Paris (AFP)

The Ghanaian artist Amoako Boafo paints with his fingers portraits of black men who have "a sense of style". British designer Kim Jones is inspired by his new Dior homme collection presented on Monday in a film on the last day of Digital Fashion Week in Paris.

If the presentation of Dior haute couture a week ago in a film by Italian director Matteo Garrone was criticized for its lack of diversity, this men's collection from the French luxury house is worn exclusively by black models.

By inaugurating this Parisian Fashion Week in a video on July 6, British supermodel Naomi Campbell, committed against racial discrimination, had called on the industry to learn from the anti-racist movement Black Lives Matter and to "impose inclusion" in the parades.

The young brand Botter, founded by the Dutch couple Rushemy Botter and Lisi Herrebrugh, linked by their origins in the Caribbean, made Friday of their presentation an anti-racist manifesto.

"It is the most complicated collection to try to express our humble, but positive vision concerning the Black Lives Matter movement", resounds the voice of Lisi Herrebrugh on a black background. "We are against racism, ignorance and lack of empathy".

"We must all believe that it is possible to unite against violence against the black community," continues the voice of Rushemy Botter before a few images of black models wearing white outfits or a necklace of white threads.

- "Living portraits" -

Dior places the artist "who explores the perception of black identity and masculinity" at the center of the film

"Portrait of an artist": this collection mixing chic sportswear pieces with jackets and coats with sophisticated cuts, pearl gray color emblematic of Dior with flashy touches of pink, yellow or green was born from the fusion of these two creative worlds whose video shows unexpected affinities.

Amoako Boafo's paintings, a rising value exploding on the art market, are transposed on haute couture silhouettes "subtly tapered and refined", underlines Dior in a press release.

"I love his work, I always wanted to work with an African artist because I grew up in Africa and African art has always been part of my life", explains Kim Jones in the film.

When he goes to the studio of the young painter (36 years old) in Ghana, he discovers a work representing a man dressed in a shirt decorated with an ivy print, emblematic of the French house.

"From there, we had the idea of ​​using the textures, prints, patterns and colors of his works to create real living portraits", continues the British designer.

This idea was initially intended for a parade which could not take place because of health crisis, but the film made it possible to speak more about the artist, "of his life, his subjects and his portraits" , says Kim Jones.

The first part of the 10-minute film is filmed in the studio of Amoako Boafo, who puts on gloves and puts big touches of bright colors with his fingers: "Shadow brown, blue, yellow, red . I do magic with ".

"I love fashion, I tend to be interested in people who have a certain sense of style," he explains, showing the portrait of a model wearing a sky blue suit painted on a yellow background.

"I like to paint simple portraits so that people can immediately grasp the character's expression".

At the crossroads of contemporary art and documentary, the film is presented in two parts: a first edited by video artist Chris Cunningham with images shot in London and Ghana and a second directed by Jackie Nickerson revealing Kim's outfits Jones.

© 2020 AFP