Afrobiz magazine – in its January edition, a gorgeous pictorial titled ”Sophisticated Ladies” shows two designs by Ly Dumas, the first in Kasai velvet and the other in red Rabal.

To celebrate in style ten years of elegance and creation, Ly Dumas designed a colourful collection. 2001 is dedicated to pearls, a delightful nod to an ancestral tradition and especially to the late Chris Seydou. Spiritual heir of the Malian stylist, Ly Dumas, whose maiden name is Gacha, has brought weavers, beadwork masters and craftsmen of Africa back into fashion. By contributing to the revival of these trades, she creates history-filled clothes while respecting tradition.

„…Since 1991, each of her creations bears the mark of African cultural heritage. Perfectly finished garments subtly enhance fabrics like Ndop, Rabal and linen. As a bonus, thousands of beads generously add colour and cheerfulness.

In what spirit and for what woman did you have in mind when you designed Ly Dumas clothes?

I thought of an intelligent, open-minded, beautiful, and sparkling woman. Like Kimi Khan, for example, she could very well be my muse. There’s a bit of me behind each piece of clothing. It’s my way of being, of thinking. I like to dress up, to drape myself, to wear colours. Above all, I believe in the power of mixing because I live in a multi-racial universe. I am convinced that the world has a common root. I travel a lot and have always noticed how all the civilisations have at least one thing in common. This idea shines through my designs, too.

So what was the trigger?

Fabrics pushed me towards fashion design. I have always had a great passion for traditional and handmade textiles. Ritual ceremonies rocked my childhood. The memory of Ndop costumes worn by the king and notables remained embedded in my memory. It’s why I started collecting Cameroonian fabrics and art. Returning to Paris, I realised my friends from Africa were shopping for their clothes in France. That’s when I had the idea of creating garments that are not only beautiful but have a story, a soul. In my opinion, a piece of clothing should be dignified and allow you to have a certain poise. For the last ten years, I’ve been trying to give tangible expression to the abstract sensations and powerful emotions I feel when I touch these fabrics. My meeting with Chris Seydou also triggered a change in me. I pay tribute to this exceptional man who impressed me with his collections of exquisitely worked Bogolan.

What does Ly mean?

My brand logo, the letter “L”, which extends with a “Y”, suggests a link between Heaven and Earth. This idea of harmony comes from yoga. Everything is connected.

Why do you dedicate 2001 to Beads/Perles?

It is another tradition that deserves attention. One finds beads in Western Cameroon, amongst the Ndebeles of South Africa or the Indians of America. Young Cameroonian craftsmen created the beadwork we used for this collection. There are also beaded belts, bustiers, dresses, bracelets, candy boxes or baskets. In fact, I have sprinkled beads all over my creations.

Where does this altruism come from? From Buddhism?

I have always practised Buddhism without realising it. It was by reading books on the subject that I recognised myself. Even as a little girl, I never stepped on an ant, I never mistreated plants etc. If you respect what surrounds you, you respect yourself, and everyone is well. I live Buddhism by trying to self-improve and have compassion every day. Buddhism is a philosophy of life, not a religion. I believe in God; I know He guides me.

When will there be a Ly Dumas boutique in Africa?

I would love it because I first created this fashion for African women so that they would feel comfortable wearing fabrics from home. A little like when you leave your country and bring a bit of soil with you. Today Ly Dumas is very popular with European, Japanese and American women. But Africans are coming more and more, and I’m happy about that.”

„Ly Dumas has taken advantage of her many journeys to do introspective work on herself and her culture…

Her many travels have been an opportunity to look inward at herself and her culture. Opening her eyes like a naïve and greedy child, Ly Dumas snooped through the markets and the most remote villages to encounter the emotion and authenticity of creation. She has accumulated rituals, fragrances, shapes and colours in her memory, working as a museologist, artisan, historian and stylist.

Her passion began with her love of traditional textiles, the ones requiring time, science, patience, hard work and perfect communion with nature. …For a decade now, she (Ly Dumas) has not wavered from her choice to combine the authentic with the precious. If she speaks of cross-culture in her graphism and stylistic approach, she takes this concept far beyond the simple North-South binomial.

This mother of four has also opened her mixing palette to many other skies. We can see Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and many precious and beautiful things which, despite their profusion, do not belong to any inventory born by chance. The selection of cottons, silks, taffeta and voiles, but also the presence of pearls, of multicoloured agates, like a constellation of light, will henceforth cohabit. One of the first dresses by Ly Dumas to appear in the international press was indeed a dress in Malian Bogolan held together by straps made of ancient pearls from Togo and Cameroon and lined with raw silk. This kind of extreme pleasure-surprise for women is one of her work’s features: enforcing softness, extreme femininity and rigour as added values to each piece that leaves her workshop.

 Over the past decade, Ly Dumas has become an intimate and sophisticated brand. We go to her shop when we need authenticity and well-being. When the desire to reconnect with the beautiful and the unique nags at us. When we feel the urge to slip into pearl-covered mules or warm up the paleness of our moods with a giraffe necklace like the South African Ndebele… That’s when we take the path to this den, where the contagious passion for Africa and its noblest values remind us how much the present must feed on the past.”