Afrolista: Julia Sarr-Jamois Channels The Men of Style "Le Sapeurs"

If you haven't seen or read Daniele Tamagni's book, Gentlemen of Bakongo then you really need to add this magnificent and beautifully photographed book to your collection of fashion books.

Julia Sarr-Jamois and Sir Paul Smith

JuliaSarr-Jamois and Rahma Muhamed on the cover of D la Repubblica Magazine
 
Fashion's newest "It Girl" Julia-Sarr Jamois and Rahma Mahamed pay homage to the Sapeurs in an editorial that was shot by Sir Paul Smith for D-Magazine which was inspired by the images from Gentlemen of Bakongo by Daniele Tamagni.

"Le Sapeurs"

Here's a little history of Le Sapeurs: The arrival of the French and Belgians to the Congo at the beginning of the 20th Century brought along the myth of Parisian elegance among the Congolese youth working for the colonialists. In 1922, G. A. Matsoua was the first-ever Congolese to return from Paris fully clad as an authentic French gentleman, which caused great uproar and much admiration amongst his fellow countrymen. He was the first Grand Sapeur.

Julia and Rahma Mahamed

The Sapeurs today belong to 'Le SAPE' (Societe des Smbianceurs et des PErsonnes Elegantes) (The Society for the Advancement of People of Elegance) - one of the world's most exclusive clubs. Members have their own code of honour, codes of professional conduct and strict notions of morality. It is a world within a world within a city. Respected and admired in their communities, today's Sapeurs see themselves as artists.

"Fellow Sapeur- Rapper Baloji

Each one has his own repertoire of gestures that distinguishes him from the others. They are also after their own great dream: to travel to Paris and return to Bakongo as lords of elegance. Designer brands of suit and accessories are of the utmost importance to Sapeurs - Pierre Cardin, Roberto Cavalli, Dior, Fendi, Gaultier, Gucci, Issy Miyake, Prada, Yves Saint Laurent, Versace, Yohji Yamamoto - are their patron saints. Unlike some US hip-hop gangs who are dressed in similar fine threads, there is no bloodshed here - here your clothes do all the fighting for you, otherwise you are not fit to be called a Sapeur.
(Source:The publisher)

Julia and Rahma

To learn more about Congolese rapper, Baloji click here.   
Thanks to Tamu McPherson of All The Pretty Birds for the link.
(All Photos:D la Repubblica Magazine.)

Meet Two of the New Faces of the United Colors of Benetton

"Beautiful Soraya of England"

After just 36 days the participants in the global casting It's: My: Time has reached 65 thousand. Photos, videos, words have over the network and helped to elect the 100 favorites by the community. Just between these a jury chose the 20 winners who will interpret the next campaign United Colors of Benetton. There were 12 female winners and 8 male winners, from France to the Philippines, Switzerland, India, and are ready to fly to New York where they will be photographed by Josh Olins for the campaign next autumn.

"Beautiful Melanie Alexander of Switzerland

(Of course you know I chose these two for their fabulous hair)

While in the Big Apple they will be followed by a crew that will document not only the photo shoot but also their experience and the party to be held in their honor at the Standard Hotel, complete with celebrities and the art of communication. Let me introduce you to two of the winners that will be representing Switzerland and England. Congratulations to all of the men and women from various countries that were selected for the campaign. Stay tuned! To see more about the campaign click here.

Preserving Our Image: Artist Mickalene Thomas

Mickalene Thomas' "A Moments Pleasure"

Artist Mickalene Thomas is known for creating controversal works of art, which leaves me to wonder how are we going to embrace our own beauty if we're afraid to comfront it? Mickalene Thomas' artworks explores the notions of beauty particularly in relation to African American women with her photographs, collages, and paintings.

Her portraits are based on the long tradition of portraiture in western art history with the more recent  images of the 1960’s and 70’s and by her own mother, a former model who often models for Thomas. They address questions of artifice, femininity, strength, beauty and glamour as they apply to our individual psyche.

Her Newest Work "Le Déjeuner Sur l'herbe: Les Trois Femmes Noires"

Thomas presents three women (in the above piece) in an ornate setting, composed in a direct homage to Manet’s Le Déjeuner Sur L’herbe, 1863. The sitters exude intense confidence and sensuality amplified by Thomas’ patterned and collage treatment. The work originated as a photograph that Thomas staged in the MoMA Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden Party in the Garden. She then created a collage combining the photograph with other elements, then scanned and further altered it in Photoshop, creating a puzzle-piece effect that alludes to the process of its making.
 

"Can We Just Sit Down and Talk It Over?" 

Artist Mickalene Thomas

 

Mickalene Thomas is an American artist who was born in 1971, in Camden, New Jersey. She earned her MFA from Yale University in 2002 and currently lives and works in New York City.
(Photos:Courtesy of the artist, The Imagist and Lehmann Maupin Gallery)

Spotted: "It Girl" Kellis

Singer Kellis looking fabulous

Spotted: "It Girl" Corrine Bailey Rae

British Songstress: Corrine Bailey Rae

"I'm Loving the Two-Strand Twist Out"

My daughters love to borrow my music all the time to down load it to there Ipods so when I asked one of them could I listen to Corinne Bailey Rae's latest album, "The Sea," I was amazed by their response.(They must have something of mine since they gave it up so quickly). I loved her first album and now I'm smitten with this one. 

If you haven't bought the CD already-I highly recommend it because it's great to see her back on the music scene after what she has gone through, The Sea marks Corinne’s return to music, following the tragic death of her husband Jason two years ago and this album is a testament to him. She's still standing which is a testament to her phenomenal strength and courage. Check out her website for more info about her North American Tour.

Afrolista of the Week: Adyel Silva

"Brazilian Songstress-Adyel Silva

This weeks Afrolista is Brazilian singer Adyel Silva. I love all kinds of music and the only music that really matters is good music regardless of what language it's sung in.

I was completely blown away when I first heard her sing because she reminds me so much of Jazz songstress, Carmen McRae in her delivery even though it's in Portuguese.

Adyel seduces her listeners with the musical offerings of Bossa Nova, smooth and electrifying Jazz and the rhythmic sounds of Afro-beat. To learn more about Adyel Silva, click here to her MySpace page.

Happy Birthday Aretha Franklin!

Today is "The Queen of Soul" birthday. On the music scene we're inundated with "Pop Princesses," but there's only one Queen of R&B and that's Aretha Franklin. Aretha is an iconic "Living Legend" who can still belt out any music genre that you can choose, to include Opera if she really wanted too.

Today, I salute you Aretha Louise Franklin, thank you for inspiring us when times were hard with your melodic renditions of gospel music, thank you for showing us that R-E-S-P-E-C-T was all we needed. When ever we needed you, you were there in song to get us through our blue days and our good days in our
"Pink Cadillac's."  May GOD continue to bless you with longevity and the gift of life!

"All Hail the Queen"

Who and What Is An Afrolista???

"Gotta Love The Afro In All Of It's Magnificent Glory"

An Afrolista is a woman who is of African descent+a Stylista who self-defines her own life from her beauty rituals and beyond. An Afrolista is also a woman who lives her life free of labels that society tries to affix to us and define our human existence. She refuse to let anyone or anything define her based upon superficial standards alone because she knows that the only opinion that matters is her own.

When I first started this blog I wanted something that would highlight our beauty and how we self-define our own beauty and what it means to us. I wanted to introduce my readers to culture and my memories of  many of the iconic and legendary women who have shaped my life.

I'm fascinated and obsessed with the Afro and what it stands for. I want to show the diversity of our beauty all across the African Diaspora and then some because style is style no matter who has it. I don't do tutorials on natural hair-care because there are hundreds- if not thousands of them on the World Wide Web for you to choose from.

I want to show the lifestyles of women who are "Au Naturel" and how they live and work in society. I don't believe in labels, so I'm not going to attach one to myself or any of you because I find labels quite limiting and libelous. Life is not about limitations, but living a life free of them.

If I find that one individual that fascinates and peeks my interest believe me you'll see a post about them here. Sometimes you may see a post ending with my favorite phrase: "Gotta Love the Afro In All Of It's Magnificent Glory." That phrase sums it all up for me because "The Afro" symbolizes a freedom like no other. It represents Liberation, Elegance, Style and the Regality of that of a Queen, because that's exactly who we are...Queens.

That freedom also symbolizes that women of African descent are abandoning the concept of European beauty standards and reclaiming their own standards of beauty for themselves by self-defining who they are as women. As women of African descent we do have a choice to wear our hair any way we choose to and personally I'm sticking with what I was born with. The struggle is over and I am more than just the hair on my head and the color of my skin...I am the soul that lives within...

I want to welcome all of the fabulous women who have joined my friends list and I hope that you enjoy my blog because I certainly enjoy reading many of yours. I'm no writer or a journalist, heck-sometimes I'm so tired after working twelve hour days and coming home to tap away on my keyboard that I can't even get my sentence structure right. Anyway I love this because I feel that I'm doing something worthwhile and if I can help change someones life then I've done my job.

A Moment In Afro Her-story: Love Unlimited

 Barry White gave to us his beautiful gifts of song and music-along with that he introduced the world to his beautiful wife Glodean, her sister Linda James, and their friend, Dianne Taylor who made up the singing group, Love Unlimited. Barry White's Love Unlimited singing group was composed of these three beautiful black women who surrounded him with their innate style and beauty.

Who could forget their song, "Walking In The Rain With The One I Love? Yes, in those days we did have love on all levels, what happened... I don't have a clue either.

 Before nail salons became popular, these three women wore some of the most unique nail designs that we ever saw at the time. I used to wonder how were they able to do anything with nails that long?

Any way, they were glamorous, poised, elegant and refined with some of the most beautiful perfectly coiffed Afro's on the planet. BTW, whatever happened to the record companies having etiquette coaches because many of today's so called stars are certainly lacking in that department?

Hottest, Newest, Latest: Azzedine Alaïa's Homage To Africa

Azzedine Alaïa has something for us Afrolista's who have a serious love affair with shoes, that's right ...we love our shoes! But this time he's paying homage to Africa, and yes he is an African... Tunisian to be exact! We've been letting society divide up the continent with this Sub-Saharan mess for far too long, and Africans are Africans regardless of what part of the continent we originate from!

Now, let's get back to the fabulous shoes that he has designed with cowrie shells, raffia and other natural embellishments that will have us "shoeaholics" drooling for days. So many designers have offered up their versions of the "exotic and ethnic," but  this master can truly say his shoes are authentic to the core in their design aesthetic. Check them out below and decide which ones you love!

How about these perfect flats with a long flowing, voluminous sheath or sundress?

What women wouldn't want to rock these bada@#$... wedges?

Or these with a fierce African print or Western designed garment?

Or these with the perfect "nuevo style" Little Black Dress?

A Moment In Afro Her-story: Fashion Journalist Teri Agins

'Fashion Journalist Teri Agins in her Afro years-Circa 1977'

"Before Marsha (Hunt that is), I had no idea that a hairdo could be so

revolutionary or politically charged."

While reading this months VOGUE, I came across this interesting article that former WSJ fashion journalist, Teri Agins wrote about during her "Afro years", titled: High Hopes. In the article she takes a look back at the revolutionary woman who inspired her to go from groomed to groovy- actress, author and singer Marsha Hunt.

                                    Marsha Hunt

Marsha Hunt is a Philadelphia born singer/actress who migrated to London in the 70's to launch her singing career and set London ablaze with her beauty and talent -who also once dated Mick Jagger.

For those of us who came up in the 70's era- we know about the pride and freedom we felt when we wore our hair in our "teeny weeny Afros" or that huge 'Bush" we were all trying to grow. We knew that the bigger the Afro was- the more complements we'd get from our peers and so did she.

Teri says that wearing the Afro has instilled pride, a sense of style and the freedom to be to a new generation of women who are now redefining their own standards of beauty.

"Gotta Love The Afro In All Of It's Magnificent Glory"

The Head Wrap Is Not A Trend!

While perusing the web this morning I spent a little time of NY Magazines website "The Cut" and they were talking about some of the details and looks from designer Jean Paul Gaultier's recently held 2010Fall/Winter collection. While looking through most of the collection I came across the looks below:

"Models Wearing Head Wraps From Gaultier's 2010 Fall/Winter Collection"

Seeing these head wraps kind of annoyed  me at first because there are a lot of us who are afraid to accept our own standards of beauty and once the mainstream gives it the go ahead it's then okay to wear them. Maybe he was paying his own homage to African culture and if he was I definitely appreciate it.

"There is Nothing Like A Beautiful Head Wrap"

Well...I still wear mine regardless and so do a lot of other women. I wear mine all year long depending on the outfit and those head wraps are made out of some of the best Senegalese fabric on the planet, which kept may head warm through many German Winters. See, ladies what some of you think is not fashionable to show your cultural pride others admire it too... they just won't tell you that they admire our beauty.

I'm kind of tired of hearing the words exotic, primal, animal, jungle, safari, nomadic, tribal, primitive and third world when describing African, Indian and Asian fashion influences. There's nothing primitive about any of our cultures so the word to best describe these aesthetics is the word beautiful. There's nothing exotic about any of us other than we don't look like them- have our own beliefs of beauty and style... we may be different physically but we also belong to humanity.

Thou shall love thy head wrap...

Barkley L. Hendricks: Birth of the Cool

Barkley L. Hendricks' Artwork Titled "Lawdy Mama"

This month Contemporary Arts Museum Houston pays homage to portraitists, Barkley L. Hendricks, from now until 18 April 2010. The American painter- Barkley L. Hendricks began painting his life-sized portraits of people of color after a post-collegiate trip to Europe in the '60s after being frustrated by what he saw in European museums. He then set out to create his own works of art highlighting the so called "Blaxploitation Era" of the 1970's, concentrating heavily on those stereotypes, Pop Culture, and American Realism.

The Philadelphia-bred Hendricks created a huge buzz in NYC art circles with his vibrant portraiture's, first debuting at the famed Whitney Museum in 1971.Today Mr. Hendricks serves as a professor at Connecticut College where he has held the position for over 30 years. If you're in the Houston area or his exhibition comes to your city, be sure to check it out. You can find out more here.