VIVE! LAMINE: 30 Years of XULY.Bët

MUSA You were born Mali, lived in Senegal spending most of your youth in Africa, the mother continent. What was that like?

LAMINE I really loved Africa. But it was hard because of the political climate and my Dad was persecuted. So we had to move from Mali. He was in jail for seven years. When they freed him we had to leave the country because of political issues.

MUSA In your early twenties you studied architecture at Strasbourg. Did that experience influence your direction towards fashion?

LAMINE I think so. It’s the same object. It’s about human beings. Architecture is a space you create for the human being. Same as clothes. It’s is a space for human beings just more mobile. They are both spaces we can live in.

MUSA XULY.Bët was created in 1992 to huge fanfare. What was that time like for you?

LAMINE It was about youth. It was about how we could get off the racial confrontation. How we could bring people together. Also how can Africa bring its note to the global concert. That was my main intention. I felt strong. At that time everyone wanted to try something different. It was a lot of hope. With so much going on in the world and to the planet. This was my way. I was ready to handle it.

MUSA The late great director Robert Altman ( who I knew) created a character “Lamine” a Black Parisian designer after you portrayed by future Oscar winning actor Forest Whitaker. You also in 1996 won the prestigious ANDAM award. Having so much notoriety at the time did it harm or help your career?

LAMINE If you met people like that who had so much experience and background it could only bring you up there. I spent three months with Forrest Whitaker. Robert Altman asking me my advice. It was a really great experience for me. I really learned a lot. That really helped my career. It brought my fashion designs all over into a different dimension. Even for my own experience in how we can work it out. It was very good and positive for me.

MUSA How would you define the XULY.Bët aesthetic?

LAMINE The aesthetic is all about love. To bring some expression to someone’s life and help make it better.

MUSA You are also a musician in a rock band. How does music influence your brand?

LAMINE My music influence first is Jimi Hendrix. I love the music distortion of his sound. Also people like Miles Davis. You can feel his sound all at once. George Clinton of Parliament. The collective issue is to bring that sound to the fashion.

MUSA What do you think about the fashion industry in regards to how they treat Black designers?

LAMINE It’s not just the fashion industry it’s the whole system. It’s very prejudiced. I hope we just overcome that. These days you can really see the strength from Black designers. We are coming.

MUSA You are one of the few Black Parisian designers to get recognition. What is the biggest obstacle for Black designers?

LAMINE People know me outside of Europe. I had the cover of New York Times magazine in ‘94. Had a lot of press abroad. Africa they know me. It’s the financial issue we have to handle. Black designers have to raise funds. That’s the problem. It’s not recognition. Even the youth is coming to me now. Last year I was in Vogue magazine and Interview magazine gave me six pages. F.I.T. Exhibition had my stuff. The most problems is to raise funds to set up a proper and safe business for all African and Black designers here.

MUSA XULY.Bët is thirty years old. What’s the next chapter for the brand?

LAMINE How can I make the business safe. A real statement. The money will help me make the statement.

MUSA What advice would you give the next generation of Black designers in Europe?

LAMINE Let’s work it out. It’s a lot of work. You have to come with a lot of energy. It’s not a joke. People don’t know what is behind all of this when building a brand. So really have to keep building and working.