Bright continent

Model Sachakara Dieng applies make-up backstage. Photos by Finbarr O'Reilly / Reuters

Reuters photographer Finbarr O'Reilly captures the drama as Africa's top models put a bold face on Dakar's Fashion Week.

Ankara fabrics, bold exotic prints, pop colors with modern silhouettes and shapes were all part of the mix as 13 designers brought a contemporary feel to Dakar Fashion Week earlier this month.

After months of post-election conflict brought their country to a standstill, Ivorian designers hit the catwalk in Senegal with a burst of colors. Their peers from Mali, Morocco, Spain and France also took part to present a little-known face of Africa.

The event was organized by Senegalese designer Adama Amanda Ndiaye, the young woman behind the promising Adama Paris label.

Born in Kinshasa (formerly in Zaire, now the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo) in 1976, Adama epitomizes the multicultural fashion designer of the new millennium. With parents working in the diplomatic corps, Ndiaye grew up in different world capitals. Exposed to cosmopolitan fashions, she began to forge her own style from the very beginning. She now travels frequently between the French-speaking capitals, New York, Brazil and Senegal.