Ainé Pathé Ouédraogo, aka Pathé’O, an internationally renowned Burkinabé fashion designer, made several revelations on Friday 25 November 2022, about his relations with eminent personalities on the political and fashion scenes, such as the former South African President, Nelson Mandela, Christian Dior, Givenchy, and Myriam Makeba.
This was during a panel discussion he moderated in Room Daloa at the Sofitel Hôtel Ivoire, in Abidjan on Day 1 of CANEX WKND, a meeting of actors from African cultural industries, held on the banks of Ebrié Lagoon, from 25 to 27 November 2022. The Ivorian by adoption, who started as a tailor in 1969 (53 years ago) said he met President Nelson Mandela in 1998, in Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso, at a summit of cultural actors.
Pathé’O revealed that on that day, Mandela said he was contributing to the creation of wealth. When he asked what he meant, he said that when given a plain piece of cloth, Pathé’O transforms it into a design. According to Pathé’O, this meeting with the former South African president occurred after an earlier meeting with the mega star Myriam Makeba, who had visited him in his workshop in Treichville.
He revealed, among other things, that before leaving, Myriam Makeba took 4 Mandela shirts, which she then gave to President Mandela, and that was how he discovered and liked his productions. After this encounter, he visited South Africa, where Mandela received him at his residence. He admitted he felt a bit afraid and was rather tense. To put him at ease, Mandela held his hand, and they went for a walk in the garden, where they chatted.
It was in 2019 in Abidjan, through an actor in the fashion industry that he met Christian Dior. Pathé’O added that subsequently, he maintained good relations with Dior, and they had worked together in Abidjan and Paris. The native of Guibaré in Burkina Faso, further revealed that he met Givenchy, another eminent personality in the fashion industry, in Marrakech, Morocco. He maintained excellent relations with the latter. The fashion designer, Pathé’O, in a room full of actors from the fashion industry, seized the opportunity to encourage the youth to embrace this profession, which according to him, enriches those involved in it.