© Daniele Tamagni

Daniele Tamagni strikes a chord between photojournalism and fashion photography in his new book Gentlemen of Bakongo, documenting the culture of the sapeurs in the Congo Republic.  These colorfully well-dressed gentlemen, members of La Société des Ambianceurs et des Personnes Élégantes, are photographed against backdrops of third world poverty.  Far from a sense of frivolity, however, the images remind us of what is perhaps fashion’s most universal function: lending people, no matter their circumstances, a sense of dignity through self-expression.