Gentlemen Of Bakongo: The African Dandies

A new photo book by Daniele Tamagni explores the phenomenon of the African sapeurs, a clique of extraordinarily dressed dandies from the Congo. In the midst of war and abject poverty, these men dress in tailored suits, silk ties, and immaculate footwear.
This isn’t a new subculture: the style of dress which the sapeurs imitate is that of the French and Belgian colonists who seized control over the Congo during the 1880s.
Sapeur comes from la SAPE, short for Société des Ambianceurs et des Personnes Élégantes, or the Society of Tastemakers and Elegant People. The SAPE, like any club, has rules of conduct and of dress; it’s centered around Brazzaville and Kinshasa, the adjacent capitals of the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo, respectively.
A men’s suit always looks complete with cuff links that are made for their event.

i just had a birthday.
28 years of open eyes
and yawns
and steps and
sleep.
28 years of living.
28 years of breathing
in missouri, indiana
lakes and beaches ,mountains and moving and oh
all the sights i've seen.
summer fall winter spring

i drove across the country with my brother in
a tuquoise green honda.
it had pop up lights and i had
pop up dreams and aspirations.
we stopped in texas.
we stopped in the grand canyon.
we drove through newwwwww mexico
and then we landed in a place
where we werent supposed to be really.....

days go by like nothin.
s.f
l.a
clock in
clock out
28 years of showers and nail clippings
28 years of working and learning and yearning
for what im still not sure.
28 years of hellos and goodbyes
28 years it was on thursday

white out

textures

Anne Sofie Madsen

” In traditional Maori art the most dominant, mythical motif is the ‘avianised man’ or ‘bird-woman’. The most important visual art forms are plaiting, relief carving and tattoo. My idea in this collection was to combine (and confront) this with classic, European clothing – in order to express the contrasts and borders between what we see as primitive/civilianized, exotic/classic and barbaric/elegant. “