The La Sape community in the Republic of the Congo, Africa, has gone viral on social media. This community is known for their extreme life choices, they are willing to live a hard life as long as they can look stylish.
Where did La Sape come from? La Sape stands for Société des ambianceurs et des personnes elegantes or Society of Atmosphere-setters and Elegant People.
Quoted from Al Jazeera, La Sape's origins are believed to date back to the early 20th century during the Belgian-French colonial period where Congolese slaves worked to get used clothes.
Outside of working hours, Congolese men began to dress like fashionable "French men", characterized by colorful clothing, fancy shoes, accessories such as bowler hats, sticks, and sunglasses. Wearing such clothes, they feel cool and get energy and joy.
These people are called sapeurs (or sapeuses for women). At that time, La Sape was a form of social expression of the people who had been colonized. Sapeurs used this movement as an escape from their misery, which later became an inspiration to other communities.
However, nowadays La Sape is the ideology of the movement about being happy and elegant even if one is actually undernourished. La Sape is more than a subculture. It is an important part of Congolese culture. In fact, politicians and musicians respect this movement.
"For me, La Sape is just about cleanliness: I feel comfortable in my Ozwald Boateng suit, so I wear it," said Aime Champaigne, a follower of the La Sape movement.
Meanwhile, Congolese skeptics about La Sape define the movement as an obsession with which they are addicted and cannot be stopped even if we feel it is wrong.