Overview

The arrival of the French and Belgians to the Congo, at the beginning of the 20th Century, brought along the myth of Parisian elegance among the Congolese youth working for the colonialists. In 1922, G. A. Matsoua was the first-ever Congolese to return from Paris fully clad as an authentic French gentleman, which caused great uproar and much admiration amongst his fellow countrymen. He was the first Grand Sapeur. The Sapeurs today belong to ""Le SAPE"" (Societe des Smbianceurs et des PErsonnes Elegantes) - one of the world's most exclusive clubs. MEmebers have their own code of honour, codes of professional conduct and strict notions of morality. It is a world within a world within a city. Respected and admired in their communities, today's sapeurs see themselves as artists. Each one has his own repertoire of gestures that distinguishes him from the others. They are also after their own great dream: to travel to Paris and return to Bacongo as lords of elegance. Designer brands of suit and accessories are of the utmost importance to Sapeurs - Pierre Cardin, Roberto Cavalli, Dior, Fendi, Gaultier, Gucci, Issy Miyake, Prada, Yves Saint Laurent, Versace, Yohji Yamamoto - are their patron saints. Unlike some US hip-hop gangs who are dressed in similar fine threads, there is no bloodshed here - here your clothes do all the fighting for you. otherwise you are not fit to be called a Sapeur.

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9781904563839

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Daniele Tamagni trained originally as an art historian, and as a photographer captured the unique street style in burgeoning African urban spaces, such as Brazzaville, Johannesburg, Nairobi and Dakar, where he sought and found individualistic identity. In 2007, he won the Canon Young Photographer Award with a project about the Congolese dandies, Sapeurs of Brazzaville, and in 2010, the International Center of Photography Infinity Award, fashion category. In 2011, he won the World Press Photo, Arts & Humanity category for his project on the Cholitas Luchadores, female wrestlers of Bolivia. Tamagni produced several successful photography books including the iconic Gentlemen of Bacongo, 2009 in which designer Paul Smith wrote the preface and found inspiration for his 2010 spring/summer collection, and Fashion Tribes in 2014, with Afro-American actress and social activist Rosario Dawson. He has been exhibited worldwide, with works in private and major public collections including Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Los Angeles, USA; Museum of Contemporary Photography (MoCP), Chicago, USA; Houston Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, USA; and Brighton Museum, Brighton, UK. He died in 2017 and his legacy supporting young photographers in Africa, is continued by the Daniele Tamagni Foundation.

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