The sixth edition of DRC Fashion Week was held last weekend at the Galerie La Fontaine in Kinshasa, bringing together fashion designers, stylists and sapeurs from the Democratic Republic of Congo and the neighboring Republic of Congo, centered on the theme of La Sape, short for Société des Ambianceurs et des Personnes Élégantes.
This cultural and fashion movement, which has become one of the markers of Congolese identity, was born in the 1960s in both Congos, when Congolese men, inspired by colonial-era European fashion, chose to reclaim their dignity through impeccable dress. Popularized worldwide by Congolese rumba star Papa Wemba, La Sape today goes far beyond clothing alone, standing, in the words of designer Grâce Bundu, as a true cultural legacy shared between Kinshasa and Brazzaville.
For this edition, organizers enforced a strict dress code, requiring models and attendees alike to wear the colors of the Congolese and Congo-Brazzaville flags. The instruction was widely followed, turning the evening into a celebration of national pride as blue, yellow, red and green from both emblems filled the venue. The collections presented blended traditional references with contemporary design, featuring bold prints, bright colors and tailored silhouettes, in a clear tribute to La Sape’s great figures, from Papa Wemba to Rafa Bounzeki.
Brazzaville-based designer Kevin Toundwa, who traveled to Kinshasa with several fellow designers from the neighboring capital, said he wanted to celebrate La Sape in a burst of color, paying tribute to those who championed haute couture and extravagance. Grâce Bundu, for her part, emphasized the movement’s identity dimension, noting that claiming the title of sapeur is above all a way of asserting one’s Congolese belonging, through a legacy that must be kept alive year after year.
The event, led for six editions by co-founders Nathalie Eoma and Bénie Nyota, has established itself as a platform for showcasing Congolese creativity and a space for cultural rapprochement between the two banks of the Congo River. The strong turnout of both Kinshasa and Brazzaville residents was a defining feature of this edition, welcomed by the organizers as a sign of growing interest in the event.
Congo’s Minister of Communication and Media, Patrick Muyaya, attended the event and described it as a demonstration of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s cultural power. He noted that the vitality of Congolese creativity was not limited to Kinshasa but was also being expressed in other provinces, including Lualaba, and reaffirmed the government’s support for cultural and creative industries, citing the ongoing commitment of the president of the Republic and the prime minister.