Figaroscope hosted one of the first appearances of the young designer in its November 30th, 1991 issue, titled „Ly Dumas impressions d’Afrique”/”Ly Dumas’s African impressions” and signed by MAP.

“Using traditional African fabrics such as the mud-dyed bogolan of the Bambara people, the secretly made Yoruba indigo, the dogon…, Ly reconnects with the history of the great African peoples. These fabrics, ennobled with symbolic and sacred writings, were on the verge of disappearing when the young woman had first set out to search for them throughout Africa. She then found those few artisans still working and proposed they restart production, giving new life to the national heritage. Each piece of her collection is a genuine invitation to travel and discover African civilizations. And even if the symbols contained in these fabrics are often indecipherable, one can feel the spiritual strength in the beauty and sensuality of Ly’s designs.”

On the cover of Brune’s first issue, in the summer of 1991, the resident model Victoria wore a short bogolan dress with black and white drawings and straps made of old multicoloured pearls, signed by Ly Dumas. The photograph exudes incredible energy, doubled by beauty and determination.

The pictorial, titled “Les métamorphoses de Ly Dumas” / “The metamorphoses of Ly Dumas”, tells us:

“I arrived at Couture through fabrics and wanted to express my emotions by dressing women I imagined to be proud, majestic, and mysterious in these warm, cheerful, and pure colours.”

Later on, the young artist returns to the magazine in another pictorial, for its wintery third number, which reads „Ly Dumas, splendide hommage à l’Afrique à travers sa création textile” / “Ly Dumas, a magnificent tribute to Africa through her textile creation.“

 “Amidst the flurry of activities surrounding the recent Spring / Summer 92 showings, African designer Ly Dumas held court at a fashionable Paris hotel for an informal showing of her extensive and exquisite collection of fashions. We first got a peek at the talents of Ly Dumas when Katoucha, the international top model, wore a Ly Dumas creation at her chic birthday party. Everyone praised Katoucha’s short mini dress with a strapless top, offset by a billowing overskirt flowing in the back. Another model, Isabelle, floated into the party wearing another Dumas’s creation, a glittering tent dress with a low-cut back. A few days after the party, Harriett Cole, Essence Magazine Fashion Editor, Mikki Garth-Taylor, Essence Magazine beauty and Cover Editor, and Patricia Jacobs, Fashion Editor of the New York Post and Carib News, were given a special private showing of the Dumas collection.

Ly’s creations are all 100 percent African fabric, made in the motherland, each featuring an aspect of African culture. There was a beige linen dress adorned with delicate buck beads in an unusual design, which had a meaning, signifying the status of young girls. …

Ly Dumas has her own fashion philosophy which is rooted in her culture, its pure African designs, created in Paris and sold in Paris.

Ly’s designs are truly original. They bring to life modern Africa – a selection of beautiful garments well cut and well thought out.”

On January 7th, 1992, in a fashion flash dedicated to the New York Fashion Week, titled “Out of Africa”, the newspaper mentioned:

Essence magazine is one of the longest-lived and most respected publications dedicated to African American women.

Its May 24^th, 1992 issue headlines:

A sister from the Motherland makes a stunning debut with designs that showcase exquisitely woven textiles from Africa.

It was the very last day of the Paris spring collections, and Essence Fashion Editor Harriett Cole thought she had seen the best the top houses had to offer. But a tip from a black photographer led to the most exciting discovery of all: a sister was designing cutting-edge fashion that kept pace with all the up-to-the-second trends, designs that were beautifully executed and dramatic. What made the difference for Cole and us was that this extraordinary designer mixes top-quality couture fabrics and ideas with woven cloth. This was truly a dream come true! Designer Ly Dumas, who was born in Cameroon with the soul of a Pan-Africanist, says she feels and hears the spirit embodied in African fabric, particularly the woven fabrics of West Africa. She brings that spirit to the clothing she designs for Khepra Ly Dumas, her Paris-based company.

In its January 1992 issue, under the heading Tête d’Affiche, an article signed by Michel Lobe Ewane and titled “Ly Dumas Styliste Passionnée”/”Ly Dumas – a passionate stylist” pointed out that:

Immersed in the history of fabrics, the author notes that Ly Dumas approaches these emblematic, soulful textiles with much love and respect.

However, she admits it was hard to accept cutting into these pieces. “In fact, the fabric guides us in the choice of shapes. Take the Kuba fabrics, there’s a whole language and symbolism that we must observe. The shapes, the grace of the curves, and the matching of the pieces must reflect the hidden meaning of the graphics. We make it our duty to cultivate the significance of these symbols. We consult ethnologists and researchers like Theophile Obenga or Youssof Tata Cisse.