When photographer Trevor Stuurman first traveled to Dakar for Fashion Week in 2018, he wasn’t expecting to fall in love quite as hard as he did. After all, the visual artist and photographer from South Africa—and one of the continent’s most sought-after creatives—has spent years documenting the most dynamic cities and influential tastemakers—Barack Obama, Naomi Campbell, and Beyonce among others—around the world. Still, no place in the world entices him quite the way Senegal does. “Dakar is my favorite place in the world to visit,” he says.
“Dakar is so artistic, and you feel it from the minute you arrive. Art here starts when you arrive at the airport and carries on into its streets; it’s in the people that you first encounter and what they’re wearing,” he explains.
Below, Stuurman reflects on some of his favorite photographs from nearly seven years of visiting and documenting Dakar—and the inspiration behind them.
“Khadija Aisha Ba, is the founder of local fashion label L’artisane, and I shot this at Chanel’s first runway show in Africa in 2022. Khadija is one of the most stylish people in the world—her style is so consistent and bold and no one dresses like her. She borrows from the past, but with a very future-forward gaze, and that translates in a style that’s bold and expressive. She would, for example, pair a traditional Senegalese boubou with teddy bear pins and cool canvas high-tops. I love the metallic bag she’s carrying in this image, from her own collection, with that giant safety-pin handle.
“This was shot with Khadija at Gorée Island, a short ferry ride over from Dakar. Our tour guide stopped here to tell us about the bougainvillea—seen all over Dakar—a flower we’ve all grown up with but never stopped to think about. Did you know the colorful parts are not the flower? They’re actually the leaves.
Gorée Island is a deeply complex space, because it’s an island with a long, dark history where a lot of people were enslaved. That’s also where you find the Door of No Return, which is now a museum and memorial. The island now is a UNESCO heritage site. It’s also a striking place, a sun-washed island filled with these quiet moments of beauty.”
“Mamy Tall is an architect in Dakar, and each time I visit Dakar, she takes me on these tours of its heritage buildings and precints—she is so well-informed and passionate about the heritage of Dakar and protecting it. Here, she’s standing against a building that was under construction, and they had covered it with these beautiful woven mats creating a lovely backdrop. That’s what I love about Dakar—its resourcefulness, and ability to make beauty out of everyday situations and objects. I love the symmetry between the patterns in her image and the building on the right.”
Source: Conde Nast Traveler