Sapeurs exhibition: Fashion with a message

Details of a sapeur's outfit. [Photo by Ruan Fan/chinadaily.com.cn]

"There message was: we didn't get dressed up to stay at home! We have been spared by the hostilities and we are lucky to be alive. There's no point in fighting; we can talk and take each other by the hand," Mouanda said.

Instead of photographing the sapeurs in stylish poses, Mouanda photographed the sapeurs in his own way, capturing their daily moments, and their parades. For him, not everyone who is dressed up fancy can be called a sapeur.

"In fact, you can't be a true sapeur if you don't have your own style and jargon. You can't improvise to be a sapeur. It is a state of mind. It's not just Weston shoes that count; you have to have the gift of gab to be able to create a mood and to know how to "argue your outfit".

In March, Mouanda will introduce his photographic artwork: Les Sapeurs de Bacongo in Beijing, Guangdong and Chengdu. The exhibitions area colorful testimony of the movement's vitality.