The La Sape community from the Republic of the Congo, Africa, has a high fashion appearance. Ironically, this is lame with their original lives, some of which are still living hard. La Sape itself stands for Société des ambianceurs et des personnes elegantes or Society of Atmosphere-setters and Elegant People.
However, not many know that this habit was created because of a bitter history. Launching Al Jazeera, Wednesday (22/2/2023) La Sape is believed to have started in the early 20th century during the Belgian-French colonial period. At that time, the people of Congo were used as slaves and worked to get used clothes. Because of that, clothes are very memorable for the La Sape community.
Outside working hours, Congolese men are finally starting to dress like 'French men' in order to feel cool and get a sense of happiness. They will wear colorful outfits, fancy shoes, and accessorize with bowler hats, canes, and sunglasses. Well, these preening people are then called 'sapeurs' (sapeuses for women).
La Sape can be said to be the social expression of those who were colonized. This movement is an escape from their misery which then becomes an inspiration to others.
However, La Sape has now become an ideological movement about being happy and elegant, even though they actually just make it hard to eat. In fact, La Sape is more than a subculture, even politicians and musicians respect this movement.
"For me, La Sape is just about clean: I feel comfortable in my Ozwald Boateng suit, so I wear it," says Aime Champaigne, a follower of the La Sape movement.
However, it is only natural that there are those who oppose La Sape. Some people believe the La Sape movement is just an obsession that makes them addicted so it's hard to stop. Until now, La Sape still exists in Africa and gets great coverage from various media from around the world.