Tuesday 21 January 2014

Congolese Society of Ambianceurs and Elegant Persons (SAPE)- The most stylish people of Congo:-)

Did you see the latest Guiness ad? I have to say that I never seen such a good ad and so many stylish men!
Why am I talking about it? Well, did you hear about Congolese Society of Ambianceurs and Elegant Persons (SAPE) - sapeurs, as they are known.

The ad follows the men as they shed their working clothes and transform themselves into polished, hat-wearing, cane-wielding style moguls - because, as the narrator says, "in life, you cannot always choose what you do, but you can always choose who you are."
Costume designer Mr Gammon took 28 suitcases of elegant kit to the shoot with members of the (SAPE). The main idea of the Guiness ad was to be true to the sapeur look, but also, "kind of, heighten it a bit," Gammon says. "I wasn't redesigning them."

I was wondering if such society actually exist, but have a look at Guiness ad first:



Photographer Per-Anders Pettersson who spent five days with sapeurs in Kinshasa in 2012 says the picture portrayed in the ad is pretty accurate.
The opening frame of the ad locates the action in Congo Brazzaville. Sapeurs exist both there and in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo - but the ad was actually shot in South Africa.
Hassan Salvador, seen in the ad sporting jaunty Lennon-style dark glasses, says he earns $1,000 (£610) a month working as a warehouse manager, and about 20% of that goes on clothes. Feron Ngouabi - who can be glimpsed wearing a kilt and tam-o-shanter - spends all of his earnings as a fireman on clothes, he says. Fortunately he owns two taxis, which bring in extra cash.
In the ad they wore a mixture of their own wardrobe, and Mr Gammon's.

Sapeurs never wear more than three colours at once (or four, including white). In the Guinness ad, featuring men from Brazzaville, Gammon kept black and grey clothes to a minimum. But Pettersson encountered plenty of monochrome outfits in Kinshasa, capital of DR Congo.

Hector Mediavilla, who directed a mini-documentary for Guinness, also released this week, says the ad is cinema - it's not intended to be 100% accurate. "But the spirit of the people? Yeah it's in the ad."
I love this ad. These people have a passion, and they live to fulfil it every day of their life's. Such a inspiration. 

Did you hear about them. 








Here is a little bit more about them:-)





"in life, you cannot always choose what you do, but you can always choose who you are."  

Kisses
Ewelina 

source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-25783245

15 comments:

  1. Such a great Ad. I love the concept.

    missymayification.blogspot.co.uk

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. the ad is one thing but those people are awersome

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  2. I a message ad don't forget the others this its how I see it great post.
    http://tifi11.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love the concept, post and the quote at the end.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Cool concept!!Great! Would you like to follow each other? Just let me know in my blog. xoxo
    http://www.elationofcreation.com/

    ReplyDelete
  5. love the concept! nice post, thanks for sharing
    xx

    http://losaway.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  6. so unique post! :*

    http://landing-in-fashion.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wow love this commercial. The men look great all styled out in suites in vibrant colors. Great post. mywhiteT.com

    ReplyDelete

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Kisses
Ewelina