"This is the Senegalese power."

August 21, 2020 7:33 AM

All hail Oumou Sy, Senegal’s ‘Queen of Couture’

I was born in Podor, a haven of peace on the river in the northernmost point of Senegal that borders Mauritania. Women in my tribe have only one purpose: to get married, be pretty, and stay silent. When my dad died, I felt all his force come into me. At the age of five I was no longer a child, at the age of 9 I refused an arranged marriage, at the age of 13 my mother bought me my first sewing machine and I started using recuperated fabrics. I wanted to be independent, if you are a woman, financially self-sufficient, and you can provide for your parents, people would not bother you, and you would be respected.
...
I take what I can and make it my own. I enjoy working with different materials, things that surround me, that I come across in my everyday life. I’m a self-proclaimed hunter and gatherer of things; I look for natural elements to work with [such] as plants, herbs, barks, and natural dyes, using either traditional or modern techniques. I choose a material and look for a way to highlight it. I’ve never learned to read and write, and so my fashion is the most important vessel for the expression of my creativity.

Via Colossal via Julnyes's answer on AskMe via carlypennylane's question on AskMe

posted by youarenothere (5 comments total)

Y'ALL I GOT MY ENTIRE LIFE FROM THESE PHOTOS
posted by youarenothere at 7:34 AM on August 21, 2020 [1 favorite]

This is great, thanks for posting it! I love the design with the straw disks, wow.
posted by LobsterMitten at 7:48 AM on August 21, 2020 [1 favorite]

Document: You’re often referred to as ‘Senegal’s Queen of Couture’. What, in your opinion, gained you this royalty status?

Oumou: People can say whatever they want, I don’t see myself as the queen of couture, fashion, [or] the queen of anything actually. I simply create clothing; people can call me anything, I just carry on. Only God knows if I am a queen. Anyone can be a queen in their own field.

There's something beautiful and true in what Oumou says there. Humility and strength and resilience. I know very little about Senegal - I have a Senegalese-Australian friend who runs a fantastic bar here and we talk about food and football (round ball) and the usual buddy chat, but he came here as a refugee and doesn't talk much about home. But he has a similar attitude to life.

This was a great post, thankyou for sharing.
posted by prismatic7 at 8:15 AM on August 21, 2020 [5 favorites]

These are gorgeous. I googled image searched and found a bunch more, as well.
posted by jacquilynne at 8:34 AM on August 21, 2020

This is a powerful aesthetic.
posted by mhoye at 8:50 AM on August 21, 2020