The Streets Of The Congo Turned-Fashion Show | States of Undress | Refinery29 - video Dailymotion

Refinery29

Despite western views of the Congo, the capital city Kinshasa is a runway for its citizens. But among myriad social issues, is fashion a means for progress, or just a distraction?  This video was originally published by VICE in 2016.  ABOUT THE SERIES Hailey Gates explores global fashion and issues the industry often ignores, showing us what the world wears, and why.  ABOUT REFINERY29  Refinery29 is a modern woman's destination for how to live a stylish, well-rounded life. http://refinery29.com/  RELATED CONTENT The Cost of Beauty in Venezuela https://youtu.be/VtddBzqe-vE Is Style An Act Of Bravery In Pakistan? https://youtu.be/ybQngyhGtZI Fashion Defined By Borders In Palestine https://youtu.be/IXZoWsuZYv0  SUBSCRIBE TO REFINERY29 Subscribe to the Refinery29 channel: http://bit.ly/subscribe-to-r29 Follow Refinery29 on Instagram: https://instagram.com/refinery29/ Follow Somos on Instagram: https://instagram.com/r29somos/ Follow Unbothered on Instagram: https://instagram.com/r29unbothered/

Transcript

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01:01.

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01:05.

01:06.

01:12.

01:20.

01:23I'm finally getting a taste of the outside world.

01:29Everybody here looks amazing.

01:31There's not a single person here who's wearing something boring.

01:35Hopefully I'll get a sense of how people put themselves together,

01:39but it means I really have to step up my game.

01:45Kinshasa is the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, or DRC.

01:50It's the third largest city in all of Africa.

01:54Although the country is rich in minerals,

01:56the people of the DRC are among the poorest in the world,

02:00and more than half live on less than a dollar a day.

02:04For the past two decades, a series of civil wars

02:08and armed conflicts between multiple rebel groups and militias

02:11have devastated the country.

02:14These wars and their aftermath have claimed more than 5 million lives.

02:20Today, violence and human rights abuses continue,

02:23predominantly in the eastern part of the country.

02:26But for the moment, the capital seems somewhat stable.

02:30It is against this complicated backdrop

02:33that Kinshasa's third fashion week is taking place.

02:38It may look like I'm in a giant soccer field, but I'm not.

02:43I am.

02:43But this is actually the venue for the fashion week.

02:46It's called the Shark Club,

02:48and it's owned by the president's baby brother.

02:51It doesn't start until 7, and I've come here

02:53to see if I can see some of the models practicing.

02:57I guess it's this way.

03:00These rocks aren't going to be easy on the heels.

03:10I've never been to a fashion show that's been outdoors.

03:14There's a volleyball court, there's a playground.

03:17Oh my God, look at that high dive.

03:19This place is amazing looking.

03:21Like, hasn't changed since the 60s.

03:31Kinshasa Fashion Week began in 2013

03:34with the aim of elevating Congolese designers

03:36to the international stage.

03:39Where are they?

03:40Where are they?

03:41Where are they?

03:42Where are they?

03:43Where are they?

03:45Most of the models and designers are local,

03:47but the event is hoping to attract people

03:49from all over Africa to see the collection.

03:52It's done, it's done, it's done.

03:56Look at you there.

03:59The sand.

04:00The sand.

04:02It's simple.

04:04Think about it.

04:10On the other side of the catwalk,

04:12a different kind of rehearsal was happening.

04:27I guess we'll just sit and watch.

04:31I don't know.

04:32Oh my God, oh my God!

04:50The sarp-ers, members of le Sap.

04:54A fashion movement who are at the forefront

04:56of establishing a sartorial reputation for the Congo.

05:06LESAP is the French acronym for the Society of Ambience Makers and Elegant People.

05:12Through their flamboyant performances and appropriation of high fashion design, they

05:17have turned the art of dressing up into a cultural statement.

05:20This man, Kaditosa, is one of their most vocal members.

05:43It seems like you're getting really angry at them.

05:46What's going on?

06:00They're free, but when they come to the stage, they have to respect the norms of the stage.

06:04It's too expensive, it's a big tornado!

06:07It's very punk.

06:09Do you have this word?

06:11No, I don't know.

06:12Uh, like, uh, challenges authority.

06:17A challenge, a challenge, that's it.

06:19He has to dress more than everyone.

06:21He has to dress more than himself.

06:23He seems to be superior to everyone, you see?

06:27How important do you think it is that the sapeurs have a presence here at the Fashion Week?

06:32To recognize the sape in a manifestation like the Fashion Week,

06:37it makes us wow!

06:39We don't say, OK, the guys start to realize that we exist, that we are here, that we are important.

06:46The sapeurs themselves are also modellists, they are also stylists, and the sapeurs are creators.

06:56We have the day today to do nothing before the Fashion Week, so I thought I'd get out of the

07:14neighborhood where my hotel is, and hit the streets to figure out how people dress, maybe get my hair done.

07:21And then in a local fashion.

07:23What do you think?

07:25Salon La Rose.

07:27It's pink.

07:29Should we try it?

07:43What's the most popular fashion for hair here?

07:51Um, I'm not really sure what we decided on, but I guess we're just going for it.

07:59Whatever you do, no scissors, OK?

08:01D'accord?

08:09Ow!

08:10Oh my God!

08:13Ow!

08:14No, madame!

08:15No!

08:19Yes!

08:22I'm going to the Fashion Week, you know about it?

08:35Are you going to come to the Fashion Week?

08:39No, madame!

08:39Good.

08:40No.

08:40Oh?

08:42Yeah, sorry, sorry.

08:51I thought I didn't have a much more time.

08:53I didn't have my hair.

08:57Oh, I didn't have a hard time.

08:57Yeah!

08:58I'm not feeling laughs.

08:58Yeah, madame.

09:07In a good week, Savonet takes home about $20.

09:11Entry to the Fashion Week costs $50, making it unaffordable to most Congolese.

09:20As I arrived back at the Shark Club, it was pretty clear that as with most Fashion Weeks,

09:24this was an event for the elite.

09:47The dominant look on the catwalk was African prints crafted into modern silhouettes designed

09:53to appeal to a more international market.

09:59This event seemed to follow the blueprint of a more traditional Fashion Week, so I was

10:03looking forward to seeing how the sappers fit into all of this.

10:19Of everything I'd seen so far at the Fashion Week, it was the sappers that really piqued

10:24my interest.

10:25Karitoza is one of the sappers' longest standing members.

10:43So we're on the way to his house.

10:46We've been walking for a long time, and we just turned onto this street which I think

10:51he lives on in all of these kids' shows.

10:53Yéwana! Yéwana!

10:56Yéwana!

10:57Yéwana!

11:00Yéwana!

11:00Can you tell me what the commandments are

11:03of being a sap?

11:08Yéwana! Yéwana!

11:10Yéwana!

11:11Yéwana!

11:12Yéwana!

11:12And why do you think, in particular,

11:16the Congolese have this desire

11:18to be chic and an obsession

11:20with clothing?

11:26Yéwana!

11:30Yéwana!

11:33Yéwana!

11:35Yéwana!

11:37Yéwana!

11:38Yéwana!

11:41Yéwana!

11:43Yéwana!

11:46Yéwana!

11:52Yéwana!

11:54Yéwana!

11:56Yéwana!

12:02Yéwana!

12:14Yéwana!

12:19Yéwana!

12:32Yéwana!

12:38Yéwana!

12:42Yéwana!

12:44There are a lot of designers who are installed here in Europe,

12:47so I make one of them for me.

12:49You make your own mix, and you bring it all to Kinshasa?

12:52That's it, that's it.

12:53And we follow you, young people?

12:54The young people are behind me.

12:57The origins of the sap can be traced back to the early 1900s,

13:01during the brutal period of colonization by the Belgians and French.

13:05The white masters, in effort to civilize their Congolese houseboys,

13:10would pay them in European clothing instead of money.

13:14Congolese men adopted this attire, but with such zeal,

13:17it became an act of defiance against their subjugation.

13:24The modern sapeur movement continues that tradition.

13:35Caritoza, however, makes all of his own clothes,

13:38and invited me to his workshop to check out his wares.

13:46And what do you make here?

13:48I find myself in my life when I go like that,

13:52but my speciality is the extravagant clothes,

13:55clothes that do not exist in the world.

13:57So, what do you mean?

13:59I like the gelet.

14:00I like the cloth.

14:02I like the cloth.

14:03I like to make a piece of cloth,

14:05and when I put it, I tie it,

14:07it becomes a cloth with a cloth.

14:10That means that I even created the words

14:11CRA-GILET, a proper name.

14:16CRA-GILET.

14:17So, it's a proper name.

14:19It's not a name composed, for example, with Gintrini.

14:22No!

14:23I mean, my impression coming here was that the sapeurs

14:26only wore high fashion designers from abroad.

14:31I didn't know that they actually made their own clothing.

14:34No, no.

14:35I mean, we always wear the clothes of the Occidental clothes,

14:39but I was revolted on that.

14:41Why not here, in Congo,

14:43we have a brand that can also combat the Occidental clothes.

14:48A brand of Congolese.

14:50They are the sapeurs.

14:51If I tell them directly here,

14:53they are wearing the Occidental clothes.

14:59I like to work with Kaditosa.

15:01I called myself here,

15:03and I learned how to make the clothing.

15:06Kaditosa is our brand.

15:08We love the brand.

15:09We want it to be everywhere in the world.

15:20I'm a sapeur.

15:22I'm talking about clothes.

15:23I'm talking about demonstrations.

15:26I'm talking about scantins in the street.

15:28We don't become a sapeur,

15:30but we are a sapeur.

15:31We are a sapeur,

15:33the veil is ok.

16:00In my time here, I'm discovering that there are all sorts of different factions of the

16:04sufferers.

16:05It's not just the karitoza, kind of punk, Yoji Yamamoto sufferers, there's also a group

16:14of sufferers that are apparently making their clothing from the land.

16:20They're calling themselves eco-suppers.

16:26Wow.

16:29Is it hard to see with these?

16:31Hopefully you don't trip over anything.

16:38Oh my God.

16:40What are the guinea pigs for?

16:48Oh, okay.

16:50And what are these things that you make everything out of?

16:53Mayaka.

16:54Mayaka?

16:55Mayaka.

16:57And what are they?

16:57Mayaka is a lovely bag, everyone.

16:59Mayaka.

17:02Mayak.

17:03What is this?

17:04A chapeau.

17:05Un chapeau?

17:06Un chapeau.

17:08What do you think?

17:09Un chapeau.

17:12And what's your backpack made out of?

17:26Are you a sapper?

17:29Yes.

17:30I'm a sapper because we are creators.

17:32We're born in a land.

17:35We're going to have some emojis in the land.

17:39This is my dream.

17:41I'm going to have a dream to live.

17:43You can always be a child.

17:48You can always be a child.

17:54This is, like, the most fun thing for me.

17:58I could stay here all day.

18:02You gave me the only charm that looks like a ball sack.

18:08What do you think?

18:10Nice.

18:15Coming here, I thought that the sapeurs were just label whores,

18:19that they were just obsessed with designer goods and that's all they wore.

18:22And what I found actually is that part of being a sapeur

18:26is making do with what you have

18:28in order to look exactly the way you want to look.

18:31Getting dressed and walking around is an activity here.

18:35The streets of Kinshasa are their runways.

18:50Back at Kinshasa Fashion Week, the majority of the collections

18:54featured a distinctive printed fabric known as pan,

18:59the staple of a woman's wardrobe throughout West Africa.

19:03It's very versatile.

19:04It can be worn informally as simple draped clothing

19:07or as a fully tailored ensemble.

19:10Is it cool to wear like a traditional pan or is it like old ladies wear it?

19:17I want one so badly.

19:20There are several designers.

19:22There are Fanny Mandina, Karine Palla.

19:24It depends on what you want.

19:31The woman behind one of the more extravagant collections

19:34is eminent Kinshasa-based designer Fanny Mandina.

19:39The Congo has a limited ready-to-wear culture.

19:41Most people visit a tailor to get their outfits made from scratch.

19:46I decided to go through this process myself.

19:49So the next day, I stopped by the clothing showcase

19:52to ask for Fanny's help.

19:54Walking around here in the Congo,

19:56it's very evident that everyone takes great pride in what they wear.

20:00Why do you think that is?

20:01The Congolese is a woman who has an extraordinary appearance.

20:06Because, as we say, for the Kinoise,

20:08it's well-saped.

20:09So she prefers to die of women and be well-saped.

20:11I believe that the pan, today,

20:13it's become a symbol of the vestimental identity of Africa in general.

20:17So I think it's an important matter

20:20to make it more and more,

20:22especially the catwalks here in Africa,

20:24but also internationally, I think.

20:25The mode is universalized.

20:27We're dressed everywhere,

20:28I imagine, like New York, Kinshasa,

20:30and everything.

20:31But I think it's always interesting

20:33to keep a little cultural identity.

20:41Fanny agreed to make an outfit for me.

20:43The first step is finding the right fabric.

20:47Urzul, one of the models from last night's show,

20:49offered to lend me a hand.

20:51We're going to the big market.

20:53It's the biggest market in Kinshasa,

20:54where we go.

20:55And we call it Zando.

21:03I just want to show you how it's going here in Kinshasa.

21:06There are other people who don't have enough

21:08to go to Brusco to buy the pan,

21:10and they come here to the market.

21:12Yes.

21:13Here.

21:14Here.

21:15Here?

21:15Yes, it's her.

21:16Hello.

21:17Hello, how are you?

21:18How are you?

21:19We're doing the choices together,

21:21and then we're going to the tailor.

21:23Okay.

21:27How do you choose?

21:28There are so many.

21:30Pan is a wax-printed cotton fabric.

21:33Sold in long strips,

21:34the material is ready to be fashioned

21:36into tailor-made outfits.

21:39The choices for color and pattern seemed endless.

21:42Each fabric has its own name and story,

21:45and some even have their own song.

21:47This is biscuits.

21:48Biscuit.

21:49This is a jardin de den.

21:53This is for dinner.

21:54Right.

21:55If someone has a party,

21:56he can do something good for the party.

21:59You see this?

21:59It's brilliant.

22:04That's nice.

22:06What do you guys think?

22:07I mean, this one's kind of cool.

22:09I've never had anything made from scratch before,

22:12except, like, you know,

22:13the dinky clothes that I sewed myself,

22:16so this is kind of overwhelming.

22:19How do people choose their pan?

22:20Like, is there a certain thing

22:21that they're looking for?

22:22She does this.

22:24If she thinks it's okay,

22:26it's okay.

22:27The person buys it.

22:28It's okay.

22:31It's okay.

22:32It's okay.

22:33It's okay.

22:35It's okay.

22:36It's okay.

22:37It's okay.

22:40It's okay.

22:40This one's quite cool, actually.

22:42I like it.

22:43You like the blue?

22:44Right.

22:45Okay, I'm picking this one.

22:49Oh my God, you guys.

22:50Why do all the bags have Obama on them?

22:53We love Obama.

22:55We were the people who voted Obama all night.

22:58We love Obama a lot.

23:00We love Obama a lot.

23:01Okay.

23:02Thank you, ma'am.

23:04Goodbye.

23:04Goodbye, dear.

23:07Bye.

23:12Bye.

23:12From her small, Kinshasa-based workshop,

23:14Fanny creates designs for clients both in the Congo

23:17and around the world.

23:20Do you want a piece or a combination?

23:22I was thinking maybe like square neck, you know,

23:25that starts here.

23:27Uh-huh.

23:27And here you see something that falls like that.

23:29Is it possible to make like high-waisted pants with it?

23:34Uh-huh.

23:35I kind of wanted to make like a Bianca Jagger turban.

23:40Yeah.

23:41Like that?

23:42I see.

23:42What do you think?

23:52No one has ever called me Mama Africa before.

23:56I can tell you that one.

23:57Okay.

23:58Okay.

23:59Okay.

24:08It is night time.

24:10It's taken us all day to go through this process.

24:13I would love to make all of my clothes this way,

24:16but we just don't have a culture like that.

24:18And we definitely don't have the patience.

24:26That evening, Urzul took me out dancing.

24:34Each song here has its own move.

24:37It reminded me of 1950s dance crazes.

24:42Everyone here knows how to do the Yamado and the Katapumbwa.

24:48Urzul explained that this is where trends are born in the Congo,

24:53on the dance floor.

25:04I'm on my way to meet Chicken Thighs,

25:07who's one of the most famous dancers here in Kinshasa.

25:11And I've come to talk to her about why dance is such a big deal here.

25:17I hope she appreciates my freshly shaved legs.

25:23Chicken Thighs has become a local celebrity,

25:26thanks to her inimitable dancing style and curves.

25:30Chicken Thighs has the shape that men want and girls aspire to.

25:36Hello, how are you?

25:38You look amazing!

25:40Oh my God!

25:41Cool!

25:43Those look hard to dance in.

25:44Yes, it's difficult, but I want to dance with it.

25:49I dance.

25:50It's difficult, but for me, it's not difficult,

25:54because I can do it.

25:56Woo!

25:59Oh my God.

26:03That was amazing.

26:07I've got a heavy pour, my friend.

26:12Mmm!

26:14How did you get the name, Cuisse de Poulet?

26:16When you see me there, you see how.

26:19There are men who are there,

26:21they know,

26:22and when they see me,

26:23they already know that I'm Cuisse de Poulet,

26:24because I have big cuisses.

26:27Yeah.

26:28And in Africa,

26:29there are big cuisses in Kambounadli.

26:32And do you feel,

26:33does it make you feel powerful to have a body like that?

26:36There are people who are complex.

26:38And when they see me like that,

26:40they say,

26:40hey, how are you going to do it?

26:42At home,

26:42they say,

26:43hey, what's your secret?

26:45What's your secret?

26:46But I'm already like that.

26:47As long as I'm in the world,

26:49I'm already like that.

26:49You're like, I won't come like this.

26:51If I get a grip,

26:53we'll tell you that

26:54she's suffering,

26:55she has problems.

26:57And what does it feel like when you dance?

27:00When I dance,

27:01I put two chains,

27:03I become a lion.

27:04I invite my very dear Poulet Blanc.

27:09Today,

27:10this evening,

27:11I'm Dupika.

27:13You're going to see

27:14how your girlfriend will exhibit today.

27:18You're my special guest today.

27:21It will be an honor.

27:23Yes.

27:23The TV show that Chicken Thighs invited me to

27:26is one of the biggest dance shows in the country.

27:29It is broadcast all over Africa

27:31and it is called Digi Weekend.

27:34Will they make me dance?

27:36When I tell you

27:37that Poulet Blanc

27:39that you do me,

27:40you have to do it.

27:42You have to do it.

27:46Jack, don't go upskirt on me.

27:48OK.

27:49Hey, Yamado.

27:50Hey, Yamado.

27:52Hey, Yamado.

27:52Can you move?

27:53Can you move?

27:54Yeah.

27:56That's it.

27:59Hey, Poulet Blanc.

28:00Oh, Dupika.

28:03You accept?

28:04I accept.

28:12They do this show every week

28:14and I guess it's a real rite of passage

28:16for Congolese dancers.

28:18It's a show that can really make a career, apparently.

28:22Yes!

28:24He tells you that this will be more hot,

28:26more beautiful,

28:26more serious,

28:27and bigger.

28:28Why?

28:28Because we have a special guest

28:29with, of course,

28:31the program.

28:31The Vice.

28:33Herli.

28:34I ask you a great hug for my special guest.

28:39So, ask the question of the public, are we hot today?

28:44Are we hot?

28:46Yes!

28:49She said, she launched the logo.

28:51In 3, 2, 1, music!

29:09What a delicious one!

29:11BIN!

29:13I'm a little hazy, but I hope that for you.

29:34Go for 수 there!

29:34Yes, that's good!

29:35Let me go!

29:36Come here!

29:40It's so amazing in that room, it's like a sauna, it's so hot and so smelly and no one

29:49cares, everyone was just going for it.

29:53I understand why there's this obsession with curves and butt because doing these dances

30:00it makes all the difference.

30:05The curves on display on the dance floor were not reflected at the Fashion Week.

30:10Here the women were tall and slender like those on the catwalks of Paris, New York or Milan.

30:19This Fashion Week seemed to forego its country's celebrated body type in favour of international

30:25runway standards.

30:37Auto-école model?

30:39What does that mean?

30:41Can we stop here?

30:47There's all these girls outside doing their hair.

30:51I stumbled upon a peculiar combination of a driving school and beauty academy.

30:57What does that mean?

31:28The girls learning to become beauticians offered to do my nails.

31:31Is it important here for girls to have a big butt?

31:34What does that mean?

31:53What does that mean?

32:03The reasons the girl at the beauty academy was referring to is an alarming growing trend

32:07here.

32:08To make your butt bigger, women aren't using drugs or implants, but bullion cubes.

32:13Yup, like the ones in your kitchen.

32:18I wasn't familiar with the magical properties of stock cubes, but ex-user Jenny was willing

32:24to explain to me how this process works.

32:51Oh, I don't know how this process works.

32:57OK, so she's putting water in.

33:04It's good.

33:08Congolese women who use Maggi believe that by anally ingesting the dissolved cubes, the

33:13ingredients will be absorbed locally, causing their body tissue to expand and apparently

33:19enhancing their assets.

33:21When you put it into your butt, do you have to lay down or can you show me?

33:36I'm very grateful that you helped me see how this is done.

33:41Though I'm quite surprised that so many girls do it.

33:44It's a little bit of a risk.

33:46If you put it in the medicine, then you'll have to put it in the water.

33:53There are collateral effects that are related to this usage of Maggi.

33:58We have a lot of problems related to the rectal disease.

34:03Also related to conception problems.

34:06This problem is in the same time cultural and contextual.

34:09Cultural compared to the image that we make of beauty.

34:14The dance.

34:15The musicians having the habit of showing women graces as being the ones who want.

34:24Being graces is to give the image of someone who is enough, who has the means.

34:34The pressure to look your best is so high here that alongside physical beauty treatments,

34:40many women turn to spiritual healers to improve their appearance.

34:45I'm standing outside the house of a witch doctor.

34:49There's a girl inside who is going to have a consultation that I'm going to sit in on.

34:5680% of the population identifies as Christian.

35:00However, many Congolese combine this with a traditional belief in the supernatural.

35:05People tend to consult spiritual healers before resorting to medical professionals.

35:10Bonjour.

35:12Bonjour.

35:14Why did you come here today?

35:24How old are you?

35:27And you think that you look older?

35:29I think you look beautiful.

35:40Sarah believes she has been possessed by a spirit that makes her face appear older

35:45than she actually is.

35:51Asaya, a Muslim spiritualist, specializes in removing this perceived mask.

35:58Hey!

36:00My promotion is moved.

36:11Why don't you go to women and men?

36:14Could that pull away her face later?

36:17Look.

36:17Allah, Allah, Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah,

36:20and peace be upon you.

36:24Hey!

36:31How do you feel?

36:32And do you feel younger?

36:41Can you walk me through the process

36:43of what you did to this young lady?

36:47Here, my mother, my mother,

36:49I was promoted to this young lady.

36:53I'm glad that my mother was a mother

36:54who was a mother who was a mother

36:55who was a mother who was a mother.

36:56She was a mother who was a mother who was a mother.

37:04In a way, it seemed bizarre and strange to us,

37:07but we're all trying to fix parts of ourselves

37:10that we don't like,

37:11and this is just another way to do it.

37:23And this is just one aspect of the Congo's

37:26widespread faith in the supernatural.

37:29This belief is contributing to a grave social problem in Kinshasa.

37:34Children are being accused of witchcraft

37:37in order to explain incidents like bedwetting

37:40or a sudden death in the family.

37:42Lutezo Diyana is one of many religious healers

37:45who treats a variety of ailments for a fee.

37:48I've come to his clinic to meet nine-year-old Jarnessa,

37:51who has been accused of being a witch.

37:56Are you her mother?

37:58Yes.

37:58What kind of trouble has this been bringing you?

38:09Do you know that you're a witch?

38:14How does it manifest itself in you?

38:25What kind of process do you go through with her?

38:40Were you happy to come here to this place?

38:55The fate of children diagnosed as witches is often bleak.

39:01Because poverty is so pervasive,

39:03witchcraft is used increasingly as an excuse to abandon your child

39:08if you can no longer afford to look after them.

39:12This has contributed to Kinshasa having one of the world's worst street kid problems.

39:1990% of girls turn to prostitution to survive.

39:2417-year-old Lundrine is an exception.

39:27Cast out at age 7, she survives by washing cars.

39:36How long have you lived in this van?

39:46How long have you lived in this van?

39:56How long have you lived in this van?

40:14Do you ever feel like you want to dress in a more feminine way?

40:29And what are they trying to do when they're trying to get in the car?

40:51There's no avoiding the realities of life in the DRC. Where the daily priority for most people is survival.

41:00And in that way, the Fashion Week may feel like a superficial event.

41:05But on the other hand, it serves as a marker of stability in an otherwise volatile region.

41:14Back at Fashion Week, the sapeurs were getting ready.

41:21How do you get all the money to buy a jacket like that?

41:36This was it, the culmination of the fashion show, with the sapeurs about to take center stage.

41:42Ladies and gentlemen, the sapeurs...

41:50...the small cuts off the earth...

42:01...and we're in the water...

42:03...and we're in the water...

42:10...and we're in the water...

42:12...and we're in the water...

42:19Canitoza, the beautiful creature. Canitoza, the force of the Congo.

42:27They have 100% of paper.

42:30They're going to win!

42:48Canitoza!

42:53By celebrating traditional fabrics and featuring a sapeurs show,

42:58I felt that the Fashion Week captured the essence of this country's identity.

43:02But it was the runway of the streets that really stole my heart.

43:07The people of the DRC's devotion to the art of dressing up,

43:11even in the midst of this volatility,

43:13has the power to transform these streets into a point of national pride.

43:22It's pretty much the drawing she made.

43:24It's the fabric I picked. It's the cut I picked. It's awesome.

43:43.

43:47.

43:48.

43:54You

The Streets Of The Congo Turned-Fashion Show | States of Undress | Refinery29

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