Introduction

Goma is a city like so many others: bringing together people from different backgrounds with a great mix of cultures, trends, and traditions. Several nationalities, religions, tribes, and ethnic groups blend perfectly here. But is this the origin of her way of dressing? Yes would be the most obvious answer, given that there is such a mix, it would make sense for people to dress in a way that reflects this cultural diversity. However, although cultural diversity has something to do with it, the common denominator that comes up time and time again is imports, which are a real brake on the development of the local economy in every other sector.

Goma, a City without Style or a Clothing Identity

In Goma, it is easy to find people (who were born and raised in Goma) dressed in Arabic, without them necessarily being Muslims or even supporters of Islam; perhaps without ever having set foot in Arabia. There are also people who dress in Indian, Chinese, Japanese, or even more recently, Nigerian (West African style) clothing. But the most common style, the one that can’t be ignored and that reigns supreme, is the Western (and sometimes American) style, with pieces such as dinner jackets, evening dresses, cocktail dresses, blazers, the unconditional denim trousers, coats, cardigans, T-shirts and other pieces from second-hand stores and major international brands.

Wax, the Fashionable Feminine Style

Second-hand clothing and major brands play an important role in Goma’s clothing style. But alongside this, there are also wax items, mainly made to measure, which are the mainstay of women’s wardrobes, especially for housewives. In recent years, young people have also adopted wax garments, which blend perfectly with other fabrics (satin, chiffon, jersey, or denim jeans). The wax fabrics that young people are most interested in are those with geometric patterns and bright colours, which can even be used for furnishings (cushions, curtains, etc.). Here again, it’s an imported product that people made their own style without realising what it’s actually costing them, because Wax loincloths are a Dutch invention that arrived in Africa via the colonists from there, and even today, most of these loincloths are produced in the Netherlands. Yet all over the world, people associate Wax with an African style: which is pure irony, economically speaking.

An Alternative for Goma’s Clothing Style

All clothing professionals will tell you that clothing is not just a piece of fabric to hide your anatomy, it’s a question of image, personality, and culture. Something that people in Goma and many other African cities seem to forget, with the air of universal civilisation. A city that is supposed to be the tourist capital of the DRC should not base its clothing style on imported products, including second-hand clothes, branded clothes, and wax clothes, because this damages its image and its economy. Goma’s textile industry has great potential if all the players involved start developing original styles, from the local production of fibres and fabrics to major fashion events, including the creation of original cuts by the city’s growing number of young designers: it’s just a question of raising awareness.

Conclusion: A Major Economic Lever that is Poorly Exploited

The people of Goma are generally well-dressed, thanks to items from second-hand shops, major brands, and sometimes made-to-measure wax: all imported products which mean that the town has no cultural identity, no image, and this constitutes a loss of earnings, economically speaking. In many northern countries, the textile industry accounts for a large part of the economy, and their products end up here, and we promote them ourselves without realising it, even though we’re just consumers. We lose a lot of money by consuming imported textile products, and that’s not about to change if the major players continue to source their products from abroad. It’s a fact of life in every other sector of the economy. What are the key players in Goma’s textile industry lacking to create a style that is positioned as the Goma style and that also makes its mark abroad? Has anyone ever asked themselves this question? Or is it because importing isn’t complicated?