Flashmag Digizine Edition Issue 69 May 2017 | Page 34

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I have directed Slam poetry workshops, and I make sure that all these young artists, can have music that accompanies them. I have realized the concepts of shows, a trilogy like the Slam opera, the Slamophonie and the Slamoperette that have marked the Slam movement in the world.

It is been, 25 years, that you are in fashion, you have dressed big stars of the showbiz world, and have received prestigious awards, in the 4 corners of the globe. According to you, is the Afro descent and African fashion in particular is going in the right direction? If not, what needs to be done to make it better?

It is necessary to valorize Art, and creativity, to allow Afro-Caribbean stylists and fashion houses to present the latest fashion trends in the international fashion market. There are exceptional talents in Africa, the Caribbean and its diaspora, and many initiatives have yet to be taken. We can notice their presence on many Fashion Weeks worldwide.

If we find more and more talented stylists, the consumption of African fashion by afro designers remains timid, in your opinion why?

There is a real change that occurs, the industrialization of African fashion becomes dynamic, and this desire for commercialization is becoming established among the creators. This state of mind will be accentuated. The African textile exports is doing well, one can admire it on podiums and trade shows.

In Africa, tailors and their clients are real stylists who create models according to the requirements of their customers or according to their style. In your opinion for a better consumption of African fashion, Is It necessary to continue to support the local couturiers, who remain very flexible, or create mass production units, for African ready-to-wear?

It seems to me necessary to encourage our rulers and investors to open up, to the fashion and creative market, it is a promising future.

Despite your internationalism, with the world culture couture concept, you are also a strong supporter of the Afro Concept. You created the Afro Free Market Paris, Afro Expo Paris and Afro Fashion Week Paris why? Was it to give a platform of expression to African and Caribbean peoples, who do not always fit easily into the western showbiz system? Or it was a self-imposed reality?

I have taken initiatives, to promote the richness and diversity of these cultures, by creating different concepts to once again share our culture and foster the talents of Africa.

Regarding these initiatives, If you were taxed with communitarianism what would you say?

I’m not into community, I'm a business leader and a multidisciplinary artist who rally the Arts