Lamine Badian Kouyaté is not one to shy away from current events. As such, his work for Xuly.Bët—always rooted in realwear for people of all types and sizes—is not escapist, though it is often positively transportative. For spring the designer wanted to focus on what’s essential: health and joy.
The unsettling opening look, worn by a model in a white hazmat-like suit and a white face mask, referenced COVID-era confinement. It pulled, Kouyaté said through a translator, “from this desire to heal a world that’s gone haywire, with never-ending conflicts and war. There is this timely concern and drive towards a collective consciousness that there is only one planet—this is the thing that unites us all. I wanted to go from this fear towards love.” That’s why the show crescendoed from a stark opening to a celebratory finish featuring dance and music. Like several other designers this season, Kouyaté looked to the Caribbean for inspiration. Bringing down the house was a closing performance by Maureen (a Shatta artist from Martinique, who is based in France and will release her new album, Queen, this week).
Xuly-Bët is Wolof for “keep your eyes open,” but with this collection, the designer once again asked us also to do the same with our hearts. “This collection is about the kindness shown towards one another and going beyond to look at what can unite us. To speak more on love than hate,” he said. To communicate as clearly as possible, Kouyaté’s focus was on what he’s best known for: screen-printed denim and red-stitched stretch separates for people who are comfortable in their own skin.
