Lamine Badian Kouyaté, who, as he said during a phone conversation, felt that “the world is quite sick” – a man who has never been afraid to stand up for what he believes in – staged his fall 2024 show in respectful silence . The show took place in Le Sentier, a neighborhood that was once the heart of the garment district, where people from all over the world usually gather. It also lives in the designer’s mind as the birthplace of beloved Parisian brands of the 80s and 90s such as “Dorothée Bis, Marithé + François Girbaud, Infinitif, Chevignon, Naf Naf, Sapon, City, La Soie de Paris, Morgan , Kokai, Sinequanone,” which he mentioned in the show notes. His own brand is part of that legendary group (founded in 1991), and the cast included many second-generation members of his chosen family.
In this collection, Kouyaté has revisited some of the core elements of his label, namely “the prints, the color and the recycling (note the spiced football shirts and Hôtel du Sentier workwear).” The designer works with a screen printing machine to create the prints that cover the stretch dresses with their signature red stitching. These letters looked freshest on denim – especially striking was the ‘stealth’ version, printed in black ink on dark blue denim – and the matching maxi skirt-and-top sets. Kouyaté associates this skirt length with memories of his older brothers and their interest in the American civil rights and anti-war movements of the late 60s and 70s (where protest signs with large texts were also printed). Accordingly, the designer named the collection ‘Make Love Not War’.
