Gentlemen of Bacongo by photographer Daniele Tamagni, documents a subculture of slum-dwelling men in the Congo who dress in luxurious handmade suits.
The movement, called Le Sape, combines French styles from their colonial roots and the individual's (often flamboyant) style. Le Sapeurs, as they're called, wear pink suits and D&G belts while living in the slums of this coastal African region.
In interviews with some notable sapeurs, Tamagni unearths the complex and varied rules and standards of Le Sape, short for Société des Ambianceurs et des Personnes Élégantes, or the Society of Tastemakers and Elegant People. Sapeur Michel comments on the strange combination of poverty and fashion, "A Congolese sapeur is a happy man even if he does not eat, because wearing proper clothes feeds the soul and gives pleasure to the body."
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Africa hot, I like am so
I know what to wear but my friends don't know
Him put him socks, him put him shoe
Him put him pant, him put him singlet
Him put him trouser, him put him shirt
Him put him tie, him put him coat
Him come cover all with him hat
Him be gentleman
Him go sweat all over
Him go faint right down
Him go smell like shit
Him go piss for body, him no go know
Me I no be gentleman like that
I no be gentleman at all no.
--Fela Anikulapo Kuti
If that's what the slum-dwellers wear in the Congo I can't wait to see what their pimps look like.
Gentlemen of Bacon go where?
Thank you for that Brainspore.
"Remember, there is no shame in being poor - only dressing poorly!"
- Bunny Wigglesworth, Zorro: The Gay Blade
Neither Kinshasa nor Brazzaville, where these pictures were taken, qualifies as "coastal" unless you're talking about the "coast" of the Congo River.
Cease and desist letter from Mary Kay in 3...2...1
previously: http://www.boingboing.net/2007/05/24/cloth_cult_why_congo.html
"As we all know, it is better to look good than to feel good... and you look MAHVELOUS!"
I'll probably have to end up getting this book.
It's interesting to contrast this culture to the culture of unusual suit-wearing fashions in the US and UK, like those who frequent certain online forums. The sapeurs seem to place an extreme emphasis on labels and major brand names; the US and UK suit-wearers, on the other hand, seem to eschew major brand names, instead placing an emphasis on fit, quality of construction, and relationships with individual tailors and makers, and therefore often on obscure makers that become known to them: it doesn't matter whether a suit is made by a big name or some local tailor (they're actually rather skeptical of the former), but whether all the button holes are perfectly hand sewn, and whether the fit is perfect, and so on, is of extreme importance. I'm a bit biased, but reliance on designers to produce the best possible garments seems naive. I'd be perfectly confident walking amongst these sorts of people in my suits, and I'm reasonably certain that they would have never heard of most of the names involved in their construction.
ill lich: While my knowledge of French men's fashion is limited, it's worth noting that modern designer suits are often made of wool that's extremely thin; while Savile Row tailors and other reputable English-style tailors will often recommend against such fabrics, like Super 300s, on account of their being too fragile to be worn, even more common fabrics like Super 110s and Super 140s are surprisingly light in comparison to fabrics from a few decades ago. It's very possible nowadays to wear a wool suit in hot weather without being uncomfortable.
@ yri -
Dear God, somebody else knows about Zorro the Gay Blade? I thought I was the only one. That movie cracks me up.
Yeah, I admit it.
You know, I'm just gonna be an ass and say it:
Priorities, I think they are missing the point here.
At least you'll look good for your funeral when you die of starvation.
Sounds like the sapeurs are cultural kin to the zoot suit culture, or to the kind of ghetto-fabulous style that young Elvis Presley used to imitate when he lived in the Memphis housing projects (and which used to get him beat up in high school when he'd come to class wearing his fancy threads).
See also: The Swenkas (2004). Really great documentary.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0457499/
J.J. Evans would say Dyn-O-Mite! to this.
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.alexrudloff.com/media/2007/01/dynomite.jpg
Extreme dandy.
"A Congolese sapeur is a happy man even if he does not eat, because wearing proper clothes feeds the soul and gives pleasure to the body."
How come this never works for women?
At least his hat and shoes match.
Circa 1969 in Detroit, it was a thing among some young black men to go out with pink plastic curlers in their hair.
I think it's relevant to mention that the word "saper" means "to dress" in french slang. Someone who is "bien sapé" is well dressed.
FYI, this book is small in size. the product dimentions are 7.9 x 6.1 x 1 inches, according to Amazon. the one reviewer there was disappointed by the size and other issues with the text of the book. such a pity! oh well.
"dimensions," sorry.
Sorry to nitpick, but it is "la" sape, and "les" sapeurs, minor article mistakes, but still.
Also, it is interresting to know the origin of the word "sape", it is actually an acronym : Société des Ambianceurs et Personnes Élégantes (Society of Ambiancers and Elegant Persons). As stated earlier by #21, it means "to dress" in french slang.
The first time I've heard of "la sape" and "les sapeurs" it was on a 1986 movie named Black mic mac:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090734/