Dakar Fashion Week Takes Style Back to the Streets

July 01, 2017 3:59 AM

By Ricci Shryock

A model walks the catwalk at Dakar Fashion Week's "Street Show," which is open to the public, June 29, 2017.

Local youth watch models on the catwalk at Dakar Fashion Week's "Street Show," which is open to the public, in the Niary Tally neighborhood. "Fashion is from the streets, so basically what we’re doing is taking back fashion where it belongs," says Dakar Fashion Week founder Adama Paris.

A model for TIPI STYLE walks the catwalk at Dakar Fashion Week's "Street Show," which is open to the public, in the Niary Tally neighborhood of Dakar, June 29, 2017.

Local youth watch models on the catwalk at Dakar Fashion Week's "Street Show," which is open to the public, in the Niary Tally neighborhood, June 29, 2017.

A model gets ready to walk during Dakar Fashion Week's "Street Show," in the Niary Tally neighborhood of Dakar, June 29, 2017.

A tailor works in Dakar's Niary Tally neighborhood, the working class area where Dakar Fashion Week held their "Street Parade" fashion show this year, June 29, 2017. The show is free and takes place in an open and public area each year as part of Dakar Fashion Week's events.

A customer picks up a skirt from her tailor in Dakar's Niary Tally neighborhood, the working class area where Dakar Fashion Week held their "Street Show" fashion show this year, June 29, 2017.

Katy and Fallou pose for a portrait in Dakar's Niary Tally neighborhood, the working class area where Dakar Fashion Week held their "Street Show" fashion show this year, June 29, 2017.

"Fashion is everywhere in Dakar," says Dakar Fashion Week founder and designer Adama Paris, June 29, 2017. As if to prove her point, the stage of DFW's "Street Show" is surrounded on all sides by residents making their living off of clothes -- a shoe seller, a tailor, and pictured here Nichole Coly's fabric store.

Models before Dakar Fashion Week's "Street Show" show, in the Niary Tally neighborhood, June 29, 2017.

Models backstage before Dakar Fashion Week's "Street Show" in the Niary Tally neighborhood, June 29, 2017.

Models backstage before Dakar Fashion Week's "Street Show" show, June 29, 2017.

Adama Paris, designer and founder of Dakar Fashion Week, June 29, 2017.

A model for TIPI STYLE walks the catwalk at Dakar Fashion Week's "Street Show," which is open to the public, June 29, 2017.

Local youth watch models on the catwalk at Dakar Fashion Week's "Street Parade," in the Niary Tally neighborhood, June 29, 2017.