Afrochic is back!

People have said that the African trend is back. I say that African fashion has always been IN and around.... I can recall the 1980s and Yves St Laurent putting on black girls on the runways for the first time and reinventing safari jackets and desert pants that Africans had been sporting for as long as there was sand in the desert!


Fast forward to the early 2000s, designers like Cavalli, McQueen, Galliano have had touches of the ethnic/Afrocentric influences in many of their collections. Africa came back to the frontline, revived even in the food culture with chefs like the Swedish-Ethiopian-born Marcus Samuelsson, or new vacation destinations promoted by celebs like Brangelina who were supposedly traveling to East rica's safari land. 


So is Africa IN again?


It seems so. Well this year has seen an overwhelming presence of the motherland. Many designers have used African fabric (called wax) for entire collections. 


You're probably wondering where I'm heading with all this blabla. Well, I wanted to talk to you about a new website called ColorOfBlack, recently created by three friends who are all inspired by Africa, yet wanting the comfort and casualness of western designs. They decided to start up a business - an online concept store whose editorial line is focused on afrochic design. 


They pick excellent designers who have no or too little venues to show off their collections. They pretty much hand pick each piece of clothing to make sure it goes hand in hand with their philosophy of "afro/ethnic" sensibility with a modern and highly wearable twist. It is the new African ready-to-wear!

Stéphanie Porteret, one of the co-founders.
Of French and Gabonese (Central African) descent.