THE SAPEURS, MEN OF STYLE
My first introduction to the Sapeurs was through my style goddess Solange in her moving music video for her single “Losing you” which featured the men of the underground Congolese sartorial subculture. Deriving from a stringy historical background from the Mobuto Sese Seko era where during his presidency he attempted and in some sense succeeded in fashioning the Republic of Congo in his likeness with the introduction of the ‘Abacost’. This ruling came under the authenticite programme where President Mobuto banned all the republic’s men from wearing western style suits. Long story short, the Sapeur movement was made manifest as an expression of civil disobedience in the 60’s and 70’s. The well colored and tailored suits of the Congolese Sapeurs, the way they themselves ‘perform’ in them and the seudo political statement it makes is what makes it a global interest story and why it is my featured video of the moment. The video presented is adapted from the Guinness 2014 campaign “The Spauers”. Enjoy and share it with your friends!
