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For four days, Esmod Isem Paris, the oldest of the French fashion schools, has won the colors of Africa. A rich program of conferences, screenings and performances presented this week to the new generation of creators and managers the dynamism of contemporary African fashion.
Africa has always inspired fashion. From Yves Saint Laurent to Stella McCartney, to Marc Jacobs, many creators have drawn from the aesthetic richness and ornamental tradition of the African continent, more or less successfully, at the risk of being sometimes accused of cultural appropriation. But beyond being a source of inspiration for Western designers, African fashion represents an important market and an infinity of local designers, who are slowly finding their place in the competitive fashion industry.
While the Lagos or Dakar Fashion Week is attracting more and more attention from the foreign press, local actors are starting to organize themselves. At the last edition of FIMA, the International Festival of Fashion in Africa, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in Morocco, we even launched the idea of creating a federation to organize the export of fashion African.
Faced with this creative and entrepreneurial boiling, but also inspired by a booming market, the actors of Parisian fashion are mobilizing. Several events around Africa have taken place in recent months and, this week, in parallel with Fashion Week , it was the turn of the training sector to get going.
From January 15 to 18, the Esmod Isem offices in Pantin hosted the first edition of the Fashion Week Experience , an event open to industry professionals and students, whose inaugural theme was Africa. The school, which trains creators, but also the managers of the fashion industry, wanted to educate its students in this market as creative as it is buoyant.
" It was important for students to open up to opportunities in the markets of tomorrow. And very clearly, the African continent, with its richness and diversity, is also the future of our sector, "says Loetitia Fontugne, Isem's director of education and organizer of the event.
Solidarity economy and transmission of know-how
" At first, the students were quite surprised by Africa's choice as the first theme of this event and they discovered on the program a number of creators they did not know. Especially because we had made the choice to propose very varied names: creators who work on the African continent, but also French people who have African origins or who have made in Africa, whether they are all young brands or more established names ".
The program includes round tables with Sakina M'Sa, Peulh Vagabond, Iamisigo and Tiss'Ame brands. Not to mention Youssouf Fofana, from Maison Château Rouge, who was also the godfather of the last class of the school. Solidarity economy and topics such as the transmission of traditional know-how for local development were also part of the event. " The solidarity dimension has a great impact on this generation of students, " says Loetitia Fontugne.
Wax In The City
On the market side, the public was able to see the potential of the African continent during conferences with Martine Leherpeur, the consultancy firm of the same name and a reference in the fashion industry, as well as Ramata Diallo, specialized fashion consultant in Africa. The program was completed with a screening of Wax In The City , followed by a discussion with director Elie Séonnet, and a performance by French-Congolese artist Kouka.
" This has aroused desires , summarizes Loetitia Fontugne. The creators were able to communicate their passion and, at the end, several students expressed the will to join them in their projects, especially as part of their internships .
► See also: 20 years of fashion festival in Africa , rfi, 23/11/2018
► To read also: Fashion in Africa: what place for African creators? , rfi, 23/12/2018