Lamine Badian Kouyaté considered how best to celebrate Xuly Bët: It was with a riot of prints and garments fashioned into sartorial and sporty looks. That’s not to say there was not a healthy dose of his traditional form-fitting garments in technical fabrics such as spandex and nylon — there was, with strappy dresses, skirts and leggings emblazoned with words like “Funky,” “Club” and “Catalog,” in red and black.
Kouyaté also presented more sartorial looks, such as the jean jacket and jean ensemble with red stich detailing. The front of a traditional blazer was decorated with wording, too.
“Funky fashion is part of Xuly Bët,” he said. “The spirit is love.”
Kouyaté sought to make a political statement, against unrest in Senegal, Ukraine, Congo and the Middle East, showing his collection in silence along a glass-covered passageway. Kouyaté handed out show notes, in which the designer wrote how he sought to show his collection in an “authentic way, without artifice, in respectful silence.”
“We’re in real trouble,” he said, prior to the show, referring to the world at large.
For more Paris Fashion Week reviews, click here.
