When the eternal crisis is on the side: luxury with a salary of 18 pence

Milanese photographer Daniel Tamagni decided not to follow the beaten path and took on the creation of a complex project that is at the intersection of fashion photography and reportage. During his trip to the Congo, Daniel managed to spend a lot of time with the African gentlemen Sapeurs.

If you decipher the word "sapeurs" literally - this is a community of elegantly dressed men of the Congo. The founder of this fashion movement is Stervosu Niarchosu, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

(Total 17 photos)

Sapeurs are almost always inspired by the style of Paul Smith when choosing a look. Sir Paul Smith himself came to Africa in 2010 for these gentlemen:

“You can look at Sapeurs for an indefinitely long time, the images are so thought out (attention to details, the use of light, playing with the reality and nature surrounding them), the surroundings where we look at them are so strikingly exotic. This is incredible, because today it is difficult to find people who spare no time, effort and money to dress so elegantly in the capitals of fashion, Paris or London, a little earlier it would have been difficult to even imagine a conversation in a similar vein about the Congo. But nonetheless".

The uniqueness of these people is that their sense of style is not forced, but absolutely natural and almost innate. This is a special talent - choosing a costume, it is so contrasting and at the same time harmoniously merging with the surrounding reality.

And if Paul Smith brought Sapeurs to the podium, then African dandies got on TV screens thanks to the Guinness advertising campaign.

This is a group of people who, in a poor country, on a poor continent, want to feel rich. At least for a moment. Sapeurs men earn an average of 18p a day. At the same time, they have designer three-piece suits, silk socks, felt hats, canes and insanely expensive neckerchiefs in their closet. And these are really things that, by local standards, are worth a fortune. For the Sapeurs culture, choosing clothes is very serious: wearing cheap products is not an option for them, buying things from bad materials is disrespectful to the whole culture.

"How do they manage?" - you ask. Most of the products are bought by hand, some accessories are inherited by men. Among the Sapeurs, you are almost all-powerful if you have a relative or acquaintance abroad who can get hold of branded clothing.

Despite such a scrupulous attitude to appearance, for Sapeurs the main thing is not the suit, but the man "inside" the suit. Representatives of this culture have a special code of honor - it is important how you treat people, and not vice versa. A Sapeurs man should be sensitive and gentle, calm and always wise. In a country where the majority of the population lives below the poverty line, a simple act of courtesy means a lot.