for life as a young designer in Senegal, there was no concert in the city to which he may show his wares. So she decided to put on one of his own.
"We offered a ticket, we had to rent boats, we rented camels," she said, explaining how other developers dust, pulsating city of Dakar, which protrudes into the Atlantic Ocean attracted. "It was a day of performances and three days of fun."

But with the African fashion bigger and bolder at home, and begins with the radar-design-style houses and magazines abroad to register, Fashion Week in Dakar, 10, a budget increase of thirteen and 30 designers from all over Europe, is now a much more serious.

"Now it's just fashion," said Ndiaye, between calls for commissioning in preparation for the show at night. "In recent years, we feel, is that African fashion is always bigger, stronger and better."

In an effort to make the show more accessible, began the week with a bridge built on Centennial Boulevard in Dakar, more soldiers parade celebrating the independence of Senegal in France, that the models used to sashaying.

Designers design outfits on influences from all over Africa and also displayed a combination of modern styles with improvisation colorful costumes. Drab apartment buildings were illuminated in orange, yellow and blue lasers as deaf music drew hundreds from their homes.

"This is great. We all love fashion. You have not ever done before here," said Mbarka Mbodji, a street vendor made a quick trade in beef skewers and plastic bags with ice water on the corner overlooking the makeshift bridge.

Winding performances at the other end of the spectrum, before kick-elite and adapted in Dakar met the clean, lined with palm gardens, one of the most expensive hotels in the city.

The increasing importance of African fashion was not without controversy. Some fashion houses have stolen ideas from the African designers who are not credited are held, where it has been implemented on a large scale shows accused.

Vogue Italia has recently an entire issue to "rebrand Africa" ​​dedicated, but has drawn criticism for a return to old stereotypes and to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, a South Korean on its front page.

"Fashion is a global elitist who does not like innovation," said Marie-Jeanne Serb Thomas, editor of Brown, another African fashion magazine. "People are afraid to use African fabrics, but not detected because of devaluing them (their work).
"The image of Africa is still that of cheap, poorly made, no money for the people. Things change, but there's still this mentality. (For many), Africa This is a safari or jungle. But creativity that you see here has nothing to do with it. It is modern, it is international, "she added.