foday
Foday Dumbuya.
Foday is the founder of a clothing label called “Labrum” which describes itself as “British African heritage clothing brand telling the story of West Africa to help bring the gap between western and West African Cultures.”
Foday has presence. Not by being really tall, or really loud or anything like that. Just a calm aura of “cool”. I was booked by the brand to cover a private event, a launch of a new line. The party was fun and I got some cool imagery of the guests. But before the party started Foday came into the event and asked where the photographer was. That was me so I put my hand up. He asked me to come with him and we started walking though central London.
He had some new clothes in Selfridges, and he wanted me to come and take some pictures. I didn’t know really what to do, but I started walking. On this walk I had a one on one conversation which felt like a masterclass. He was able to tell his story so easily and move through parts of his life with ease, explaining how each moment lead to the next. It was the first time I’d met a relatively young black man who could speak like this.
We walked for 15 minutes through the dark streets of central London, lit mostly by Christmas lights and overly bright storefronts. He led me through parts of London I didn’t even know about. At Selfridges we took the escalator upstairs to a rail with his brand name on it. There a store assistant noticed him and immediately started talking about how great it was, they were obviously friends. Foday was so calm and cool about it as he leafed through items he must had seen a thousand times as I snapped away.
As expected after a few minutes I was accosted by Selfridges security who asked me just what I thought I was doing. I tried to explain but didn’t get very far. Foday just smiled and told them not to worry and apologised. They let me go, I snuck in a few more frames and then we left.
As we walked back I knew I was lucky to be alone with this person. But I also knew that I didn’t know the questions to ask to make the most of the time I had. So instead I just took pictures and spoke occasionally whilst he checked his phone. We got back to the party and we didn’t exchange many words after that.
Since then I’ve seen him invited to Royal events and I’ve seen him design Arsenal FC’s kit, inspired by his African heritage. It seems he’s been on an upward trajectory ever since this night.
This man will be a part of fashion history. I’m just happy I got a little bit of him to myself.
