Dakar Fashion Week 2025 opened at the Turkish Embassy gardens with innovation and ethics as this edition’s official theme. Six collections tested what that means in practice.
Bakus Oraya presented an homage to the Beninese Amazons. Hand-dyed batik, woven loincloth textiles, and adire techniques anchored a collection that balanced ancestral reference with restrained tailoring. A green resist-dye suit—double-breasted blazer, tailored shorts, matching kufi—captured the approach: traditional technique, modern cut.
Tetatou stayed in earth tones: terracotta, rust, deep brown, charcoal. The collection drew on Senegalese royal dress filtered through British tailoring—structured vests over tiered ruffle sleeves, wide belts cinching layered silhouettes, hand-embroidery across the board. Fabrication was heavy and considered. Boubou references came through in proportion rather than costume.
Adama Paris showed childrenswear for the first time. The lineup ran the full range—wax-print dresses with lace underlays, asymmetric details, coordinating headwraps—built with the same technical standards as her women’s collections. It felt like an invitation—an understanding that ethics begin with care, and that designing for the next generation is also designing for the world we hope to build.
Hassana anchored the innovation theme most directly. The designer has transitioned to a fully digital, paper-free studio, and the collection reflected that discipline: clean silhouettes in raffia-embroidered denim, local threading techniques, PVC accents. The sourcing story matched the aesthetic.
Code & Dioyana Style went harder. Reconstructed denim throughout—quilted vests with exaggerated shoulders, cargo trousers with exposed hardware, raw seams left visible. Upcycled fabrication gave the collection its Afro-futurist edge, but the tailoring kept it from reading as costume. Color came in punches against the indigo base.
Hülya Güreş closed as guest designer, showing ten looks from Ankara. Calligraphic embellishment, jewelry-weight hardware, architectural lines. A studied counterpoint to the evening’s West African focus.
Opening night set the terms. The collections that landed were the ones where ethics showed up in process and construction—not just talking points.