In the 1960s, a small group of self-empowered Malian women sparked a revolution, inspired by beauty and economic survival. The seemingly humble women's activity of hand-dyeing cloth blossomed into a symbol of cultural pride in West Africa and African diaspora communities, economic sustenance and international fashion. Awa Cisse, Djeneba “Mme” Basse, Niamoye and others, navigating the perils of economic, health and food insecurity, reinvigorated the craft of hand-dyed cloth. These pioneering women used a fabric called bazin, an imported polished cotton, also known as damask, manufactured in Europe and China. They transformed a historical tradition of cloth dyeing with an infusion of a wider palette of colors using powdered dyes to create, until that time, an unimaginable array of colors and creative designs. They taught their daughters, sisters and neighbors to dye cloth which improved their economic condition. Today, cloth dyeing is a lucrative economic activity for many – dominated by women. The vibrant colors and designs captured the imagination and favor of the people living in the West African region. Wearing bazin became a symbol of cultural pride and identity for post-colonial West Africans within the continent and beyond. Well-known celebrities, such as musicians Salif Keita, Oumou Sangare and Toumani Diabate, wear bazin and even do commercials to promote its popularity. The cloth dyers influence is exemplified by fashion shows, as well as lavish events called La Nuit de Bazin, Nights of Bazin, predominantly attended by women, that celebrate the revered cloth. These events have spread globally from Bamako to Paris to Atlanta and to Oakland, CA.

BAMAKO CHIC spans cloth dyeing in homes and training centers in Mali, West Africa to the Brombach Textile Factory site in LÃrrach, Germany to a bazin boutique in Harlem to â La Nuit du Bazinâ and wedding celebrations in Mali, Paris and Oakland, CA. Among those we meet are: revered cloth dyer, Sanata Magassa; damask merchants Youba and Lamine Yara; Ousseynou Kouyate, former dancer with the Senegalese ballet, who organized â La Nuit de Bazinâ (Night of Bazin) in Oakland, CA; Mauritanian Aminata Ndiaye, a woman wholesaler of bazin, a job typically relegated to men. The film also touches on the environmental issues surrounding the disposal of the dyes, as well as the historic importance of indigo dyeing, from prominent Malian textile artist Aboubakar Fofana, who dyes exclusively using indigo and plant-based dyes.

.

BAMAKO CHIC celebrates the vitality of Malian culture, while expanding awareness of the challenges and achievements of women and their self-determination in contemporary West Africa.

The film offers an alternative point of view of African women, and of Africa beyond the commonly portrayed continent wrought with political unrest, economic scarcity and health tragedies.