DIOR’s third podcast series, The Female Gaze is centred around the French fashion house’s close collaborators and friends who bring together their creativity to continually push this iconic house into the future. Helping portray each of Creative Director’s Maria Grazia Chiuri’s collections for Dior through a feminine, powerful perspective are asked to come and speak on this series.
This new episode stars Uganda-born Sarah Waiswa, best known for her documentary photography as well as portraiture which she calls “the new African identity”. Based in the capital of Kenya, Nairobi has become her home over the years. Leaving university as a sociology and psychology graduate has enabled her to take a new perspective when behind the lens.
Speaking to journalist Charlotte Jansen, Waiswa explains how she aims to explore different social issues, like the albino community and their hardships as they are persecuted in certain countries in Africa. In 2016, the photographer was awarded the Discovery Award at the Rencontres d’Arles for this particular photographic exploration.
Dior: The Female Gaze
Being commissioned in Dior’s Cruise 2020 collection, Waiswa explored her childhood through black-and-white photography – taking inspiration from the oeuvre of the Malians Seydou Keïta and Malick Sidibé. Through this she was able to illustrate the beauty of Africa highlighting the diversity of a continent steeped so heavily in culture.
by Imogen Clark