Rural Congo on the Paris Runway

Sakia Lekouzou’s mother’s and father’s people come from Boundji and Sibiti, two villages that are 406 miles apart in disparate regions of the Congo. Marked by clusters of thatched huts and farmland, these communities were where Lekouzou, on visits during her childhood, became immersed in the cultural aspects of her parents’ Mbochi and Bayaka tribes. The future designer developed a fascination with a fabric called raffia, which has the unique ability to hold a shape, and she paid close attention to how it looked when draped around the bodies of traditional dancers as they performed ceremonial movements. This was the beginning.

“At 10 years old I played around a lot with different kinds of fabrics, but raffia just felt different,” Lekouzou, now in her early 40s, told OZY. “I considered using raffia for the very reason people did not consider it,” she explained. “It is often reserved [for] witch doctors, traditional dancers or royal families within the Congolese tribes.”

Sakia’s father, Lékoundzou Itihi Ossetoumba, was a former minister and honorary member of the Central Committee of Congolese Labor. This gave the young Lekouzou the chance to travel and study internationally. In the early ‘90s, at age 14, she left home for school in Paris. It was while getting a haircut in the French capital that she was spotted by a gentleman who learned she was a budding designer and invited her to a fashion show; this meeting led to her showing her own work at a Black Sugar fashion event. Attended by celebrities like Papa Wemba, king of Rumba rock music in the Congo, and American jazz singer Dee Dee Bridgewater, this event was a big break for Lekouzou. Bridgewater asked to wear Lekouzou’s designs at a cover photoshoot for Amina magazine.

Gaining momentum, Lekouzou eventually moved to the U.S., where she worked as a style assistant alongside Derek Warburton and Teddy Gunter at their Atomic Funk agency in South Beach, Florida. After three years in that role, Lekouzou decided it was time to launch her own brand, which she dubbed SakiaLek. In 2014 her designs were featured in a Dallas art and fashion show whose theme was “man as machine.”

“I was surprised because people felt my collection of raffia was futuristic,” she told OZY in a recent call. Little did they know that even as Lekouzou’s designs were visions of the future, they were deeply rooted in the past.

“I believe that in the Republic of Congo, we are facing a big cultural identity problem,” Lekouzou told OZY. “Many Congolese people tend to disassociate themselves [from] their traditional backgrounds. If we claim this identity back, it will help us in embracing our cultural roots. When I look at Nigerians, for example, many of them embrace their culture, but in Congo we feel ‘it is not good enough.’ I strongly believe that bringing back raffia will help Congo find its identity.”

Raffia fabric has presented challenges for Lekouzou. The raw fiber comes from peeling raffia palm leaves; fibers are then spun on a wooden loom to make fabric. This process is passed down from generation to generation in many villages. The laborious nature of the process makes raffia, which is highly durable, very expensive to produce. It’s also hard to find workers skilled in this craft. “Many locals that have knowledge of the production of this fiber have migrated out of the villages into the city,” said Lekouzou.

“Knowing that raffia is a luxurious fabric, the pieces that I make are limited,” Lekouzou continued. “I have been working on my supply chain directly with the villagers to create a network of farmers that specialize in raffia.” She sees herself as introducing a fashionable, organic product into the larger marketplace.

Alain Ossibi, a Brazzaville-based designer and popular sapeur, says what he values most about the Sakialek brand is how it preserves Congolese culture even while modernizing it. “It is impressive to find local and young designers that are keen on showcasing our culture locally, but most importantly, on the international fashion scene as well,” he said. “The Republic of Congo is very often disregarded in many fields, especially the fashion scene in Western countries. We have many local talents but we do not yet have the exposure that we need. Both locally and internationally, I think that she is really challenging people’s outlook.”

on The Carlos Watson Show!

“Anything can become my subject of creation, yes, even the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, the war in Ukraine, my neighbor, someone’s hairstyle that I admire,” Lekouzou told OZY. During the COVID-19 lockdown, she said the sense of uncertainty created by taking masks on and off inspired her to create her SS, or style shield, accessories collection, which she plans to use for her next fashion show. Stay tuned.

A day after presenting her raffia collection in Paris in 2019, Lekouzou was approached by Lamine Badian Kouyaté, designer and founder of the brand XULY.Bët. Best known for upcycling used clothing into high-fashion designs, Badian Kouyaté has dressed celebrities including French singer Aya Nakamura and director and activist Alice Diop. Kouyaté reached out to Lekouzou after seeing her work on the Paris runway. The two are now planning to launch a collaborative show in 2023. The dates are yet to be determined; watch SakiaLek on Instagram for updates.

Lekouzou is also working on a collection that will be shown in Dakar, Senegal later this year, part of a celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Dakar Fashion Week. She says her inspiration for this particular collection was butterflies and windows; the public will have to wait and see what that looks like on a runway. Later this month she will post an announcement on Instagram about the relaunch of her online store.

“We all have a unique story to tell,” says Lekouzou. “Sometimes when you sow a dream in space and time, a little like we sow a seed in the earth, we are afraid of having no return ... A little patience, passion and confidence gives us the opportunity to have a fantastic return. So this is my raffia story, to be continued.”

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