Zanzi
The word "Zanzi" signifies extreme happiness, excitement, and energy someone is feeling. It's also the name of this set from Tongoro Studio (https://www.tongoro.com/). The name is fitting, because I felt so happy when I was wearing this bright, colorful, and unique ensemble. Plus, Beyoncé has the same one so I felt like a queen.
The set itself is a tie crop-top and high waisted flared pants. You can wear the top on your shoulder or off of it (we love versatile pieces). Out of everything in the look, what really caught my eye was the colors and the print. Different shades of blue and brown, mixed together to create a lovely pattern.
The set was gifted to me back in December. As soon as I tried it on, I just knew I had to shoot it back home in Senegal. And luckily, I spent my Christmas vacation there so it all worked out. I feel like this is a an outfit that's meant to be worn in a tropical city that's full of creative and artistic energy, and that's exactly what Dakar is.
When I was putting together location ideas for this shoot, I had two things in mind: 1) I wanted one location to be in a busy area where most "car rapides" (the equivalent of buses) were parked and 2) for the second spot to be in a quiet, secluded area, to contrast with the business of the streets with the buses.
Like the outfit, the designs on the car rapides were unique and colorful. Some of the bus' colors even matched the ones on the set. The bus drivers were nice enough to let us lean against their cars, and some even asked if they could be a part of the shoot haha! That's one thing I really like about Senegal, everyone is always welcoming and willing to lend you a hand.
The second part of this shoot was near a beach in downtown Dakar. I wanted this area specifically because I knew we would really be able to capture the outfit without any backdrop distractions. Sometimes busy backgrounds are nice but I wanted the outfit to really stand out, without anything taking your eye away from it.
This place was quite peaceful. We were surrounded by calm water, and a few locals who were either chatting amongst themselves, or taking care of their boats.
At one point, I got on top of some rocks and admired the view around me, it was spectacular ! I saw small and cute pirogues on the water so I asked the photographer if we could get on one to get some cool shots.
Now, here's the thing. I didn't just want any regular shots haha, I wanted nice angled pictures, which would require the photographer to get on top, have his feet spread apart so they could be on both ends of the boat, all while we were moving. This wasn't an easy task, but he was willing. We wanted a boat for about just 5 minutes, so we had to negotiate with the fishermen there to "rent" it for a fee (I respect the hustle). Immediately after getting on the boat, I fell into a pile of freshly caught fish (legit showered like 10 times that evening when I got home). I was a bit discouraged, but I thought to myself that the end result would be worth it, and it was:
Everything about this shoot was amazing. I loved the outfit, the energy I was around, the passion and creativity of the photographer, and of course, the fact that I was at peace, and at home.
Thank you for reading and see you soon :)
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Instagram: @pendasarr
Outfit details:
Set: Tongoro Studio
Get the look!
Set:
Photographer: Aldi Diasse (
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