Liputa Fashion Week: designers gather in Goma to promote peace

In the eastern Congolese city of Goma, at the center of a conflict that has raged for decades, designers, models and artists gathered Friday for a fashion show held in the name of peace.

The 10th edition of Liputa Fashion Week brought designers from eight different countries, including the DRC, Senegal, the U.S., Uganda and Ivory Coast. Tha annual event is held with the goal of promoting the African fashion industry.

Eastern Congo is a region that has long been the scene of violence and armed conflict. Several armed groups are competing for control of mineral resources, causing massive displacement and human losses. In this context, Liputa Fashion Week positions itself as a symbol of resilience and peace. This year, the organizers wanted to convey a strong message: fashion, and more broadly culture, can be powerful vectors of peace and social cohesion.

Pape Songhé Diouf, known commonly as Papino Creations, is a designer from Senegal who came to show his designs at the fashion show. “I always say, Africa can build itself up. And this can only be done through culture. Here in Goma you have your culture. We in Senegal have our culture. Rwanda the same thing, Burundi the same thing. If we unite our culture I think we will have peace everywhere, everywhere in Africa,” he said.

David Gulu, one of the organizers of the event, underlined the importance of this particular edition: “We are waiting for our message to be heard, listened to by the international community. We are in the city of Goma, we live here, we want positivity to continue to reign in our city. This is why we continue to hold this, to show that despite what we have suffered, we do not give up and we remain resilient. We want peace to return and we want to develop our industry of Congolese fashion. We also want our place in the international fashion world.”

Liputa Fashion Week was also a showcase for cultural diversity, bringing together designers and artists from different African countries. Fiston Kheta of Goma who came to watch the show expressed his satisfaction at seeing young people mobilize for culture despite security challenges. “We weren’t scared. It’s true, the enemy is at the door of the city of Goma. But that doesn’t matter. We have to defend ourselves, we have to take advantage of the time when we are here, alive,” he said.

The eastern Congo conflict has intensified in recent months, and though a recent ceasefire was welcomed by the UN and several international governments, reports of violence from both government forces and rebels continue. Internally displaced people in one of the region’s largest refugee camps told AP they hadn’t received aid after news of the truce, questioning the usefulness of a truce if it doesn’t open up corridors for aid.

The two-week ceasefire enacted on July 5 has been extended until August 3, a move welcomed by the United States which has urged all actors to “respect the truce”.