Like many of her peers, Kadiata Diallo had to head to Paris to kickstart her career, moving from her native Mauritania, where being a fashion designer isn’t really a viable career path. “I had to force my family’s hand to let me pursue fashion, because when you’re from Africa and you want to go to fashion school, they ask, ‘What’s the point?’,” says Diallo. “They told me I’d fall flat on my face and that when I came back, I’d realise and stop dreaming. Well, no. I pursued my dream. ” 

You can feel this determination in the clothes she makes for her brand, Niuku, as much as in her words. It was while watching a Karl Lagerfeld biopic that she first realised she was entitled to her own sucess story: “I stumbled across the documentary and was shocked to see that a German – at a time when Germany was supposedly one of the most hated countries – had risen to the helm of Chanel and Fendi,” Diallo says. “The guy explains his dreams and turns them into reality. I thought to myself, ‘hang on, that’s incredible! Why couldn’t I do the same?’”

It was with this same can-do attitude that she made her way in Paris for nine years. Juggling workshop classes, a job as a buyer and an internship in a press office, Diallo soon found herself confronting systemic discrimination, which is all the more acute in the fashion world. She launched her brand with classic items such as blue jeans, where her personal touch lies subtly at the very back of the pockets, which she reworks in indigo. A clever way of meeting industry standards whilst discreetly adding a piece of heritage that would define the essence of the brand.  

But that wasn’t enough. Although she gained recognition following her first overseas contract with a Japanese distributor, the Parisian fashion establishment didn’t allow her to fully express her creativity, constantly asking her to tone down her love of colour in favour of a more neutral aesthetic in keeping with European fashions – something she would eventually refuse to do. “I didn’t feel comfortable with the idea of working for France, because I wasn’t really working for myself in the end,” says Diallo. “I felt that, at some point, I’d be used as a spokesperson and a link to Africa. I didn’t feel comfortable with that, so I came back on a whim, knowing I’d have to start all over again from scratch.” 

Indeed, the conditions aren’t the same. In Mauritania, fashion is still very traditional, and its industry lacks many of the tools we have in Europe. Nevertheless, this return to her roots allowed her to lay the foundations for her research into print, and to explore her personal history, which would become the brand’s leitmotif.

“Niuku comes from ‘Niuku Djawal’, a Fulani expression meaning ‘very reserved hospitality’”

Can you tell us where the name Niuku comes from? 

Kadiata Diallo: Niuku comes from ‘Niuku Djawal’, a Fulani expression meaning ‘very reserved hospitality’. It was the nickname my paternal grandfather gave his wife because she was extremely discreet. Everything she did showed how well she looked after her family without ever letting on. 

My grandmother was a dyer in Casamance in the 1940s and 1950s. She already had her own business with her own dyers, and she sold the fabrics at the market as far afield as Guinea-Bissau. We’re talking about a female entrepreneur during the colonial era. It inspired me enormously to think that she was a go-getter who managed to run her business, look after her children and keep her home running, even though her husband wasn’t always there due to his job as a customs officer. That’s why they gave her that nickname. I’ve taken her name, Kadiata. And I was also nicknamed Niuku Djawal. But beyond that, I had no idea I had such a strong connection with someone I’d never even met.

Where did your research begin? 

Kadiata Diallo: If we look at the kingdoms that existed before colonisation, the fact that Egypt was the cradle of civilisation and that people settled elsewhere, there were inevitably movements and cross-pollinations somewhere along the line that meant everyone ended up together, learning the same knowledge side by side. My aim was to take a broad look, to see which techniques were most similar and why. For example, you also see batik [a dyeing technique using wax] in Nigeria, and it’s the Fulani who practise batik. I’m Fulani too, but from Mauritania. So I’m trying to make the connections.

You also have to separate the garment from the fabric. The boubou [traditional garment] has had the same shape for years. In the village everyone has the same one. You wear the boubou under your loincloth, you add a little bit of jewellery, a little scarf, and off you go. But it’s the fabric that has a story. Not everyone has enough money to buy a new one. Your boubou is the same as it was a month ago, except you’ve re-dyed it so you can take new photos in it. It’s a hobby, just a bit of fun. You’ve got an hour or two to spare, you get together and reinvent.

You usually start with a blank canvas – large quantities of fabric, usually cotton – onto which you apply your pattern using the ligature technique. This allows you to develop an entire collection from a single textile base without worrying about restocking. So, from raw material to finished product, the production process is entirely under your control, which is a centuries-old luxury.

Kadiata Diallo: It’s part of my battle – I’m fighting to get people to accept the fact that we invented luxury before anyone else. We really did develop types of prints, weaving and embroidery techniques, a long time ago. We have over 800 years of history in this area that hasn’t been written down, hasn’t been told, and therefore hasn’t been valued, because it was normal – it was part of everyday life. People didn’t think they were doing anything extraordinary. They were simply indulging themselves. And that’s what’s incredible – creating things simply out of a desire to have a more beautiful garment.

Styling Niuku Original, make-up Kelly Costigliolo, models Nix, Fatma Ndiaye, Madior Ndiaye, art director Adrien de Hemptinne, assistant photographer Maxime Delvaux, backstage photographer Alain Dramé, press and media relations Sydney Diack