Mobutu (left), wearing a long-sleeved abacost and Mobutu Hat with Caspar W. Weinberger (right), wearing a Western lounge suit, during a state visit to the United States in 1983
This article is part of a series about Mobutu Sese Seko
Mobutism
Popular Movement of the Revolution
Manifesto of N'sele
Early political career
Binza group
Congo Crisis
government dissolution
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Zaire
Constitution of Zaire
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Authenticité
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Abacost
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The abacost, a blending of the French "à bas le costume" (lit.'down with the suit'), was the distinctive clothing for men that was promoted by Mobutu Sese Seko as part of his authenticité programme in Zaire, between 1972 and 1990. Zairians were banned from wearing Western-style suits with shirt and tie to symbolise the break with their colonial past. The abacost was a lightweight suit, worn without a tie, though sometimes with a cravat. It closely resembled a Mao suit. It was seen in long-sleeved and short-sleeved versions.
The abacost was seen as the uniform of Mobutu's supporters, especially those who had benefited from his regime. When Mobutu announced a transition to multiparty democracy in 1990, he said that the Western suit and tie would be allowed, but that he continued to favor the abacost and it would still be considered the national dress. Subsequently, when the transitional government was sworn in, all of the ministers were wearing abacosts.[1]
Arzoni in Zellik, Belgium produced the world's "chicest" abacosts.[2] Alfons Mertens, employed by Arzoni, became Mobutu's personal tailor, also making uniforms for him and his entourage.[2]
The abacost fell out of favour after Mobutu's removal from power.
^Zaire: A Country Study POLITICAL REFORM IN THE 1990s – Proclamation of the Third Republic
^ abDavid van Reybrouck (March 25, 2014). Congo: The Epic History of a People. HarperCollins, 2012. p. 381f. ISBN 978-0-06-220011-2.
The abacost, a blending of the French "à bas le costume" (lit. 'down with the suit'), was the distinctive clothing for men that was promoted by Mobutu...
forbidding western suits and creating a state-authorized uniform called the abacost. The ideology survives today in such organizations as Nzanga Mobutu's Union...
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Distinction in 1999 for outstanding contribution to the promotion of fashion. Abacost Leisure suit Nehru jacket Madiba shirt Blumenthal, Ralph (24 March 1976)...
were banned, and men were forced to wear a Mao-style tunic known as an abacost (shorthand for à bas le costume, or "down with the suit"). Christmas was...
1972 and the abandonment of Western dress in favour of the wearing of the abacost were subsequently promoted as expressions of authenticity. Mobutu used...
including South Africa, Rhodesia, and Mobutu's Zaire where it was known as an Abacost and paired with a leopardskin fez resembling an Astrakhan cap. By 1973...
style of dress, kuba cloth Equatorial Guinea – Pano Gabon – Pagne, boubou, Abacost suit Republic of the Congo – Pagne, boubou São Tomé and Príncipe – Pano...
Special Presidential Division Civil Guard Shaba I Shaba II Rumble in the Jungle Political exiles 1991 Zaire unrest First Congo War Abacost Category v t e...
Australia, South Africa, India, China, and Zaire, where it was known as an Abacost and worn with a leopard print hat resembling the Astrakhan cap. At the...
Western-style attire was banned and replaced with the Mao-style tunic labeled the "abacost" and its female equivalent. The policy began to wane in the late 1970s...
Special Presidential Division Civil Guard Shaba I Shaba II Rumble in the Jungle Political exiles 1991 Zaire unrest First Congo War Abacost Category v t e...
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