In the vibrant tapestry of Parisian fashion, one family-owned brand has been making waves since its inception in 2006. Daömey, a brainchild of designer Sergio Capo-Chichi and his sister Cindy Capo-Chichi, stands out as a beacon of creativity, authenticity, and a celebration of street culture. With their mother's support, the Capo-Chichi siblings have transformed Daömey into more than just a brand; it's a testament to their passion for basketball, music, and the raw essence of street style.
The roots of Daömey run deep in the family, with Cindy Capo-Chichi assuming the role of Creative Director and Designer. The brand has become a testament to their shared vision, encapsulating not only their love for fashion but also their commitment to fostering creativity and individuality.
Today, Daömey has evolved into a family business with two flagship stores in Paris, a private showroom in London, and plans for expansion in New York.
The name Daömey comes from “The Kingdom of Dahomey” , a powerful West African kingdom in present-day Benin, existing from around 1600 to 1904. It originated on the Abomey Plateau among the Fon people, gaining regional dominance in the 18th century by conquering cities like Whydah on the Atlantic coast. Dahomey was well-documented by European visitors and was known for its organized economy, international trade, diplomatic relations, centralized administration, and military strength. It played a significant role in the Atlantic slave trade, becoming a major supplier of slaves to Europeans. The kingdom thrived in diplomatic relations, centralized administration, efficient taxation systems, and formidable military strength which collectively contributed to its status as a key regional power with substantial wealth. Additionally, the kingdom was also known for the Dahomey Amazons, an all-female military unit.
After French colonial rule, the country was named only Dahomey, and later, on August 1, 1960, it gained independence.
On November 30, 1975, following a Marxist-Leninist military coup, the country was renamed Benin. This change was part of a broader trend in post-colonial Africa where many nations sought to shed colonial-era names and symbols, choosing names that reflected their indigenous history and culture.
From its beginnings in the vibrant district of Bastille in Paris, Daömey has grown into a global phenomenon. The brand's influence extends beyond the realms of fashion, with an impressive clientele that includes influential figures like Cam’Ron, Jessie Reyez, Dave East, Thierry Henry, Redman, and prominent French rappers Freeze Corleone, Gazo, and Kalash.
What sets Daömey apart is not just its impressive list of collaborators, which include the NBA, Hennessy, BET, and teams like the Paris Musketeers (American football) and Toulouse Football Club (soccer), but also its profound vision. Daömey seeks to transcend the boundaries of traditional streetwear, aspiring to inspire individuals to follow their hearts, fostering a sense of community and creativity.
At the core of Daömey's brand values is a celebration of uniqueness, difference, and originality. The brand recognizes the challenges of being true to oneself but aspires to be a guiding force, helping individuals embrace their authenticity. Daömey isn't just a brand; it's a philosophy, a lifestyle, and a commitment to empowering individuals to express their true selves in a world that often demands conformity.
We've had the immense privilege to chat with Cindy Capo-Chichi, join us as we delve into the world of Daömey, a brand that goes beyond fashion, embracing a culture that inspires and uplifts individuals to be authentic, and true to themselves.
How was Daömey created? My older brother, Sergio, has had a passion for design and entrepreneurship since childhood. It was ultimately thanks to our mother that Daomey became a reality. One day, while cleaning up Sergio's very messy room, she found his sketches and the name of the brand. Being from Benin, she knew the significance of the name "Daomey" (the formal name of Benin before colonization) and she realized “Oh! That’s what he likes to do”. She decided to trademark the brand as a graduation gift for high school. With her background in law, she was so important in establishing the company legally and setting up the shop.
That’s when all of us realized that it was a real thing and that we could actually make a business of it. In 2017, I joined the company after I went to law school. I started practicing a little bit and didn’t like it. My brother told me “We have a shop in Paris, you’re in London - ok you don't know anything about design, but just go and open a shop.” It sounds crazy, but I did it. That's when I started teaching myself how to design on YouTube. I would spend countless hours on Illustrator and different softwares, learning how to use them.. This period in London solidified our belief that Daomey had the potential to be more than just a local Parisian brand—it could be international.
We were also lucky enough to open up right next to a popular radio station. There were a lot of celebrities passing by every day and they loved it, including soccer player Thierry Henry who wore our jerseys. We realized, we have a real thing here. And you know, even if sometimes we've had ups and downs, we were always like “Okay, we need to stick to it because it's something special.”
Pictured: Daömey's founder and designer Sergio Capo-Chichi
You have a New York location that's currently in development. So my question is, what are your expectations for this upcoming opening?
The reason why we decided to make a move to New York is because in France and in Europe in general, we started to feel like we've reached this sort of ceiling and we've done what we had to do in our niche. Now we need to expand. Like you said, culturally, France and London have a lot of culture. But here in New York we feel like it's ten, even a hundred times more than that. And it's way bigger.
We've always been influenced by American culture anyway because of the clothes that we design. My brother and I would spend our Wednesday afternoons just watching Michael Jordan playing on cassettes. That's really part of our culture too. Deep down it had always been a dream to come to the US. We decided to do it and knew that we could do it, the three of us, my mum, me and my brother.
In terms of when we want to open, that's something we’re still working on because I officially moved here in September 2023 so I'm still fresh. But I’m already building my team. I’m looking for a few more people and also thinking, “when it's the best time to open the showroom?” We’re new here, I don't know that yet. Is it Soho? Is it Williamsburg? I don't know. For now we're being patient.
You've done some huge collaborations in the past. Is there a specific one that you’re extremely proud of to this day?
I'd say the first collaboration with Hennessy for the NBA. It was in 2021, 2022. They originally called us to design 25 artistic jerseys. Not just jerseys that we were going to wear or play in - every single jersey was a statement. This was the first time that we were recognized as artists. Before we were just shop and brand owners. People were not really interested in or aware that we were designing as well. But when Hennessy came to us to design for them, we knew we were part of the conversation when it comes to art. We had a blast designing them, my brother and I split the designs 50/50. That is my favorite project because it was really just us going crazy with what we knew.
That's amazing. Actually. It's insane. It must have been like a shock for you to even receive that email from the NBA!
Especially because before that, I remember that in our shops in both Paris and in London, we had to ask them if we could add some NBA products. And every time the answer was no. It’s licensed and you need to pay a big fee and we didn’t want to pay that. So it was always no from the NBA. Then we were like, okay, we're never going to work with them anyways. So yeah, when they called, we were like, “what's going on?”
Pictured: Daömey's Creative Director and Designer Cindy Capo-Chichi
Do you have some favorite black designers at the moment, globally speaking? A French designer my brother I love is Youssouf Fofana. He has a brand called Maison Chateau Rouge, and made a collaboration with both Nike and Jordan designing shoes with them. It's just amazing what he's doing. He's not a flashy guy, he's just a lowkey guy like us. But Nike and Jordan were able to recognize his talent. The second one right now is Salehe Bembury. He's the guy who makes the cool crocs - I have probably like ten pairs by now.
I find what he's doing very innovative. He managed to take a brand like Crocs that wasn't very sexy and make it into a relevant brand in streetwear. There was nothing in Crocs that made you want to wear Crocs other than for work... but he managed to make it something hype! Something that you want to wear with your outfits. Being from Benin, how much your African roots influence your work on a daily basis? We have a project lined up for next year that’s directly inspired by our origins, where we come from. What I can say is that it's going to be in Benin, though I can’t say much. We're going back to who we really are. It's funny because it's not even getting back, it's always been there. And my family always says how weird it is that my brother even found this name for his brand. Being born in France and all, we've been to Benin like, only twice in our lives. What made him choose this name?
Our reply is always that our ancestors are always here, and they influence us in our choices. They guide us every day without us even knowing. Next year we're going to be working more in Benin, and we're going to be involved in more projects in Africa. I think the ancestors are naturally just guiding us back to where we come from, even if we don't have that many physical ties. We think about it every day.
How is your mom currently involved at the present moment? What does she help you with right now?
She does all the legal and operations. My brother and I are doing the designs, but from the moment you’re ready to order you work with my mom. It’s like my brother and I are not even involved at that point. She always said that when we focus too much on things like accounting we don't have time to dedicate to design - and if we don't design, we don't have a company. She has a lot of energy, so it's not a problem for her to go to work during the day and then come back home and make sure that everything is on point. We would love for her to stop at her other job and work with us. We love to tell her “you can be with us. It can be just the three of us working 100% in `DAÖMEY all the time.”
What can we expect from Daömey in the near future? The first step would definitely be to launch our collection and have some sort of launch party in New York. So we're working on that with Naya. We want New York itself to get to know us better, because the culture here is so vast and for us, it’s important to be present here. We're not flashy people and because we're kind of old school in our approach, we put the product in front and we are more in the background. We want to switch that here in New York and make sure that we get to a point similar to Yeezy - when you say that, the person you think of immediately is Kanye West. And when you say Fear of God, you think of Jerry Lorenzo. We want people to think about us too. When they see Daömey, it's Cindy and Sergio.
Make sure to check Daömey here and get yourself a nice fit!
Comments