The word icon comes from the Greek word eikenai which means to seem or to be like.
I’d never thought much about the origin before but when I thought about it, then it moved away from being someone who’s style you admire to someone who you actually want to be like.
As a result I’m always curious to hear who people think bring it in terms of style. If you’re one of those people who has Lady Gaga as their style icon then I think I should warn you now that we probably can’t be friends!
As usual, I decided to mix things up and thought – wouldn’t it be interesting to see which one (if any) of people’s style icons best pulls off (or could pull off) an African look!
Feel free to throw in your thoughts and ideas. Here are a few people that came to mind for me.
The first person who comes to mind is Erykah Badu. Sista rocks a headscarf like no other!
Kanye West – he might not be great at being PC but he has a distinctive sense of style that would lend itself well to interpreting African wear for the modern urban man.
The First Lady herself – Michelle Obama. She’s been spotted wearing clothes by Duro Oluwo (a Nigerian lawyer turned fashion designer).Hands up all those who want to see her dressed in full Aso oke!!
Idris Elba (Ghana/Sierra Leone) Ok, I’ll be honest, I don’t care what he’s wearing because he’s Idris Elba dammit! But I’m pretty sure he’d kill an agbada!
Rihanna – with her constant reinvention and cutting edge look, I’d love to see that translated into something Afrocentric.
Kofi Annan (Ghana)– no seriously, the man’s got swag!! Have you ever seen him look anything other than totally together?
Lira (South Africa) – I love this award-winning songstress and her earthy natural style. She keeps her lines simple and clean and is a great example of Afro chic.
Djimon Hounsou (Benin)– I’m sure Kimora’s keeping him well dressed in Phat Farm but I’d love to see him in a dashiki suit.
So do share – which style icons would you like to see in African wear?
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