Selly Raby Kane

Selly Raby Kane
Kane in 2019
Born
Dakar, Senegal
OccupationsFashion designer, artist

Selly Raby Kane is a Senegalese fashion designer and filmmaker.[1] She is the creator of the fashion brand Seraka (abbreviated SRK).[2][3] An article in The Economist described her as "Senegal's most famous fashion designer".[4]

Biography

Selly Raby Kane was born in 1987 in Dakar, Senegal,[3] the daughter of a banker and civil servant.[4] Kane was educated at Catholic schools[4] until moving to study Business Administration and Law at university in France.[3] However, she was dissatisfied with her career plans, taking a break from university in 2008.[5][2] In 2009, she enrolled in the fashion school MOD'SPE Paris.[6][4] After completing her studies in 2011 and living in the United States, she returned to Dakar.[7] In that time, she became part of the art collectives Muus du Tux and Les Petits Pierres.[2][5]

Kane officially released her first clothing collection in 2012,[4][6] though she says she had worked on it discreetly since 2008.[8] Her profile was increased when Beyoncé wore one of her garments in 2016.[6][9] She opened a boutique in Dakar in February 2017,[2] and a showroom in the city later that year.[6] She was commissioned by IKEA to create homeware for their 2019 flagship collection.[10]

Kane has said that Dakar is a central inspiration for her designs.[5][8] She has called her past work "Afrofuturist";[11] it has also been described as "avant-garde",[1] "post-colonialist",[12] and "Afropolitan".[2]

In 2017, Kane released a virtual reality short film The Other Dakar, shown on the international film circuit.[6] She also served as writer, director, and stylist for the dystopian short film Jant Yi (2021).[12]

References

  1. 1 2 How Dakar inspires Senegalese designer Selly Raby Kane (Video). CNN. 2023-02-14.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Picarelli, Enrica (2019). "Selly Raby Kane: Surrealist Designer and Social Innovator". Fashion Studies. 2 (1): 1–31. doi:10.38055/FS020107. ISSN 2371-3453.
  3. 1 2 3 Bulotano, Phoebe (2021-06-20). "An Afrofuturistic Flare and Community: Reimagining Fashion with Designer Selly Raby Kane". Arts Help. Retrieved 2026-05-19.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 O’Mahony, Jennifer (2018-11-13). "Senegal style". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 2026-05-19.
  5. 1 2 3 Diop, Makhtar (2022-01-13). "S1E3: Selly Raby Kane: Designing the Future". International Finance Corporation. Retrieved 2026-05-19.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Haynes, Suyin (2019-10-10). "How This Senegalese Fashion Designer Is Celebrating Art Across Africa". TIME Magazine.
  7. ↑ Senegal's fashion futurist. Design Indaba. Retrieved 2026-05-19 – via www.designindaba.com.
  8. 1 2 "Selly Raby Kane Is The Senegalese Fashion Brand That Calls Erykah Badu and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie As Fans". BellaNaija. 2019-09-24. Retrieved 2026-05-19.
  9. ↑ Barsamian, Edward (2016-06-14). "Beyoncé Just Raised the Bar on the Kimono". Vogue. Retrieved 2026-05-23.
  10. ↑ Payne, Teryn (2017-03-13). "Selly Raby Kane, Senegalese Fashion Designer Recruited by Ikea". EBONY. Retrieved 2026-05-19.
  11. ↑ Ajudua, Christine (2024-05-29). "Afrotopia". National Gallery of Victoria. Retrieved 2026-05-19.
  12. 1 2 Picarelli, Enrica (2022-12-20). "Crafting Utopias Through Fashion in Ghana and Senegal". ZoneModa Journal. 12 (2): 13–24. doi:10.6092/issn.2611-0563/15757. ISSN 2611-0563.
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