Patterned skirt and jacket ensemble
Chris Seydou · about 1990
Mali, Côte d’Ivoire and France
Chris Seydou
- Bògòlanfini textiles
- Contemporary tailoring
Chris Seydou, born Seydou Nourou Doumbia in Mali, helped bring African textile traditions into international designer fashion. After establishing his career in West Africa, he moved to Paris in the early 1970s and worked with leading fashion houses.
Five looks to know
Collection selection
Patterned skirt and jacket ensemble
about 1990
Nabil Zorkot’s photograph shows a patterned cropped jacket and short skirt styled with a fitted pale top. The NGV dates the outfit to about 1990; its season and exact textile composition are not documented in the caption.
© Nabil Zorkot; courtesy Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Collection selection
Evening dress with a patterned halter bodice
1983
A patterned halter bodice meets a long dark pleated skirt. The installation photograph shows the bodice and much of the skirt, with the hem cropped.
Installation photograph published by Laura McLaws Helms / Sighs & Whispers; Africa Fashion, Victoria and Albert Museum. Individual photographer not separately stated.
Collection selection
Pink and black dress
Late 1970s
A loose pink upper section and deep neckline contrast with a narrow black skirt. The museum display records synthetic taffeta and velvet.
Installation photograph published by Laura McLaws Helms / Sighs & Whispers; Africa Fashion, Victoria and Albert Museum. Individual photographer not separately stated.
Collection selection
Bògòlanfini skirt suit — left mannequin
1992
The left mannequin wears a pale jacket with patterned collar and cuffs above a matching patterned skirt, adapting bògòlanfini to a tailored suit.
Installation photograph published by Laura McLaws Helms / Sighs & Whispers; Africa Fashion, Victoria and Albert Museum. Individual photographer not separately stated.
Collection selection
Cream trouser suit with dark appliqué
1992
Dark appliqué spreads across the cream jacket above slim trousers, translating a bògòlanfini-inspired pattern into a new surface technique.
Installation photograph published by Laura McLaws Helms / Sighs & Whispers; Africa Fashion, Victoria and Albert Museum. Individual photographer not separately stated.Archive pieces, grouped by date
1 pieceabout 1990
1 piece · Season not recorded
About Chris Seydou
He became especially associated with bògòlanfini, transforming the Malian cloth into tailored jackets, short skirts and other contemporary shapes. Returning to Mali in 1990, he continued to connect local making with an international clientele, demonstrating that textile heritage could generate new fashion rather than simply preserve old forms.