Severin, 62, has been a sapeur for 42 years. It’s not unusual for sapeurs to spend hundreds of dollars on a single pair of shiny brogues. Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo.

La Sape, Socíet́e des Ambianceurs et des Personnes ́Eĺegantes (Society of Ambiance-Makers & Elegant People). Its followers are known as »Sapeurs« (»Sapeuses« for women). Most have ordinary day jobs as taxi-drivers, tailors and gardeners, but as soon as they clock out they transform themselves into debonair dandies. Sashaying through the streets they are treated like rock stars – turning heads, bringing ‘joie de vivre’ to their communities and defying their circumstances.