July - September 2017 •
The Lion King
• 51
Style
edness and Irreproachable behav-
iour. As a sapeur, "you will favour
neither tribalism, nationalism nor rac-
ism". Their dress code obeys strict rules
of elegance, beauty and harmony
of colours (flamboyant clothing and
exaggerated style with a maximum of
three colours in the same outfit).
A real drug, la SAPE has a cost. The
sapeur will not have a car, houses and
any other investments because every
penny is spent to meet the rules and
buy the latest and craziest accessories
that one can find in order to win on
“fight days” or sapeurs exhibitions and
parade. All the sapeurs dream of Paris,
fashion city and headquarter of SAPE
for the diaspora. For a sapeur seeing
Paris is a blessing.
Sapeurs today are raised to the status
of “cultural heritage” by the President
Denis Sassou Nguesso who allows them
to participate in public cultural events
like the African Exhibit of Fashion. They
parade on Congolese National day
each August 15th and are officially
invited to the French ambassador’s
residency in Brazzaville, the famous “la
case de Gaulle” on French national
day each July 14th.
Photo Credit: flickr.com/ Ilja Smets
Photo Credit: flickr.com/ Idavid son
