Lamine Badian Kouyaté’s famous wizardry with pantyhose – once part of many women’s dress codes – dates back to the The 90’s. Now, just weeks after the US Senate voted to abolish fashion regulations, the designer has revived the signature red-stitched nylon tops with which he first made his name.
Cut into a bandeau with sleeves that can be worn Flash dance style, or teamed up into a full-sleeved mini dress, these stretchy wonders had a second-skin fit to match Kouyaté’s body-conscious and body-celebrating clothes. Their flexibility also spoke more broadly to the designer’s generous and innovative approach to fashion, which was influenced by his experiences with second-hand clothing in Mali, and can now also be framed within current discussions about sustainability. Also back in action were Kouyaté’s sporty jackets and tops, made from upcycled American football jerseys. Some looks were styled with vintage basketball shorts, whose loose fit provided a nice contrast to the tight fits of leggings and microminis.
A new addition to the Xuly.Bët repertoire was trumpet trousers, as well as a demonstration of Kouyaté’s tailoring skills in the form of a checked blazer. This was a “grandpa” accent that matched what company CEO Rodrigo Martinez described as a “grandma” element to the collection, expressed through the use of stretch lace and frame bags with plaid Tyvek bodies. A zip-up jacket was made with an African wax print in honor of Women’s Day, and a crew-neck top was printed with images for the African Soul Brothers, a reminder, Kouyaté said on a phone call, “of the days when we had fun .” The gold-on-denim pieces – some modeled by the designer’s son – were part of a collaboration between Xuly.Bët and artist Smaïl Kanouté. Kouyaté used Kanouté prints on garments made in a performance from ‘Yasuke (The Black Samurai)’, which is about bringing together diverse traditions, choreographed by Kanouté.
Xuly.Bët means “Keep your eyes open” in Wolof. Kouyaté’s ears are also alert: concerned about the silence surrounding recent decisions taken in France, he issued a press release against the “actions of the French government against the youth of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.” [According to Le Monde, diplomatic conflicts resulted in travel and accommodations for students from these countries being put on hold.] Kouyaté still believes in the power of fashion to evoke joy; he also thinks it can be used as a platform for change.
