PeopleOp-ed
I left art school and I don't regret it
Three years of study, two years of doubt, one decision. What I'd want to say to anyone hesitating right now.
Léa Mensah
PeopleInterview
Three hours in Sablé Diop's studio
She has been sewing since she was fourteen, exhibiting since twenty-three, and still refuses to talk about "African fashion." Interview in her workshop in the 19th arrondissement.
Marilyse1 min
The studio is twenty square metres and holds four machines, two mannequins, and roughly six hundred fabric scraps sorted by colour.
On starting out
Did you learn on your own?
With my mother, then against her. She wanted perfect finishes, I wanted to move fast. It took me ten years to realise she was right.
Why refuse the "African fashion" label?
Because nobody ever says "European fashion." They say a house, a designer, a season. The label reduces a whole continent to a print.
When people ask where my fabrics come from, I say: a wholesaler in Château Rouge. That disappoints a lot of people.
On what's next
A collection this year?
Six pieces, no more. I'd rather have six pieces I can stand behind than thirty I'm just enduring.
Gallery
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