Adama Amanda Ndiaye is a Senegalese fashion designer. She also goes by the name Adama Paris, which is also the name of the label she owns and operates. Her pieces, which are manufactured in Morocco, can be found internationally, including in New York City, Tokyo, London and Paris. [1] She is credited with starting Black Fashion Week.
Ndiaye was born in Kinshasa, Zaire, [2] then raised in Europe, where her parents were diplomats. [3] She left a banking career in Europe to pursue fashion design in her native country. Africa had a long history of design but struggled for mainstream acceptance, and raising capital for her business was difficult. In order to expand the visibility of African design, Ndiaye created the Dakar Fashion Week exhibition. [4] By 2012, the tenth year of the show, it attracted thirty designers from nine countries in Africa and Asia, with audience members coming from around the world, and had an operating budget of more than CFA 80 million (about US$150,000). [1] [5] She has also organized Black Fashion Week events in Prague, Czech Republic, and Bahia, Brazil. [6] [7]
Her designs are inspired by cities and globalism. In an interview with Vogue Italia, she stated, "Much of my inspiration come from the big cities... My aim was and still is sharing with all modern women one fashion without borders." [4]
Ndaiye has noted that among many African nations, religious objections have made designers unable to practice their profession. She credits the generally tolerant culture of Senegal for providing a supportive environment. [7] She has also spoken out, with other African designers, for increased funding and access to credit from governments in order to foster innovation and job creation in the fashion industry. [8]
Sonia Rykiel was a French fashion designer and writer. She created the Poor Boy Sweater, which was featured on the cover of French Elle magazine. Her knitwear designs and new fashion techniques led her to be dubbed the "Queen of Knits". The Sonia Rykiel label was founded in 1968, upon the opening of her first store, making clothing, accessories, and fragrances. Rykiel was also a writer, and her first book was published in 1979. In 2012, Rykiel revealed that she was suffering from Parkinson's disease. She died from complications of the disease on 25 August 2016.
Paris Fashion Week is a series of designer presentations held semi-annually in Paris, France, with spring/summer and autumn/winter events held each year. Dates are determined by the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode. Paris Fashion Week is held at venues throughout the city.
Iba Der Thiam, also known as I. D. Thiam, was a Senegalese writer, historian, and politician. He served in the government of Senegal as Minister of Education from 1983 to 1988; later, he was First Vice-President of the National Assembly of Senegal from 2001 to 2012.
Longchamp is a French leather goods company, founded in Paris in 1948 by Jean Cassegrain. The company pioneered luxury leather-covered pipes before expanding into small leather goods. Longchamp debuted women's handbags in 1971, becoming one of France's leading leather goods makers. Today, the company designs and manufactures leather and canvas handbags, luggage, shoes, travel items, fashion accessories, and women's ready-to-wear. The house is privately owned and managed by the Cassegrain founding family and does business in 80 countries through around 1,500 retail outlets.
Jayne Pierson is a Welsh fashion designer. She launched her début collection with On|Off at London Fashion Week in September 2009. She has designed for Alexander McQueen and Vivienne Westwood. Her speciality is designing fashions for artists and actors.
Mdvanii was originally conceived as a conceptual art and fashion doll for adults by artist BillyBoy*. Since 1990 it has been a collaboration with his life partner, artist Jean Pierre Lestrade. The 25 cm (9.8 in) tall doll was originally made in a matte Caron make-up toned hard resin. Mdvanii debuted on February 14, 1989 in London, England.
Diane Pernet is a Paris-based American-born international fashion blogger and critic and founder of the international ASVOFF festival.
ASVOFF, or A Shaded View on Fashion Film, is a fashion film festival founded by journalist Diane Pernet. Since its 2008 debut at the Jeu de Paume National Gallery, it is a three-day festival event showcasing feature films, documentaries, conferences, performances and installations.
Sarah Jane Burton is an English fashion designer. She worked at the Alexander McQueen fashion house from 1997 through 2023, spending her last 13 years at the company as its creative director. She is currently the creative director of Givenchy.
Women in Senegal have a traditional social status as shaped by local custom and religion. According to 2005 survey, the female genital mutilation prevalence rate stands at 28% of all women in Senegal aged between 15 and 49.
Isabel Marant is a French fashion designer, owner of the eponymous fashion brand. She won the Award de la Mode (1997), the Whirlpool Award for best female designer (1998), Fashion Designer of the Year at British Glamour's Women of the Year Awards (2012). She was named Contemporary Designer of the Year at the Elle Style Awards in 2014. Her collaboration with H&M in 2013 was so successful that company's website crashed under the demand and the collection was sold out within 45 minutes. Celebrities wearing Marant's designs include Alexa Chung, Katie Holmes, Victoria Beckham, Kate Moss, Sienna Miller, Kate Bosworth, and Rachel Weisz.
Xiao Wen Ju is a Chinese model. She was the first model of Chinese descent to be the face of Marc Jacobs.
Angèle Diabang Brener is a Senegalese screenwriter, director and film producer.
Patricia Cleveland is an American fashion model who initially attained success in the 1960s and 1970s and was one of the first African-American models within the fashion industry to achieve prominence as a runway model and print model.
Marpessa Hennink is a Dutch fashion model. She is best known for her work as a runway model, which earned her the moniker “The Catwalk Contessa”.
Lady Dior is a commercial name given to a handbag by the Christian Dior company in honor of Diana, Princess of Wales. It was designed by Gianfranco Ferré in 1994 under the name Chouchou, and was later renamed as Princesse before being renamed as Lady Dior. French actress Marion Cotillard was the ambassador of Lady Dior for nine years, from 2008 to 2017, even designing her own handbag for the brand in 2012.
Maria Grazia Chiuri is an Italian fashion designer. After stints working at Fendi and Valentino, Chiuri was named creative director at Dior in 2016.
Simon Porte Jacquemus is a French fashion designer and the founder of the Jacquemus fashion label.
Fatoumata Diabaté is a Malian photographer from Bamako.
Ali Karoui, born in 1986 in Tunis, is a Tunisian fashion designer and founder of Ali Karoui Coutures.