La SAPE: vestir para resistir, resistir para existir

Abstract

In this article, I present an analysis of La SAPE (Société des Ambianceurs et Personnes Élégantes), taking the act of getting dressed as an action of resistance aimed at ensuring the aesthetic existence of African bodies. My aim is to investigate how the study of the fashion and art culture can be extended to address the symbolic issues arising from the European colonization in Africa, particularly regarding the spread of Dandism during the colonization process. The article analyzes, from the perspective of aesthetic and historical criticism, the complexity of the act of getting dressed to gain a better understanding of fashion in the context of contemporary artistic practices and investigate how its constitution is permeated by political issues related to the culture of contemporary visibility, to the discourses of power and to the actions of resistance arising from the phenomenon of fashion