Lamine Badian Kouyaté, a French-Malian fashion designer of Senegalese origin, is a pioneer in socially conscious and sustainable fashion. Self-taught, he founded the XULY.Bët brand in Paris in 1989, whose name means "Open your eyes wide" in Wolof. The label quickly became iconic thanks to its "funkin' fashion" aesthetic, combining energy, cultural diversity, and African influences.

A global pioneer inupcycling, Lamine Kouyaté has been using recycled clothing and fabric scraps since the 1990s to create unique pieces, reinventing the relationship between materials and the life cycle of products. Coming from a background far removed from fashion—his father, Seydou Badian Kouyaté, was a Malian writer and politician—he taught himself design after studying architecture.

His fashion, rooted in street culture and identity, stands out for its inclusive approach, as illustrated by his landmark show at the Tuileries in 1992, which featured black models. He was also the first designer to collaborate with a sports equipment manufacturer, designing a collection for Puma in the late 1990s, long before such partnerships became commonplace.

A respected figure in the industry, Lamine Kouyaté continues to influence contemporary fashion with his ethical, sustainable, and resolutely avant-garde vision.