CONGO DANDIES
Originally published in spanish at Ssstendhal.com
It never ceases to amaze me how so many aspects and events in the evolution of humanity can develop and combine to trigger an apparent infinite number of phenomena that, for the spiritually restless, are extremely interesting to analyse. This is the case of the subject that concerns us now. Last summer, perhaps due to beer, heat or a combination of both, all the articles I had read and studied throughout the year began to pop up all over my mind. I decided to review some of them, and on one in particular, signed by Tariq Zaidi and accompanied by eight wonderful images, I considered it necessary to reflect. Thought after thought, an interesting assessment emerged, which I share below. I think it not only necessary but also very beneficial for everyone, in this world that makes less and less sense each day, to be aware of phenomena like the SAPE that I describe here.
The Societé des Ambianceurs et des Personnes Élegantes (SAPE), the curious organization that we should all be aware of, was not unknown to me. Years ago, I had the oportunity to read a longer story about the origins and implications of this very interesting and diverse group of congolese, and I can say that I was genuinely surprised. Having overcome the initial “freakism” that inevitably comes to one's mind, I could not help but wonder whether all that apparent irony, that visual and conceptual gap I noticed when I watched these dandies wander elegantly through the slums of Kinshasa or Brazzaville, had its origin in something truly complex. I would soon discover that this was indeed what had happened, and that the contrast between the perfectly polished patent leather and the black mud on the streets hid more information than it seemed. As always, I had to look back to the past in order to understand the present.
If we know something about the history of fashion and style, starting to unravel this "mystery" is not particularly difficult. It is evident that the SAPE´s aesthetic is based on the European dandy philosophy and its subsequent development. It is not, however (and here we find the key to understand it) a style assimilated or adapted to the allure and traditional clothing of that particular area of Africa. The most characteristic aspects of this original dandism, so recognizable from its origins in style giants like Oscar Wilde, have been unabashedly accentuated, sometimes even bordering performance. It can be deduced, therefore, that what was intended to be expressed was related to the socio-cultural implications of this way of dressing and what it entailed at the time. A caricature? An assimilation with a vindictive point? Probably the latest.
For all these reasons, it is inevitable to refer to Congo's colonial past. It was, in fact, the social dynamics created by the European colonisation process that originally gave rise to the SAPE as an interesting reaction to foreign cultural domination. I find the use of cultural appropriation particularly notable here (contrary to how we usually understand it) as a way of asserting oneself against the invader, constructing a form of fine irony that, without becoming a mockery, seems to reveal the profound imbalance of the social dynamics of the territory. We cannot forget that, during colonialism, society was artificially compartmentalised into two independent systems which established complex mutual relationships, which translated into individuals who incarnated the upper class on one level while they represented the last link in the other´s chain of command. It is precisely in this interface where SAPE was created. Thus, in this case, human being uses fashion as a complex semantic system to externalize the keys and conflicts of his life in society, turning it into an outlet from the more violent alternatives that usually prevail in this cases, creating a completely and truly interesting new phenomenon.