Ferouz ALLALI, african fashion stylist and Africouleur's founder

The African Shop in Paris

Africouleur is mostly the story of a passion that began in 1996 when Ferouz ALLALI travelled for the first time towards Togo. Fascinated by African culture, she designed a line of clothes for women, men and children, made of African fabrics in rich colors and patterns: basin, wax, splash, indigo.

In 1997, she opened her shop at Bastille, to sell her creations. Today Africouleur is located at 108-110 rue Saint-Maur in the 11th arrondissement of Paris, where the shop attracts an audience in search of originality.

Ferouz ALLALI travels to Togo two or three times a year and each season draws a unique collection realized as a team work with the expertise and talent of african artisans. As a colorist, Ferouz also dreams her trends in colors and unique designs.

Eager to participate in developing the local economy, she works with many artists of Togo and develops real friendships and mutual respect with the dyers and tailors, jewelers and craftsmen, who participate in Africouleur'story. She works closely with fifty independent artisans and enables them to develop their activities, helping their families to live or students to finance their studies: financing of workshops, provision of equipment, training for beginners.

Ferouz ALLALI, african fashion stylist and designer in Paris

Here is an article written in 2001 by Africa Magazine which described very well the history of Ferouz ALLALI:

"The creator of the Paris boutique Africouleur is a determined young woman. Without doubt she has that from her two grandmothers, who lived in the Algerian desert, near the Tunisian border, under harsh living conditions. "As children, we went on vacation with my brothers and sisters, there was no question for us, small Parisians, to complain to them of 45°C heat or too spicy food! ".

Later, in France, she is an accountant by day and at night teaches fashion design at evening classes at a private school. Unemployed, she seeks to benefit from a training at the french house of women's wear Association. Sensitive to the beauty of traditional clothing worn by her mother, she is interested in crafts, first in South America where she worked for a Peruvian craftsman, and latter in Togo, Ghana, Burkina Faso, to find her african roots.

Since she travels twice a year to Togo. In markets, she buys large pieces of fabric and works with the local dyers, who fold the fabrics and dip them in dye to obtain gorgeous patterns. Tailors then mount her models. "Artisans have mastered the technique of dyeing basin or natural cotton in Nigeria, the stamp on batik, weaving, wax without forgetting the famous Mama Benz "(Togolese market ladies who succeeded in bisuness and drove a Mercedes-Benz).

Word of mouth works well in Africa, and once Ferouz arrives at her hotel in Lome, local people are likely to submit pieces of cloth, jewelry horn or wood, sacks... Later, in Paris street Saint-Maur, the shop becomes a true Capernaum where you will find objects more colorful one than the other, and clothes that inspire a real joy of living."

Movie clips about Férouz and her fashion shop in Paris

Ferouz was filmed (by french televisions) at her working place in her little shop in Paris, and those clips describe well her activities and relationships with artisans in France and West Africa, Togo.

Africouleur by designer Ferouz Allali by CLAPTV

PROFILE - Ferouz ALLALI - Algérie by AFRICA24

The atmosphere of the shop

Here are some photographs that will give you a first taste of the warm and colorful atmosphere that reigns at the african and parisian shop of Ferouz ALLALI: