Top modèle Sachakara Dieng a posé pour UNITED FASHION FOR PEACE
By Fériel Berraies Guigny in Dakar
une entrevue exclusive courtesy of UNITED FASHION FOR PEACE/ aucun droit de reproduction merci
un reportage photo exclusif pour UFFP de Stéphane Tourné
Location : Hotel Sokhamon, Bd roosevelt, Dakar, Senegal Tel. : (221) 77 520 71 76 Merci à Rama Simone Farah
Maquillage : Bouchra Elisabeth Lugo (B.L Beauty) Paris
Modèles: Cynthia Ondias Oyini, Sachakara Dieng, Fleur Mbaye
Sachakara Dieng
We met the brilliant and talented egyptian designer « Tito » a magical encouter in Senegal during the last Dakar Fashion Week. United Fashion for Peace was media partner of the 10th anniverssary of Dakar Fashion Week. A first time in Senegal for this young promissing talent called Tito, who offered to the public a new vision of his sense couture. Tito is the new face of Egypt with his brand Titos he represents modern and avant-garde couture. As a designer he dares style and creativity wise and his vision and designs have definitely no boundaries. The Titos woman is beautiful, free and very self confident, a very courageous attitude while Egypt is undergoing political turmoil and egyptian women are threatened by islamic fundamentalism and repression. Tito designs are the living proof that modernity is also a reality to preserve in Egypt. Titos designs set free the mind and the body of beautiful women.
Interview with Tito :
Tito that does not sound very egyptian ? actually it is a nickname, my friends often called me like that so it stayed and now it is the name of my brand.
Can you tell us about your background? I started working in the fashion industry with the great tunisian designer who’s established in Egypt, Soucha. For seven years i ve worked with the designer, but just recently I decided to launch my own designs. My brand exists for six months it is really my new baby.
Fleur Mbaye et Sachakara Dieng
Tell us about this first collection? when i thought about the collection i wanted something very romantic and elegant but i was also seeking for something unusual. I made it a little sexy and edgy. I used different cuts and fabrics played also with transparency. I wanted extravaganza in my cuts just to show that elegance could also be different.
It was a challenge also and what are the material you used? yes conceiving this collection took me hours and hours, but i m passionate about what i do, i used tulles and dentelle stretch, also taffetas and chiffon silk. I used straps of satin that was the main concept of the collection. As for the colours, usually i don t fancy using many of them but this time i chose black and red, burgundy the black and the grey. Beige, turquoise and the shades of red.
Sachakara Dieng
Describe Titos woman ? She is confident and she hates to be ordinary, she definitely is not boiring!
Your first time in Dakar? yes definitely but i’ve been in different fashion events in the Continent and i particularly liked Arise fashion week, Africa Fashion Week and Angola Business Fashion Week. Internationally i also participated in Couture fashion Week in New York. Also Hong Kong fashion week and Labo Ethnik in Paris.
What do you think of the potential of african designers in Dakar? I think there s a lot of potential and these designers are also very lucky to have fashion weeks in their native land, because in Egypt we don’t the meaning of a fashion week !
As an artist but also a citizen of your region what is your vision of the political turmoil we are going through ? I felt the opposite way , I wanted to get out of all the negativ energy that came out of the sad events that we keep hearing. It’s time to resist and put all our efforts to make special things happen. We have to accomplish in due time something big for our country to prove that what people think might happen in advance in the Middle East, is false!
Fleur Mbaye
Creativity is the key? Definitely we have a lot of that ! we must show the western world how civilised we really are.
The Revolution today ? any revolution has its ups and downs, we must wait a little bit until we achieve our goal and start seeing the good sides of this revolution.
As an artist do you feel it is your time? unfortunately in Egypt I don’t see yet any positive signs for us and even before the revolution the fashion was already so sick.
Do you believe in ethical designs? i totally support an initiative like UNITED FASHION FOR PEACE, i also believe in working in an environment that does no t limit my imagination and creativity beacause i always like to exceed limits. I believe also that you have to be respectful to your environment and to the people you employ. Often we forget the contribution of the little hands and i sincerly think that we cannot do without them. As for the philosophy behind UFFP yes i believe that Culture, Art and Fashion are strong enough to spread messages of peace and dialogue between civilisations.
Cynthia Ondias Oyini
What would you like to say to those who put a wall to your creativity? i know that already with this sexy collection i provoked somehow the islamic brothers ( smiles) and i m totally against them. It is time for the Arabic World to step out of the box, we don’t want to be limited nore controlled by other people or forces. We must stop reducing ourselves and we must fill the gap with the western world. We must cease to be underdeveloped in our minds. Egypt during the fifties was so avant-garde and now we are downgraded ! I dream we return to the days of King Farouk where we were competing America.
Cynthia Ondias Oyini
A talent to follow a United Fashion for Peace Artist son of the Nile, brother of the Jasmin Revolution a true Ambassador of the arab awakening for Art and Culture !!!
Your dreams ? to be well known as an egyptian designer but unfortunately i shall not stay in Egypt. I want to work in places where my work will be appreciated. My dream would be Paris but realistic wise i see myself in the States.