Xuly.Bët. Funkin’ fashion factory 100% recycled

Bold lettering, assertive statements and recycled textiles – these are
the distinguishing features of the Parisian fashion label Xuly.Bët. The
Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg (MK&G) is dedicating a solo
exhibition to designer Lamine Kouyaté’s innovative label featuring
selected pieces from recent collections along with new acquisitions for
the Fashion and Textiles Collection.

Founded in Paris in 1991 by Lamine Kouyaté (b. 1962), the fashion
house Xuly.Bët produces wearable fashion made from second-hand
textiles. The label’s name comes from the West African language
Wolof and means “keep your eyes open”. By conceiving everyday
pieces and sportswear in the elegant style of Parisian haute couture,
Xuly.Bët broke with the zeitgeist of the 1990s fashion world,
introducing seams turned outwards, slanted cuts, dangling red threads
and outfits made up of several individual pieces emblazoned with
activist messages and product information. The focus is on visible
upcycling and entirely sustainable production. Lamine Kouyaté was
inspired by his mother and grandmother, who lent the family’s used
clothes new life by reworking the garments.

The exhibition at the MK&G asks questions about the limitations of the
fashion industry and textile production, the circular economy and the
interaction between body and consumption.

Thanks to the support of the Stiftung Hamburger Kunstsammlungen
(SHK), some of Xuly.Bët’s works on view in the exhibition have been
acquired for the MK&G’s Fashion and Textiles Collection.

Designer and architect Lamine Badian Kouyaté (b. 1962 in Bamako,
Mali) studied at the Dakar School of Fine Arts and architecture at the
École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture in Strasbourg. The first
Xuly.Bët boutique opened in 1989 in Les Halles in Paris. In 1995,
Kouyaté collaborated with the Puma brand, and he has also developed
fashions for A.P.C., Les 3 Suisses and Leclerc. His designs have been
represented in exhibitions including Africa 2005 at the Victoria and
Albert Museum in London. Lamine Kouyaté lives and works in Paris.