(in their pretty, pretty clothes)
– Surbhi
The march of the dandies referred to here is not Gandhiji’s; instead, it is of people who don vibrant European style, expensive pieces of clothing from luxury and fashionable brands like Versace and Prada and authentic animal skin footwear. The thing to note here is that these people don’t come from wealthy or developed or even seemingly ‘fashionable’ countries; instead, this subculture of dandyism is prominently seen in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the Republic of the Congo (ROC) – two countries which people often mistake to be the same. More specifically, these swaggers represent a subculture within DRC, centred on Kinshasa and within ROC, based on Brazzaville, within ROC. So why do they choose to spend years’ worth of savings on such flamboyant clothes while they toil as taxi drivers, or plumbers for the money? As the adage goes, “They would rather dress well than eat well.” But it is crucial to note that they don’t dress well just for the looks but also to make a statement out of it.
This subculture, termed La Sape (saper is slang for clothing in French), which designates Société des ambianceurs et des personnes élégantes, i.e., “the society of ambience-makers and elegant people”, is named in respect of the dashing and extravagant clothing community of Kinshasa and Brazzaville people (called Sapeurs), which may seem to be incongruent with the poverty-stricken and hungry images of colonial Africa perpetuated by the media. Many a time, this culture has been attributed to channel ‘dissatisfaction and impatience with the prevailing socio-cultural convention (aesthetic sensibility mainly), as well as the domination and humiliation against blacks’, and simultaneously grows a cult of individuality, for instance, the Asmarinos of Eritrea, who dress up in Italian fashion. However, this culture has found little academic and scholarly attention.
Various interpretations are derived from this fancy sartorial wit. Self-spectacularization, in this case, historically was attributed to surviving racial prejudice at the hands of the colonisers. Indeed, Dandyism can itself be thought of as a product of colonialism, similar to the Indian case of the middle classes sewing the colonial fabric into their own. By appropriating European clothing, the dandies pioneered a paradigm shift by trying to turn racial bias on its head. Being dressed in such a way makes other people realise the dandies’ simple manifestation of their awareness and rebellion against reproduced racial inequalities, with each piece of clothing having connotations of modernity, materiality and affluence, which remains a desirable lifestyle for many. Moreover, the haute couture can be seen in rebellion against the stereotyped and propagated idea of ‘dirty and unclean skin’ of the Congolese subjects by their colonisers.
This is not to say that every fashion trend set by black men comes under dandyism. For instance, Cab Calloway’s association with zoot suits or even the versatile leather jacket of Newton and Seal is not an instance of dandyism. Dandyism, which made its way to the Harlem Renaissance and became exemplary in many post-modernist arts, didn’t always just portray men’s masculinity, for at times it had queer connotations too. It gave voice to and accentuated one’s individuality and masculinity; it confronted and rebelled against the criminalising mindset and biases infamously attached to them. This can be taken as an example of Bourdieu’s description of “ways in which ‘signs of distinction’ and fashion offers one of the most favourable terrains and which is the motor of cultural life as a perpetual movement of overtaking and outflanking”. However, the increased media presence, photographs, and poses have, among many other factors, led to this culture being ‘exoticised as others’ in the eyes of the West.
The women dandies, referred to as Sapeuse, are stepping up in their neat and trim clothes to navigate their place in the male-dominated culture, as vibrantly as their style. With the ratio being one woman for five men, there is still a long road ahead to more diverse demographics partaking in the culture, with the sapeuse designating it as a rebellion against their old and conservative attitudes. Even so, there remains a segment of the population that comments, or rather ‘advises’ the female counterparts not to dress in such a way if they’re ‘serious’ about finding a good husband. Moreover, as mentioned before, such resplendent clothing may also give an image of women being lesbian, and thanks to the colonial legacy, queerness remains a taboo topic in Africa. In simple words, dressing this way takes guts and courage for women.
But there remains a worldwide hope that these swaggers, especially the mademoiselles, march in rebellion against the boundaries of fashion imposed upon them and own the agency they strive for through their pretty, pretty clothes.
Edited by Garima Sane and S Santhosh Mohan
Article 19 