The conflict between a colonial past and today’s independence has helped to shape another fashion tribe, one that first brought Tamagni global attention. “This was a picture I took in 2008 – it was my first project for this book, where I was in Brazzaville doing a documentary for Africa magazine,” says Tamagni. He was documenting Congolese dandies, or sapeurs. “They define themselves as the most elegant of Africa, an exclusive movement that was born before the independence of Congo, when the first Congolese immigrants returned from France – they brought this style of Parisian elegance and they transformed it with their own colour, accessories, with their own creative individual style – so it’s really a combination of Western brands with their own inventive creativity.” In another photo, two young sapeurs display that combination through their accessories. “One of them wears the colours of France – blue, red and white – and the other the yellow, green and red of the Congolese flag. It’s again this relationship between Africa and the West, there is a sort of challenge where there is a devotion to France – because Congo was a French colony – but also rebellion, to say ‘We Congolese can be as elegant as French people’ – it’s always a sort of imitation, provocation – a relationship between the West and Africa.” And, as with all the style tribes, their impact travels far beyond fashion. As one of Tamagni’s subjects, Manthe Ribane, explains, “You can come from the dingiest place, but it’s about how you are going to see yourself, as trash or gold? Nobody knows your struggle or what you have left behind at home. It’s how you are going to present yourself to the world that matters most.”