la Sape

La Société des Ambianceurs et des Personnes Elégantes (the Society of Ambiance-Makers and Elegant People, commonly shortened to la Sape) is a social movement of well-dressed men that began in the two Congos in the 1980s. Sapeurs, members of la Sape, spend large sums of money on designer clothes, which they show off at social gatherings and use as a signifier of identity and community. Over the decades, la Sape has received more Western media attention, as it has increasingly become an international movement.

Sapeur communities have developed within the larger African diaspora in France and Belgium, the former colonizers of the Republic of the Congo (ROC) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), respectively. The largest Sapeur communities are in Paris and Brussels, although smaller communities have popped up in other fashion capitals such as London.