His name may not tell you much but he is considered by many as one of the ambassadors of what he refers to as the "black beauty".

Armed with his camera, Mario Epanya is one of those who aspire to make the world know more about the beauty of African women and admire her ebony shades.
DCK takes you to meet this talented photographer in the interview below.

Q: Hello Mario Epanya thank you already for these few minutes you have spared with us. How are you doing?

A: Good thanks. I hope you are too.

Q: Also for those of our readers, who do not know you; can tell us a bit about yourself?

A: I am Mario Epanya. I am from Douala where I was born and I grew up. I soon became interested in the art business and I decided to make this passion my livelihood. I lived in France for about fifteen years and I worked as a photographer and artistic director of my own studio “Studio Epanya Paris”.

Q: There are many in Cameroon who still classifies photography or makeup artist business in the category of ‘small business’. How does one become a photographer or makeup artist? More importantly, how does one become a fashion photographer?

A: Yes, unfortunately the trades of art are not really considered in some countries in Africa. It may be a social issue but traditionally, one becomes a photographer or makeup artist by enrolling in a school of Photography and Makeup to learn the basics of the business although it was not so in my case.

I am self-taught and very ambitious. I learnt a lot when I was an assistant to great makeup artists and photographers and in my opinion there is no better school.

One quickly learns the trade one he is on board. Even though it has advantages and disadvantages, you get to meet creative people and with the snap of the fingers you are in the fashion world. You do not need to spend money, rather you win.

By cons becoming a fashion photographer is a different story because it is not only for taking pictures of dresses. One must have a great culture of fashion, anticipate, know the history of fashion, the big names of the fashion photography and actors of this medium, artistic directions of houses, attend fashion shows, know the difference between the collection of last season and the new, etc; real challenge in itself.

Becoming a fashion photographer is not easy because once you understand this intellectual and technical background, the second step is to create a network. And it is not easy because the world of fashion is very much closed.
Q: What is your view on the evolution of fashion in Cameroon?

A: It is hard to say because I do not live and I do not know what's going on there but the K-Walk is a great initiative. And I think things are going in the right direction but more is needed in terms pf hair agencies, makeup, photography, art schools, creative agencies of communication and a well-trained workforce locally.

I also think fairs on textiles manufacturing, competitions and scholarships should be encouraged. I think we should go in that direction because the fashion and all that it encompasses is an economic sector. It is not negligible at all. It’s an entity that creates a lot of jobs and with efficiency spearhead a made in Cameroon expertise worldwide.

Q: K -walk, connecting Africa and Annual Shows are some of the many events organized in Cameroon to promote the Cameroonian and African fashion. In a column of Forbes Africa magazine there was a write-up that stated that the concept of fashion week in Africa should be rethought. The need I quote: "slow down”. Can you tell us more about this?

A: For many Fashion Week is just a show but beyond this cliché is above all a meeting of buyers of major retailers around the world, organized by various ready-to-wear trade associations or fashion designers as usually stated on the country’s official list.

They just look at the new collections of fashion houses and ready-to-wear to see what they will put in their chain stores. Fashion Week also enables designers to distinguish and express themselves facing the drafters of avant-garde magazines.

That said, the primary goal remains to sell and also to celebrate with his team after having spent six months behind closed doors to create an entire collection and launch for a new season.

I just feel that most favor the "show" aspect when it comes to Fashion Weeks. In some countries in Africa, they are not organized by a trade association with a precise timetable and buyers. Collections for the most part are not in any showroom and it is not easy to find in stores some of the creations of African designers.

I think the departments of crafts and culture should help these designers to better organize and produce a schedule that will allow a harmonious Africa to return to the big leagues so that inventors, designers and all stakeholders in the sector can benefit.

Q: You had the ambition to promote the image of the black woman and the African woman through the project "Vogue Africa". Why do you come up with the project and was it successful?

A: No Gucci and Prada boutiques in Africa. And this magazine is for targeted customers with specific trends and these are strategic choices to reveal some class. It is a little more complex than that. Certainly, there is no edition of Vogue Africa but the Italian Vogue created on its digital platform a version of Vogue Africa called "Black Vogue" six months after my proposal.

And I will not praise myself for taking on the mantle that has taken the fashion and Afro trends on the international fashion scene. So for me, it is rather a success because all this is gradually becoming conventional.

Q: A few months after this failure, you launched "Winkler Magazine". Tell us more.

A: Yes, it was more of a test actually but a good community would obviously prefer to make use of a Condé Nast magazine. This is because every time another Vogue magazine issue is dedicated to ‘the blacks’, it gets out of stock. Hence, the reason Winkler came to the rescue.

We Africans are very famous for not supporting the business of our brethren. It is always better when done by people from the Western countries.

Q: As someone who magnifies black beauty, do you have a message to pass on to our sisters who dream of having a white skin?

A: (Laughs). It would be pretentious of me to tell women what they should do or not do with their skin. I watch out for what I find beautiful then we decided to agree on it or not. I really like dark skin; I find it beautiful and a real ornament.

Q: Mario thank you for this enlightening interview. As it’s customary for our guests, tell us your thoughts on Douala C’Koment?

Q: Thank you to you too and good luck with your project. My Douala was carefree; laughter, donuts and beans in the evening. Voilà!