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ON ASANDA’S RADAR: DANIELE TAMAGNI

2 Nov 2012
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When ELLE fashion editor Asanda Sizani got an opportunity to interview Daniele Tamagni, a Milan-based Italian photojournalist, she jumped at the chance. Says Asanda:

‘This is a photograph of a dandy gent I came across some time ago. I saved it in an album of mature, stylish people under the label ‘Veterans of Style’. I had no idea who the photographer or the subject was, but his elegant attire, poise and his stroll across the township streets as he smoked his cigar gripped me. Little did I know that I would one day meet the photographer.

‘In fact, we met in a small green house in Khayelitsha during the filming of Solange Knowles’s Losing You music video. Naturally we chatted about Gentlemen of Bacongo, his book and a fashion masterpiece about the group of elegantly dressed men in the Congo known as the Sapeurs.

Daniele and Asanda on set of Solange’s new music video.

‘His photographs capture the dandy lives of Sapeurs and members of Le SAPE (Society of Ambianceurs and Persons of Elegance). The word sapeur is French slang for ‘dressing with class’. Sir Paul Smith wrote in his foreword to the book that they are a “Congolese subculture of men who were so taken by the distinguished style of the colonial French that they adopted their formal dress of dapper tailoring to create their own unique style. Their elegant suiting has been echoed in luxurious fabrics and bright, optimistic hues”.’

Daniele Tamagni

A sketch for Sir Paul Smith’s spring/summer 2010 collection that was inspired by the Sapeurs and Daniele’s book. Daniele says: ‘It all happened very quickly. I think the publisher showed my pictures to him and he decided to write the preface. I had no idea that he was inspired by my photographs until I saw his show. I think it reveals the continuous bridge of influences between Europe and Africa.’

Paul Smith’s spring/summer 2010 collection

How did you get started as a photojournalist and historian?
‘I have a background in art history. I studied and worked part-time as a freelancer doing research at universities, cultural institutions, museums and churches, and wanted to specialise in photography and architecture. I then discovered that I really wanted to photograph people. During 2005, my focus shifted to documentary and street culture, with a particular interest in African culture. More recently, I have also taken an interest in fashion photography and collaborated with an Italian magazine called Africa.’

What made you decide to compile Gentlemen of BaCongo?
‘I first visited the Congo in 2006 and I was delighted to see such elegant people and their unique sense of style. At this time I didn’t know anything about Sapeurs but when I went back to London I researched them and found a book about the anthology of African photography. In it, writer Franck Bitemo refers to Arca Sapeur from Brazzaville. I was fascinated and wanted to do a project about the Sapeurs. In 2007, in Brazzaville, I met Arca (who unfortunately died a few months after I met him) and I dedicated the book to him. After that I met leaders like Hassan Salvador and KVV Mouzieto who taught me a lot about Sapeurs. In this way I continued photographing different gentlemen in different settings. This year I interviewed Sapeurs living in Paris and London.’

How did you get involved in Solange Knowles’s Losing You music video?
‘Solange contacted me after she had read my book. She found it very inspiring and asked me to contact Sapeurs. I decided to call Dixie, a Sapeur who lives in London, and a few Sapeurs flew down to Cape Town for the shoot. Three Congolese Sapeurs living in South Africa were selected to take part too.’

Why do you think the book was so well received?
‘My aim was to explore African communities. Gentlemen of BaCongo explores a social aspect that is related to a specific cultural context. Sapeurs are uniquely Congolese. Even in South Africa we see similar phenomena, but no other African country has a sense of style that is so crucially identified with its cultural history as the Congo. Sapeurs are part of Congolese social history and my book demonstrates a unique vibrancy. It is appreciated by readers interested in social documentaries as well as those who are interested in fashion, like Sir Paul Smith. A filmmaker from Germany also decided to do a short documentary on Congolese culture and style after seeing it. If I can explain in a few words the success of this book, I’d say it’s fresh and shows something intriguingly unusual.’

What is the highlight of your career so far?
‘The ICP Infinity Awards in Fashion in New York in 2010 and the Arts and Entertainment World Press Photo Contest in London in 2011. But in general, being able to do the job that I love.’

African people are the subjects of many of your photographs. What attracts you to Africa?
‘Africa is unique and very diverse. South Africa, for instance, is so rich in history and I will definitely come back one day.’

Who would you love to photograph and why?
‘I like to balance documentary photography with fashion photography. I also hope to collaborate with musicians who share similar taste and ideas again.’

What are you working on now?
‘I want to finish some projects and compile a new book about global street life and subculture. It will include my best work and notes from contributors and experts in each field.’

Images: Daniele Tamagni and The Book Of Thoughts