Diverse styles in African fashion

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Credit: W. Hassan Marsh

President Abdoulaye Wade receives an award for his support of the Arts and culture. "I hail the diversity of this evening," President Wade declared. "I had never imagined the standing of the show I just attended; I am overjoyed."
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Credit: W. Hassan Marsh

Khadidja Sy, a top model during the early 1990s shared the runway with Katoucha. She wears an all leather garment that evokes the image of a hunter.
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Credit: W. Hassan Marsh

Models show work from the the Franco-Ivorian jeweller Michael Kra.
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Credit: W. Hassan Marsh

Designer Michael Kra led the audience in a moment of silence in memory of Katoucha, a Guinea-born Senegalese top-model was found dead in the Seine river in Paris last month.
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Credit: W. Hassan Marsh

Guinean style takes center stage in this collection.
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Credit: W. Hassan Marsh

Ndack, semi-finalist for the Elite Model, a Senegalese TV show, sports one of the original designs with flare.
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Credit: W. Hassan Marsh

Young Senegalese designer Cheikha prepares for SIRA vision at his atelier in Dakar.
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Credit: W. Hassan Marsh

A woman shows traditional Senegalese style.
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Credit: W. Hassan Marsh

Honored guests, President Abdoulaye Wade and his wife Vivian enter with designer and founder of SIRA Vision Colle Sow Ardo.
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Credit: W. Hassan Marsh

French designer Jean Doucet walks the runway after his collection.
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Credit: W. Hassan Marsh

This collection at SIRA Vision was characterized by soft black fabrics highlighted by bright reds, pinks and yellows.
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Queen of the Loin Cloth, Senegalese designer Colle Sow Ardo is known for the elegant use of her trademark tissue on display.
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Credit: W. Hassan Marsh

Senegalese singer Coumba Gawlo wooed guests at the opening and closing of the show.
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Credit: W. Hassan Marsh

Models displayed varied styles and tastes, showing the complex diversity that African fashion has to offer.
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Credit: W. Hassan Marsh

Models strike a pose for photographers in this Spring 2008 collection, highlighted by natural and bronze tones as seen in girls dress and mans ensemble.
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Credit: W. Hassan Marsh

Nigerien designer Aphandi walks down the catwalk with a model sporting an outfit from his newest collection. The series is a tribute to the African woman in Black and white.