85 854
Fashion Jobs
BLOOMINGDALE'S
Merchant Operations Analyst
Permanent · NEW YORK
CROCS
Director, Service Management And Observability
Permanent · BROOMFIELD
CROCS
Supervisor, Distribution Center
Permanent · LAS VEGAS
QVC
td/Director
Permanent · WEST CHESTER
BUCKLE BRANDS
Womens Buying Support i
Permanent · KEARNEY
ALEXANDER MCQUEEN
Alexander Mcqueen Operations Manager, Saks NY
Permanent · NEW YORK
WILLIAMS SONOMA
Assistant Site Manager – Williams Sonoma
Permanent · SAN FRANCISCO
TIFFANY & CO
Branch Security Officer- South Coast Plaza
Permanent · COSTA MESA
OLD NAVY
Assistant General Manager, Merchandising - Pheasant Run Plaza
Permanent · CHICO
OLD NAVY
Assistant General Manager, Merchandising - Merrimack Premium
Permanent · MERRIMACK
ATHLETA
Assistant General Manager - 18th & 5th
Permanent · NEW YORK
OLD NAVY
Assistant General Manager, Merchandising - Arizona Mills
Permanent · TEMPE
GAP
General Manager - Philadelphia Mills
Permanent · PHILADELPHIA
OLD NAVY
General Manager - Shops at Waldorf Center (New Store)
Permanent · WALDORF
OLD NAVY
Assistant General Manager, Merchandising - Triangle Square
Permanent · NEW YORK
OLD NAVY
Assistant General Manager, Merchandising - Northgate Mall
Permanent · CHATTANOOGA
OLD NAVY
General Manager - Coosa Town Center
Permanent · GADSDEN
OLD NAVY
General Manager - Upper Valley Plaza
Permanent · LEBANON
ATHLETA
General Manager - Issaquah Commons
Permanent · ISSAQUAH
ATHLETA
General Manager - 2nd And Pch
Permanent · LONG BEACH
BANANA REPUBLIC
Assistant General Manager - Home
Permanent · TROY
OLD NAVY
Director, CRM, Marketing
Permanent · SAN FRANCISCO
By
AFP
Published
May 29, 2011
Reading time
3 minutes
Download
Download the article
Print
Text size

Niger's Alphadi pushing African fashion to global scene

By
AFP
Published
May 29, 2011

May 29- The west African country of Niger is better known for its poverty and at times its Tuareg rebellion -- not for fashion.


Nigerian fashion designer Alphadi

But out of this dusty and arid nation on the edge of the Sahara desert has emerged Alphadi, a man as colourful as his creations -- who is all out to push Africa's fashion creativity to global prominence.

At his studio and up-market boutique in the capital city Niamey, clients and friends come and go. Everyone laughs, some get angry or lost in heated debates.

Alphadi is passionate about Africa, politics, development and discrimination, and strongly believes that fashion and arts are vehicles to spur the continent on to prosperity.

At 53, of slim build, the cheerful Tuareg whose career spans nearly three decades is driven by seemingly endless energy.

His fusion of the Saharan desert experience and contemporary Western designs has his collections hitting the catwalks and runways from one fashion capital to another, from New York to Paris, via Dakar and Bamako.

His designs are inspired by centuries-old African handicrafts including those by the Hausa, the largest ethnic group in West Africa, and his native Tuareg.

The "Nomads" couture collection features elegant and ultra feminine dresses in light silk or cotton print, some embroidered or woven with designs influenced by Alphadi's native Tuareg savannah or natural lush vegetation.

Born to a father from Mali and a mother from Niger, Alphadi -- whose real name is Sidahmed Seidnaly -- created his label in 1984. He released his first couture line in 1985 at an international tourism show in Paris to great praise.

He now spends his time between Paris and Niamey.

Complexe Alphadi, which houses his offices, a workroom, a big pret-a-porter boutique and a cafe, is located along the popular Vox street in downtown Niamey. In the workroom, five designers toil away -- one cuts a piece of pink fabric, another sews a cuff.

The Nomads collection is partly crafted here, as well as in Syria and Morocco. But last year's political turmoil in this uranium-rich but deeply impoverished country weighed heavily on Alphadi's business.

"I had over 120 employees, that was three years ago," said the designer, who now counts no more than 30 workers in Niger.

A former French colony in west Africa, Niger has been marked by political instability and a series of coups since gaining independence from France in 1960.

The last coup in February 2010 put him on a "sabbatical", Alphadi sadly joked. But the designer remains optimistic and banks on the return to a civilian democracy -- in April, the junta handed power to a civilian, Mahamadou Issoufou, who won a March presidential vote -- for a turnabout in fortunes.

Each encounter at his shop gives rise to a lively exchange with the uninhibited Alphadi.

The father of six says he is forging ahead with a "battle" to "give Africa a chance to create" both arts and jobs. But his humour gives way to anger and exasperation as he castigates African "politicians" who "relegate 'artists' into the background" and underestimate their abilities by awarding textile producing contracts to China at the expense of locals.

"You can do anything in Africa!" asserted Alphadi, sitting on a leather cushion in a corner of his shop.

"Oil! Diamonds! Uranium! I understand. But there are also creative artists. These are the poorest, the poorest who create, who make jewellery, embroidery..," he railed.

His own battles are many. Early on, he had to cope with rejection from his "very Islamic, deeply-rooted in religion" family of royal descent when his flare for fashion emerged early in adolescence.

"At the age of 14 I was knitting," he recalled with amusement.

More recently, some Islamists in this predominately Muslim country shattered his shop window and threatened to kill him, unhappy with the way he dresses women.

"Helping the youths" is also a priority for the stylist who, every two years, offers young African designers the opportunity to showcase at his International Festival of African Fashion.

by Sophie Mongalvy

Copyright © 2024 AFP. All rights reserved. All information displayed in this section (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the contents of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presses.