Xuly Bet

Born December 28, 1962 in Bamako, Mali. His real name is Kouyaté Lamine Badian.

Xuly Bet Fur Latex

Xuly Bet studied art in Senegal, then went to France to study architecture in Strasbourg and Paris. He set up the Xuly Bet Funkin' Fashion Factory in 1989. (Xuly Bet is a dialect word meaning voyeur.)

He caught the attention of the fashion world with his streetwise creations made from recycled materials. He was recognised by and has been featured in French fact Vogue and Glamour magazine. His success is illustrated by the that his merchandise was chosen to be featured in all stores of the French Galeries Lafayette chain.

Xuly Bet was the designer who used the clothing tag externally as part of the overall effect in his clothing. Embraced as a street-savvy fashion designer, he is favored by many rap artists as well as such pop luminaries as INXS, Neneh Cherry, and Soul II Soul. Xuly Bet is one of a number of designers who exists side by side with the musical fraternity to propagate his fashion message. In common with that same school of fashion savants, his end-wearers are the ordinary working class.

Xuly bet continues in that vein, avoiding elitism, and resisting the temptation of becoming the fashion/merchandising stereotype - a fate which has marked the creative end of many financlially successful designers.

Typcial creations of Xuly Bet include a revealing dress made from tights fabric. He is reknowned for using such materials as well as items obtained from second-hand stores and bargain stores, and then creating something completely new from them.

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week - Xuly Bet

Written by Shirlene Alusa-Brown Photography by Wire Image | Posted Friday, February 20, 2009 |

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A model wearing Xuly Bet at the ThisDay/Arise Magazine's African Fashion Collective 2009 during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at The Promenade in Bryant Park on February 13, 2009 in New York City.

Lamine Badian Kouyaté a.k.a. Xuly Bet had quite an inspired collection. It also helped that Grace Jones, the controversial Jamaican model/actress/singer, was willing to strut his designs down the catwalk.

His designs were more daring and show more of a blend between African and western design themes.

Xuly Bet at Arise Magazine Fashion Show 2010:

Image Credit: Insigna