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32 / PEOPLE / Fashion<br />
PEOPLE / 33<br />
Quote: Harpers Bazaar<br />
Material<br />
Masters<br />
Move over Prada and Dolce & Gabbana: a new<br />
design aesthetic emerging from Africa is<br />
stalking the catwalks of New York, Paris and<br />
Milan. Meet the ULTRA-TALENTED<br />
DESIGNERS behind this new trend.<br />
text Shalini Gidoomal<br />
Sarah<br />
Diouf<br />
Born<br />
Paris, France<br />
Brand<br />
Tongoro<br />
Influenced by<br />
Senegalese lifestyle and culture<br />
Highlight<br />
Dressing singer and icon, Beyoncé, four<br />
times in 2018<br />
Signature look<br />
Strong prints at a good price point<br />
Online<br />
tongoro.com<br />
“African Fashion is the fresh air everyone<br />
wants to breathe, but not everyone<br />
is ready to spend too much on it…yet”<br />
FOUNDED IN 2016, Tongoro is a<br />
ready-to-wear label that’s dedicated to the<br />
development of Senegal, boosting production<br />
in Western Africa and celebrating the<br />
continent. Tongoro’s creator Sarah Diouf<br />
made a strong following for herself<br />
through her online fashion magazine,<br />
Ghubar, which she set up in 2009 while<br />
studying in Paris. It took her to New York<br />
Fashion Week.<br />
“I’ve been observing fashion for more<br />
than five years, and I’ve seen a lot of African<br />
designers positioning themselves at<br />
the luxury end. It’s an expensive ask; people<br />
get to choose between say Prada and a<br />
new designer. Most opt for the safety of a<br />
known brand rather than investing in<br />
someone new,” she says.<br />
For Diouf, the obvious gap was an<br />
affordable range. She conducted a soft<br />
launch in Paris, in 2015, and used pop-ups<br />
and surveys to perfect her collection<br />
before she launched it officially in May<br />
the following year. She subsequently<br />
moved to Dakar, Senegal to oversee production.<br />
The result is a bold collection of<br />
fluid, light clothing that features striking<br />
prints. Tongoro only sells online, and has<br />
a solid clientele in the US, South Africa<br />
and Nigeria. Last year’s celebrity approval<br />
came from singer Beyoncé, who appeared<br />
four times in different Tongoro outfits<br />
during 2018.<br />
“It was important for me to make<br />
something here [Dakar] that would reflect<br />
what I stand for. I’m coming up with an<br />
African line, which is made in Africa by<br />
African artisans and hopefully the more I<br />
grow, the better they get at their work and<br />
the more financial freedom they gain,” she<br />
explained in an interview with OkayAfrica.<br />
While Tongoro is viewed as high-end in<br />
Africa, Diouf plans to make it accessible to<br />
more Africans within three years.
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