Emmanuelle Courrèges’s earliest fashion memories are all about self-expression: As a schoolgirl in Côte d’Ivoire, she and her classmates swapped out their navy uniform skirts for sarouel pants of the same color, a style typically worn by men that allowed for freedom of movement and a hint of rebellion. She remembers admiring how Aminata Traoré, the Malian Minister of Culture and a family friend, combined traditional garments with accessories by young designers to create “innovative, original silhouettes.” Her early visits to designer Chris Seydou’s workshop in Abidjan were also formative—his atelier was a meeting place for the region’s most stylish women.

“I was lucky enough, thanks to my family, to grow up surrounded by African intellectuals, journalists, sociologists, and artists who have nourished my thinking,” says Courrèges, a French journalist who has contributed to Elle, Marie-Claire and Vogue Italia, and spent the first 18 years of her life between Cameroon, Senegal, and Côte d'Ivoire...click on the link to read more.

https://nigeriabroad.com/-em-the-fashion-continent--em---spotlighting-the-boundary-pushing-designers-shaping-african-wear

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