Paper short abstract:

This presentation highlights the literary and artistic journey of Fatoumata Sidibe, a Malian who made Belgium her home and created a line of environmentally-friendly fashion accessories emerging from her art books of poetry, masks, and other women-centered symbols of the Bambara tradition.

Paper long abstract:

In 2014, Fatoumata Sidibe, a Malian woman author transplanted to Brussels at a young age, published the art and poetry book Les masques parlent aussi (Masks also speak). The book included not only her poetry but also photographs of her paintings of masks and Bambara symbols. In 2021, Sidibe launched a brand of fashion accessories called Sarankofa which in Bambara means "Out of love for Saran" -- Saran referring to the artist's mother. Sidibe's motto for the company and for her fashion accessory line was "Nourish oneself with the past to construct the future." Her environmentally-friendly line of handbags which uses alternative materials also features colors and designs from Malian traditional fabrics sewn with leather. In addition to paying tribute to her "roots," Sidibe also celebrates "wings" -- those that her mother gifted her to be free to choose the life that she wanted even if she often had to offer moral support from afar. Sarankofa is a brand that blends quality, respect, solidarity, environmental awareness, freedom, and the transmission of culture and values into fashion accessories and it has helped "decolonize" the Belgian fashion scene by bringing African designs closer to the center. This presentation will focus on Sidibe's journey and work using an interdisciplinary theoretical approach citing ecofeminist principles, Bambara philosophies, postcolonial studies, and "migritude" writings. The presentation also explains how Sidibe's fabrics and creations challenge Western stereotypes of African designs by making them a part of what is modern and new.