Adama Ndiaye had a lifelong desire of being a fashion icon. Her father, however, encouraged her to go to college and find a steady job. She read banking and economics in school, which helped her find a position in the financial industry.
Even if the working conditions for bankers were favorable, Ndiaye was unable to give up her ambition to work as a fashion designer. According to Business Elites Africa, she made the decision one day to quit her job to study fashion at her father’s blind side in Paris.
When he learned, her father was disappointed, but he later offered his support. Ndiaye founded her fashion company Adama Paris in her native Senegal in 2001 after quitting her work as a banker in Europe. The company was founded as a marketplace for African costumes and designs, as well as a venue for other designers to showcase their talent.
Since the beginning of her company, she has traveled throughout the world displaying many current looks that, in her opinion, define the modern lady. Her work spans the world of street fashion, touching cities like New York, Tokyo, Paris, and Dakar.
Ndiaye’s parents can be blamed for her sense of style. She was born in Kinshasa, Zaire, to Senegalese diplomat parents. She was given the chance to travel abroad at a young age as a result of her parents’ hard work. Her fashion trends have been affected by the various cultures and fashion preferences she was exposed to during her formative years. She claims that the cultural interactions influenced what she has always desired to achieve.
She thinks her brand represents the modern woman’s construction rather than just how people choose to dress, for this reason. She asserted that the contemporary lady must be open to various cultural tastes and unconstrained by any one brand.
In order to support emerging designers and African fashion, Ndiaye has also conceived and developed platforms like the Dakar Fashion Week. She is the driving force behind the Fashion African Channel, which features real clothing made on the continent.
Because to her support for women’s rights, the creative designer was featured in CNN’s “African Voices” series and graced the cover of Le Monde Magazine in 2014.
She additionally encourages African women who have experience in fashion design and run small and micro enterprises in Senegal and other nations.