The catwalk in a baobab forest: organisers of this year’s Dakar Fashion Week have a message for the world: sustainability is in style.
Forced by coronavirus restrictions to hold the show outside, models emerged beside the trunk of an ancient baoba btree to stride down the catwalk.
The event, held at the weekend in Senegal’s capital with the theme of environmental responsibility, featured 20 designers whose collections – both those on the runway and sold in #outiques – have long been handmade on the continent rather than mass-produced in factories.
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“A lot of the designers had already been doing ‘slow fashion’ but they didn’t know it,” said Adama Ndiaye, founder of Dakar Fashion Week and the designer behind Adama Paris.
“It’s made here and it’s not made in huge quantities. We were so ashamed of that for years but now we are proud of it. This is luxury.”
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