OMou Sy (Diatar, 1952) is een Senegalees mode-ontwerpster. Zij is een van de eerste Afrikaanse ontwerpers die in het blikveld viel van 'westerse' modemedia. Haar bekendheid dankt ze in eerste instantie aan de oprichting van een school voor mode ontwerpen in Dakar, begin 1980s. In 1997 zette ze het jaarlijkse Semaine Internationale de la Mode de Dakar (SIMOD) op. <BR> Onder de merknaam Oumou voert ze een groot aantal projecten in de wereld van de mode, kunst, theater en film. In Genève en Parijs heeft ze eigen modewinkels.<BR> <BR> Haar collecties werden op grote modeshows in Europa getoond, waaronder op de Expo 2000 in Hannover, maar ook in Azië, Afrika en de Verenigde Staten. Ze maakte ontwerpen voor bekende zangers uit Senegal als Baaba Maal en Youssou N’Dour.<BR> <BR> Sy groeide uit tot een van de belangrijkste persoonlijkheden in de Afrikaanse modewereld en kreeg lovende kritieken. Zo werd ze de Lagerfeld van Afrika genoemd en Senegal's Queen of Couture. Ze won prijzen op meerdere filmfestivals voor haar filmkostuums. In 1998 won ze samen met twee andere Afrikaanse modeontwerpers, Alphadi uit Niger en Tetteh Adzedu uit Ghana, de Prins Claus Hoofdprijs in het thema De Kunst van Afrikaanse Mode.<BR> <BR> Sy constructs silhouettes of power expressed through volume and density. Refined artisanship provides the foundation of the costume's primary elements of cloth, and careful adornment of both the cloth and the body complete the effect. Inspired by the aristocratic traditions of the Wolof and Toucouleur-the major ethnic groups in Senegal-as well as the Islamic grand boubou, a six meter flowing, embroidered robe (called mbubb in Wolof), her garment forms are characterized by simple stitching of long swathes of cloth that are layered and wrapped. Like many other African designers, she innovates cloth traditions through production technology or the use of "African" cloth (such as cotton prints, woven strips, hand-dyed fabric) in Western styles. She designs tie-dye motifs and weaving for the broadloom, which she uses to weave cloth strips from two-to four-feet long, thereby producing large strips of cloth and reducing the number of seams required to stitch a garment; she also employs expert artisans who often experiment with mixtures of thread or dyes. Sy makes frequent use of embroidery in her costumes and fashion lines. Moreover, in these lines, she gives these traditional garments a Westernized form with belts, sashes, or tailored waistlines that lend contours to the body. African heritage is also the basis for her ornate accessories, jewelry, hairstyles, and makeup.<BR> the broad scope of Sy's creative and institutional interventions in Senegalese culture demonstrates not only her individual genius but also the way that cloth and fashion are embedded in so many aspects of Senegalese society and culture from elite consumption to popular festivity.<BR> <BR> Her spectacular fashion shows are therefore not only visual and sensory feasts but also a platform for the articulation of an African pride that mines the past and present to produce a future that is in constant dialogue with origins. In effect, she places the cherished, rich Senegambian heritage of artisanship and body adornment into dialogue with the transnational terrain of the contemporary arts. Centuries of transregional trade with Europe and the Middle East and its former status as a French colonial capital have bred a fertile terrain for African and diasporic cultural production in Dakar .(https://fashion-history.lovetoknow.com/fashion-clothing-industry/fashion-designers/oumou-sy ; 11-1-2019)