Senkaaba eyes Paris Fashion
Oct 30, 2005
WHAT to make of the Xenson Fashion show held at the Blue Mango on Friday night? First, it was late, very late. Two hours late, to be precise. Okay, we expect that to happen at events organised by local guys who don’t know any better, but this Alliance Française, and we thought Bazungu know how to
WHAT to make of the Xenson Fashion show held at the Blue Mango on Friday night? First, it was late, very late. Two hours late, to be precise. Okay, we expect that to happen at events organised by local guys who don’t know any better, but this Alliance Française, and we thought Bazungu know how to keep time.
By the advertised time of 7:00pm, the bad was still setting up, the screen had not been put up and the lights for the fashion show came on one hour later.
A lot of people would have been extremely unhappy, but for the saving grace of Herbert Kinobe and his band. This kora-playing music genius kept the audience enthralled with his songs, and as Ragga Dee likes to say, “yabye show†(he stole the show).
Many in the crowd had never seen an actual kora before, and thought it was just a modified adungu, but if it is in the same family, this must be the bigger brother. In any case Kinobe played it with such masterly that nothing else was going on.
Alliance Française is into encouraging culture, and this time they found a real gem. Apparently Kinobe has been performing all over the world for quite some time, but very few people in town knew of him. He reminds one of a blooming Samite, and he plays an African jazz fusion that is just as captivating. And while everyone else waited, he played, and kept on playing.
Finally something else started to happen, with a contemporary dance performance from yet another of those Obsessions factions. Not bad, expect it was kind of too dark to see the movements of the three male dancers.
Klear Kut’s Papito was next and, in between telling us how he went to West Africa for a hip hop show, did two of his songs. Then came a very lively performance by a trio of guys calling themselves the Bataka Underground, kiganda hip hop, if you please, and they pleased the crowd all right.
Finally it was time for the long-awaited and much hyped fashion show. According to Emcee of the night DJ Mitch the designer, Xenson Senkaaba, was chosen out of 60 designers to participate in the Festival Internationale de la Mode Africain (FIMA) in Niger between November 27 and December 10 this year.
He will compete for the Award for African Designers which carries a top prize of £5,000 (sh16.3m) and a three-month apprenticeship with a Paris-based fashion house.
Finally the models came, and what can we say about the clothes? I will leave Keturah Kamugasa to comment on that, but suffice it to say that although they definitely caught your eye, it is doubtful if the designer will make a living selling clothes.
After the clothes, the designer read a poem to Kinobe’s music, and he sounded like a young Bob Marley, although his mention of the ‘crying jungles of Luweero’ did not go down very well with some.
After that it was back to Kinobe music, and thus the night ended. We do wish young Senkaaba success in Niger come November.
By the advertised time of 7:00pm, the bad was still setting up, the screen had not been put up and the lights for the fashion show came on one hour later.
A lot of people would have been extremely unhappy, but for the saving grace of Herbert Kinobe and his band. This kora-playing music genius kept the audience enthralled with his songs, and as Ragga Dee likes to say, “yabye show†(he stole the show).
Many in the crowd had never seen an actual kora before, and thought it was just a modified adungu, but if it is in the same family, this must be the bigger brother. In any case Kinobe played it with such masterly that nothing else was going on.
Alliance Française is into encouraging culture, and this time they found a real gem. Apparently Kinobe has been performing all over the world for quite some time, but very few people in town knew of him. He reminds one of a blooming Samite, and he plays an African jazz fusion that is just as captivating. And while everyone else waited, he played, and kept on playing.
Finally something else started to happen, with a contemporary dance performance from yet another of those Obsessions factions. Not bad, expect it was kind of too dark to see the movements of the three male dancers.
Klear Kut’s Papito was next and, in between telling us how he went to West Africa for a hip hop show, did two of his songs. Then came a very lively performance by a trio of guys calling themselves the Bataka Underground, kiganda hip hop, if you please, and they pleased the crowd all right.
Finally it was time for the long-awaited and much hyped fashion show. According to Emcee of the night DJ Mitch the designer, Xenson Senkaaba, was chosen out of 60 designers to participate in the Festival Internationale de la Mode Africain (FIMA) in Niger between November 27 and December 10 this year.
He will compete for the Award for African Designers which carries a top prize of £5,000 (sh16.3m) and a three-month apprenticeship with a Paris-based fashion house.
Finally the models came, and what can we say about the clothes? I will leave Keturah Kamugasa to comment on that, but suffice it to say that although they definitely caught your eye, it is doubtful if the designer will make a living selling clothes.
After the clothes, the designer read a poem to Kinobe’s music, and he sounded like a young Bob Marley, although his mention of the ‘crying jungles of Luweero’ did not go down very well with some.
After that it was back to Kinobe music, and thus the night ended. We do wish young Senkaaba success in Niger come November.