They're hip they're cool, they're the fashion vibe group of the African continent

#MyFancyLife #War, poverty, famine, and disease are probably the first impression many people have of Africa.

However, on such a land, there is a group of black brothers who are addicted to fashion trends.

They would rather have no food or water in their homes than spend all their money on designer suits.

On the muddy, dirty streets, the gentlemen's fashion extravaganza takes place from time to time.

Elegant, brightly colored suits,

immaculate, mirrored shoes,

color-coordinated socks,

bowler hats, canes and umbrellas, and even pocket towels with just the right amount of ruffling.

It's a great contrast to the patchy, run-down surroundings.

Passing through the food market, he was instantly applauded and asked for autographs by fervent fans.

The big gold watch also stood out.

If someone takes a picture, they will also deliberately lift the clothes to reveal the name tag inside.

The money spent on these lines adds up to enough to buy a piece of land.

You might think you're on the set of a surrealist fashion film, but it's a very real scene.

On the African continent, vintage Jazz Age sophistication is lighting up a fashion culture that rivals the Western world.

These gentlemen, who seem to have traveled back in time, come from a magical organization called La Sape - The Sape Society (the French acronym for the Society of Ambienteurs and Aristocrats), and they call themselves "Sapeur - Sapeur".

For over a century, they have maintained a tradition of modesty and luxury, and a belief in gentlemanly fashion.

These people use the bustling streets as catwalks, the trash as art installations, and the environment as a fashionable ambience.

Welcome to Congo, the land of magical realism.

White people invented clothes,

and we've turned it into an art

Let's start with a bit of science.

In Africa, there are two countries called "Congo", usually distinguished by the name of their capitals:

Congo-Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Congo-Brazzaville, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Congo-Brazzaville), and Congo-Brazzaville, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Congo-Brazzaville), and Congo-Brazzaville.

The two countries are separated by the Congo River, so the style of Sapur has developed in each.

This style of painting at first glance will make people feel not quite adaptable, but a closer study you will find that these black brothers actually know how to dress.

In Brazzaville, old school formalwear is the standard look.

The art of balance is something the Sappers love to emphasize.

The rules of color matching are very clear, with generally no more than three shades on the body.

In addition to black, white and gray, they are also very fond of high-color palettes like fluorescent green, jewel blue and bright orange.

With accessories such as bowler hats, walking sticks, pipes, scarves and umbrellas, there is a distinctly African vibe.

Kinshasa's saps don't stick to formal wear, ranging from Japanese designer leather jackets to kilts.

When it comes to the sapeurs across the river, there's a distinct lack of taste in fashion:

"They (the sapeurs in Brazzaville) have cheap clothes. We (the Sapo in Kinshasa) have expensive ones! They are like secretaries, we are the bosses."

A qualified Sapoor must be interested in the quality of his clothes.

"I'd rather buy a second-hand original than a fake copy" is the bottom line that must be adhered to.

Yves Saint Laurent, Versace, Christian Dior, Yohji Yamamoto, Jean Paul Gaultier, Alexander McQueen, Roberto Cavalli, Rei Kawakubo, and other big brands are basic, great! A little bit also play a high-fashion.

In the nineties of the last century, Chinese businessmen had brought a large number of cottage brands to the Congo, intending to make a fortune, who had thought that the tragic black brother's ruthless contempt:

"We are very REAL, do not buy your FAKE!

These fashionistas don't need the right occasion, timing or even weather to dress up.

They'll battle each other to see who's better dressed, who's more colorful, and who's more devilish...

The Sappers enjoyed celebrity-like treatment, and whenever they appeared, a crowd would gather around them.

Mabanza Maxim Pivot, 45, is a fashion veteran - after all, he's been studying how to dress himself since he was seven.

Now he teaches classes on the art of dressing elegantly, and it's a big hit with everyone.

His wife is often grateful: "He chose to have children with me when so many girls were looking at him."

It is probably because of the increasing homogenization of the world as far as the eye can see that this part of the world, which has not yet been homogenized, is so attractive.

Sape has been the subject of a documentary:

"The Playboy of the Congo" for the Russian channel RT Documentary

It has been a source of inspiration for designers:

Japanese designer Junya Watanabe

La Sape was the theme of her fall/winter collection in 2015

It has also appeared in Europe and the US. >

It has also appeared in music videos by major European and American singers.

La Sape is continuing to be captured on the global pop culture radar as a presence to be reckoned with.

West Coast rap king Kendrick Lamar

's music video for the song "All The Stars"

"White people invented clothes, and we turned it into an art."

Congolese musician Papa Wemba has said this in interviews with Western media.

Don't give up on clothes,

It's what we believe in

These African gentlemen, who are particularly generous with their money, are really just like you and me.

Dads don't have money, families don't have mines.

They are engaged in the most basic level of work, such as cab drivers, carpenters, laborers, etc., are taking the time to exchange money for the seller.

But as long as they have free time, they will dress up as playboys and walk down the street to enjoy the attention of the crowd.

Not every piece of clothing is brand new.

The witty Sappers would **** enjoy and swap closets amongst themselves, and also liked to go to flea markets and second-hand stores to get their lines.

If you go back in history, you'll see that their extreme scrutiny of clothes is a culture that has been passed down through the generations.

La Sape's signature vintage style comes from the colonial period of the early twentieth century, when France and Belgium split what was then the Congo in two.

The colonizers dressed in a way that gave Africans a fashion enlightenment.

After all, this is how the Congolese looked before the Europeans arrived.

They came to realize that clothes were not just functional to keep them warm and covered, but that style and texture also determined how a person was perceived by the outside world.

In the years that followed, Congolese students studying in Europe and East African soldiers returning from World War II were among the first in Africa to embrace European fashion, all wearing elegant and sophisticated suits.

Against this backdrop, wearing Western clothes became a 'sign of civilization', and many native Congolese were proud to follow European fashion.

Even if this style of dress was completely unsuitable for the hot weather.

By the 1960s, La Sape was more than just a fashion statement - it was a suit worn in the spirit of resistance.

The Sapeurs were beaten up after a coup in the Democratic Republic of Congo, when the new government banned people from wearing Western-style clothes.

"Don't throw your clothes on the ground, it's like spreading your money outside", sang Papa Wemba, an active promoter of the Sapoor movement.

Not only did he wear a suit during his performances, but he also advocated for people to join in dressing elegantly, and young people took to the streets to rebel against the government and preach freedom and peace at the behest of their idols.

Eventually, the Congolese government liberalized the ban.

A group of revolutionaries in suits, triumphant.

Brazzaville, 1960

Our clothes are too expensive,

No blood is allowed

In the crowded, small room, a sapre drags a suitcase out from under the bed, filled with his precious shoes.

"These are Weston shoes, every Sapoor has to have a pair of J.M Weston shoes. They are very expensive .... I saved up to buy them for about 2 years."

"If I didn't buy these shoes, I could have bought a piece of land in this neighborhood."

"But as a revered Sapoor, for my honor, for my dignity, I had to buy them."

Sounds exactly like a crazy fashion player who has fallen into the trap of consumerism.

In the world's poorest land, there are more than 6,000 Sapurs like him, for whom nothing is more important than nice clothes.

According to 2019 statistics, GDP per capita in the DRC is just over $2,000, and the DRC is even worse at just over $500.

It's perfectly reasonable to question the need to spend all your savings on clothes, pipes and hats in an economy where half the population is still struggling to stay below the poverty line, but for Sapoor, La Sape has never been more than just a game of dress - it's like the medicine that someone with an incurable disease has to take.

This group of 'upper-class gentlemen' from the slums brought a glimmer of hope to a country rife with war, violent conflict and political turmoil, and in doing so, expressed their defiance of a bad world.

The more bitter people are, the more they need fancy clothes to ferry them around and forget the trials and tribulations of life.

Even in the harsh and cruel living environment, they still try their best to keep themselves decent.

The Sappers valued their gentlemanly character more than their dashing appearance.

"Our clothes are too expensive to see blood."

They are socially responsible, using their clothes instead of their fists, and influencing and infecting others through their words and behavior.

Alain Akouala Atipault, a local government official and a Sapoor, said in an interview:

"Sapoors bring peace and tranquility to everyone."

The "Sapu flower" that blossoms from the muddy soil is a spirituality and a unique recipe for the dignity and happiness of the Congolese people through the generations.

A Sapur was very firm on this:

"My fathers used to dress like this, it was my brother and me back then. This is how my children, and even my grandchildren, will be classy.

My father also lived in Paris, but of course he ended up back in the Congo. I aspire to that kind of life, refined and elegant.

Yes, the Congo is in a bad way, and it's hard for me to ask the country to change anything, but I can choose what kind of person I become. "

Here's a group of people with their heads held high and their hands in the air.

During rush hour, cars on the road don't start. People walk and watch, street stalls are filled with people craning their necks to see what's going on, and kids who are kicking a soccer ball stop and squeal with delight.

Within minutes, a crowd gathered.

Someone hummed, "We love Sapoor."

Even as, not far away, armed conflict and communal violence continued, displacing large numbers of civilians.

Even as malaria, HIV, Ebola, and other afflictions that bring misery and death persist at this very moment.

Those are facts. But what is unfolding in front of us is also true.

Far away on the African continent, in the Congo, a group of well-groomed gentlemen smiled and waved to the crowd, fighting a war in the name of dressing up.

These muddy-footed but starry-eyed people are using fashion to lead their country towards a more promising future.