It was when Captain Thomas Sankara came to power in the mid-1980s that Faso Dan Fani became a national symbol and the promoter of local know-how. Determined to promote the emancipation of women through work and the development of national productions, Thomas Sankara imposes by decree the wearing of outfits made in Faso Dan Fani to his officials. “Wearing the faso dan fani is an economic, cultural and political act of defiance of imperialism”, used to say Thomas Sankara, whose political inspiration was essentially based on communism and anti-colonialism.
If the daily use of this loincloth fell slightly into disuse following the death of Sankara and the establishment of a much more liberal policy, the Faso Dan Fani has always remained the basis of the production of festive and ceremonial clothing, the Naba – village chiefs – wearing it at every opportunity. The first of them, the Mogho Naba, the emperor of the Mossis, takes care to always wear a Faso Dan Fani when he appears in public or receives in audience in his palace in Ouagadougou.

The revolution that took place in 2014, which ousted the dictator in place since the death of Sankara, raised an incredible wind of patriotism among Burkinabè. Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, President democratically elected at the end of 2015, brought the port of Faso Dan Fani up to date, himself wearing it at each of his appearances, including on official trips abroad. If the use of Dan Fani has not been made compulsory this time, it is however very favored. Each political demonstration sees the statesmen dressed in the traditional outfit woven in this heavy cotton, and the so-called “March 8” loincloth, published each year in honor of World Women’s Day for Equal Rights, and traditionally offered by all employers to their employees, is now from Faso Dan Fani.

Robust and natural, the Faso Dan Fani has become the symbol of a Nation proud of its roots and its know-how.