High-Street Fashion Seeks Opportunity in the Congo

A “real Congolese” has style and trend in his blood, says Franck Ndombe-Ndombe, a costumier and music video director primarily based in Kinshasa, a metropolis of 17 million folks and the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

“If you have ever been to the DR Congo or neighbouring Congo-Brazzaville, you would have heard of ‘Sapeurs and Sapologie.’ The terms were derived from the acronym SAPE, which stands for Société des Ambianceurs et des Personnes Elégantes (The Society of Festive and Elegant People). It’s not an official association but a cultural movement or trait that distinguishes the Congolese people as lovers of quality fashion.”

Pictures of flamboyant dandy sapeurs and devoted feminine sapeuses strutting by means of the dusty, vibrant streets of Congolese cities have impressed many trend designers over the years, together with London’s Paul Smith and Balmain’s Paris-based inventive director Olivier Rousteing — to not point out numerous stylists in these and different trend capitals.

“Generally, it is not considered good practice among the sapeurs to have any fake labels. Most have day jobs and earn very little [so] they try to save a little here and there and it may take them years before they have enough to buy a [designer] suit,” photographer Tariq Zaidi instructed Vogue Scandinavia in 2020, when he revealed a e book on the subculture known as ‘Sapeurs: Ladies and Gentlemen of the Congo.’

“They would prefer to spend US $100-200 on a shirt rather than save money to buy a house or a car or motorcycle. Their priority is to look amazing at any cost,” he added, describing how bartering additionally performs a component. “If one [sapeur] has a Chanel tie and the other a Dior shirt, they may swap.”

Whereas it’s tough to measure the contribution of the sapeurs motion to the trend economic system of the DR Congo, some observers consider it has helped shoppers in wider Congolese society — each wealthy and poor — construct habits of being trend-aware and fashion-conscious.

“This movement entangles almost every Congolese. You want to look good. You want to impress. You want to be chicer than your neighbour,” says Antoine Fred Kabamba, a retired arts and humanities specialist. “Sapeur simply means a well-dressed individual.”

Congo’s Fashion Paradox

The aggressive ingredient of the DR Congo’s trend tradition creates a paradox in the market: disproportionately excessive demand for garments and equipment in a rustic with one among the lowest revenue ranges on the African continent. Gross nationwide revenue per capita in the DR Congo is $660, in comparison with $1,930 in Nigeria and $2,110 in Kenya, based on the World Financial institution.

Cowl of the e book Sapeurs Girls and Gents of the Congo by photographer Tariq Zaidi (Kehrer 2020). (Courtesy)

“This social pressure most times pushes people to break the bank to buy clothes. Everybody strives to keep up with the Joneses, no matter the price to pay. That’s Congo for you,” Kabamba provides.

Ndombe-Ndombe places it in starker phrases: “a Congolese is happy when he is well dressed but not [necessarily] when his stomach is full,” he quips.

Consciousness of worldwide manufacturers can be disproportionately excessive in the nation, however the lack of official distribution channels has given rise to a chaotic market atmosphere the place potential consumers are in fixed search. Many shops and distributors promote counterfeits, gray market parallel imports or second-hand clothes from Europe, Asia and North America.

“The apparel market in the DR Congo is very disorganised and that is one of the reasons why the industry is lagging behind. There is huge potential because Congolese love clothes and fashion but where to go to get quality products is a big problem,” says trend reporter Blaise Mpanzu of Radio Lubumbashi, primarily based in Lubumbashi, the nation’s second-largest metropolis with almost 3 million folks.

“Most of the stores [selling authentic branded products] are obscure. They popularise themselves through word of mouth and on social media, and you can [only get a few] products from the same label because they don’t import in large quantities, even when they do it is spread across different brands.”

Clusters of trend distributors might be discovered all through in Kinshasa. Zando market, located downtown, is residence to a gaggle of small-scale shops with quite a lot of fast-fashion and high-street labels together with H&M and Zara on the market.

“This place is the first port of call for label seekers, mostly those in the low-income earning bracket,” says Bertrand Sadiki, a store proprietor in the market. “We get products from anywhere, even from the United States. Some Congolese in the diaspora supply us [and] some holiday makers sell their stuff to us before returning to Europe,” he says.

High quality and costs differ based on the neighbourhoods of the metropolis. In Gombe, an upscale enterprise and residential district, there are well-decorated, air-conditioned boutiques, the place merchandise with labels from main luxurious manufacturers might be discovered. Most of their providing is in distinctive items or low portions.

“None of us get products from the official manufacturers of the brands we sell here. We get them from unofficial sources — some of the products are genuine while some are not. But we do our best to meet the local demand,” says Fabrice Junior Banza, who owns and runs Chico Boutique in the neighbourhood.

Formal retail channels and distributors are progressively proving to be viable alternate options in the Congo.

Frontier Market Pioneers

Historic landmark shops which have ceased operations like Hasson & Frère, based in the Nineteen Thirties, and Peloustore of the Ndombasi household, have helped pave the manner for Indian and Lebanese buyers, who at present dominate the retail sector in the nation. Whereas their key focus has been in the grocery section, throughout medium sized shops and supermarkets, a number of have branched out into the improvement of procuring centres, with areas for native and worldwide clothes manufacturers.

Galerie La Fontaine procuring centre in Kinshasa DR Congo. (Courtesy)

Galerie La Fontaine is lower than a yr previous however already a family identify in Kinshasa. Positioned in Gombe, a number of blocks from Pullman Resort, it’s generally often known as “Dubai” by locals on account of its far-out structure and glamourous inside. Boss by Hugo Boss was one among the first worldwide manufacturers to bow at the mall, which is reportedly linked to Indian businessman, Harish Jagtani, who moved to DR Congo in the Nineties.

Boutiques that inventory merchandise labelled as Diesel, Canali and Pepe Denims are additionally current at the mall, however these oblique retailers are owned and managed by “local representatives” of the manufacturers, based on Galerie La Fontaine.

Premier Buying Mall, additionally in Gombe district, is one among the metropolis’s hottest spots for procuring and leisure. It opened in 2001 and is at present absolutely occupied. There are scores of trend shops in the three-storey complicated, largely providing small native or obscure overseas manufacturers. The Turkish chain Koton is one among the few overseas clothes manufacturers working formally at the mall. KinSport, a widely known sportswear retailer, sells merchandise branded as Nike, Puma and Adidas, which seem like genuine.

The retail sector has seen some setbacks in latest years. The shuttering of the three Congolese shops of South African mass-market clothes and grocery retailer Shoprite in 2022 was a blow, however sources recommend the transfer was extra about the state of the retailer than the native market. Reuters reported that, after the sale of its Nigerian unit a yr earlier, Shoprite modified from an possession to a franchise mannequin on the continent.

At the different finish of the spectrum is Matrix Tower Mall, which is arguably the most luxurious procuring centre in the nation, hooked up to its namesake 22-floor mixed-use constructing. The mall operates over three flooring, with Turkish trend model LC Waikiki (which has two different shops in the nation) appearing as an anchor tenant.

“Matrix Tower Mall enjoys the patronage of the moneyed clientele of the residential and office parts of the building complex. However, ordinary Kinois (residents of Kinshasa) also shop there,” says Jean Marc Masuaku, commerce inspector at the commune of Gombe.

Located in a extra delicate space, near authorities workplaces and embassies in Gombe, is Kin Plaza Mall. The procuring centre is hooked up to Kin Plaza Arjaan By Rotana, a five-star resort owned by Abu Dhabi-based Rotana Resort Administration Company.

The Native Fashion Business

The style business in DR Congo just isn’t restricted to international model imports and the road model of the sapeurs. However lots of the small-scale home manufacturers and companies lament the torpid state of an business with large potential. As the big of the central Africa sub-region and the fourth largest inhabitants on the continent, DR Congo has cultural clout throughout the wider francophone zone.

“We could be bigger and stronger and richer as a fashion industry but we are far from that right now because most of the structures we have in the industry are not productive and sustainable enough,” says Patrick Muhindo, a designer primarily based in Goma, a war-torn metropolis of about 2 million folks, lots of whom have been displaced by insurgent teams concerned in the protracted Kivu battle, which is concentrated in the Kivu provinces greater than 2,500 kilometres from the nation’s capital.

“Some attribute DR Congo’s sleeping fashion market to the wars we have seen in this country, but I don’t agree. There is no war in Kinshasa where much of the fashion business takes place. That city has been peaceful for decades,” says Muhindo, the proprietor of Kuliko Artwork model.

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“Most Congolese only see the fun and showing off aspect of fashion. They forget the business part of it, leaving the field for foreign investors who now dominate the business. That is another key factor.”

The DR Congo imported $5.906 million value of textiles and clothes in 2021, based on the World Financial institution’s WITS knowledge, up greater than 70 % from the earlier yr’s $3.450 million. China was by far the largest supply market, adopted by the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, the US and India. Exports in 2021 got here in at $3.288 million, largely to Belgium, the nation’s former colonial energy, and neighbouring African nations.

The dimensions of each inbound and outbound commerce stays small for a rustic of greater than 105 million folks. But intermittent trend occasions do happen in the nation, largely in Kinshasa, with the most notable being the Congo Fashion Week based in 2011 by Kinshasa- and London-based Marie-France Idikayi.

Lydia Nsambayi, founding father of Kinshasa Mboka ya Masano, an annual trend occasion, claims that the weak point of the native trend business is because of its “lack of identity” regardless of the nation’s wealthy cultural heritage in fields like textiles and the arts.

“Our clothing style is increasingly being replaced by that of Westerners and other African countries because our fashion [industry] does not have culture as its foundation,” she says. “We don’t exploit our local fabrics and don’t develop our fashion heritage [enough] to bring out our sartorial identity.”

Marie Paule Mfulu of Affiliation Voix du Consommateur, a client rights safety union, locations the blame elsewhere. “One of the reasons for this sad picture is the wars we fought in the country. You don’t overcome the consequences of a war easily. Poverty is still high in our country,” she says.

DR Congo’s darkest and bloodiest durations in latest historical past occurred in the two wars that happened between 1996 and 2002, linked to the 1994 genocide in neighbouring Rwanda and different occasions. Conflicts have erupted intermittently in the years since, involving armed insurgent teams working largely in the far east and northeast areas of the DR Congo. In all, it’s estimated that round six million folks have died and 6 million have been displaced after many years of combating.

That has created a legacy of instability that makes worldwide buyers from many sectors nervous. As not too long ago as Might of this yr, an tried coup d’etat concentrating on the Congolese president Félix Tshisekedi shut down the capital for days earlier than it was foiled. In accordance with this yr’s Fragile States Index, an evaluation of nations throughout 12 dangers and vulnerabilities indicators, the DR Congo ranks as the fifth most fragile out of 179 nations.

Manufacturers seeking to broaden to the nation should navigate political and financial instability, poor infrastructure and safety dangers. DR Congo additionally ranks as one among the poorest performers on Transparency Worldwide’s Corruption Perceptions Index, in 162nd place out of 180 nations in 2023.

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Regardless of the difficult enterprise atmosphere, overseas direct funding (FDI) into the nation remained steady in 2022 at $1.8 billion in 2022, pushed primarily by investments in offshore oil fields and mining (resembling diamonds, copper, cobalt, gold and uranium), based on UNCTAD’s 2023 World Funding Report. Nevertheless, “most people…have not benefitted from this wealth,” states the World Financial institution’s nation profile for the DR Congo, noting it’s amongst the 5 poorest nations in the world.

The hole between wealthy and poor is stark. The nation’s millionaire inhabitants has grown 35 % between 2012 and 2022, albeit from a low base, based on Henley & Companions’ Africa Wealth Report 2023. There are actually an estimated 600 high-net-worth people in DR Congo. This cohort has quickly propelled the nation up the continent’s millionaire inhabitants rating to twentieth out of 54 African nations. The determine is forecast to rise by greater than 60 % in the decade between 2022 and 2032, one among the highest on the continent.

“We are a big country with a huge population — 450 ethnic groups — and we have mineral resources that can sustain our economy. Purchasing power will eventually grow and spending on fashion will improve,” Mfulu asserts.

The nation’s GDP progress remained strong at 7.8 % in 2023, regardless of dropping from a peak of 8.9 % in 2022, supported by the dynamic mining sector. However the economic system of this resource- and biodiversity-rich nation just isn’t sufficiently diversified or developed.

DR Congo will proceed to draw overseas funding on account of its giant inhabitants, pure sources and low cost labour, says Maxwell Bayeye, senior researcher at the College of Kinshasa’s college of economics and administration. Nevertheless, financial, social and political reform is required to make client items like clothes extra inexpensive for atypical folks, he suggests.

“The wealth needs to trickle down, minimum wage needs to improve and inflation needs to be contained. That is the only way we can boost the purchasing power of the [struggling] masses… which would have a positive impact on the fashion economy.”