I absolutely love living in Chicago, but if I had to choose somewhere to relocate…my next pick would be Brooklyn. Forget the fact that New York is expensive, stressful and I could swing a cat and hit a Trini I grew up with there – Brooklyn has a life, an energy and a flavor like nowhere else. They’ve got the funkiest shopping, the coolest people, the best food (I might be expressing some island bias here). Please know if I lived in Brooklyn I would have been all up and through the Afropunk music festival this past weekend. But since I wasn’t able to be there, I’m LIVING for the photos sent to me by brilliant visual artist Nastassia Davis.
Nastassia was at the fest, selling her gorgeous prints (which are also available on Etsy!). Remember when I featured her in that Afrobella Art series I really need to get back to? Here she is, doing her thing, gorgeous as ever!
Nastassia was at Afropunk both days and captured some stunning images of attendees. SO much gorgeous natural hair and so much style! Here are my favorite shots. Style inspiration for days!
Natural hair was everywhere!
Gorgeous style and I LOVE those earrings! Check out the shorts!
I love the individual style on display at Afropunk. It’s about doing YOU. Case in point:
How GORGEOUS are these girls? I love their style. Courageous, unique, fresh. Young and fun. I used to play with hair color a LOT before I went natural and I applaud her courage with this look.
I love that there are no obvious fashion trends besides individuality, summer’s flowy shapes, and vibrant prints. And freakin’ gorgeous natural hair in all its glorious lengths and textures.
The headliners at Afropunk this year included Alice Smith, Erykah Badu and brand new Cover Girl Janelle Monae. Nasstasia was able to capture a bit of Ms. Monae’s magic.
“Taken with my arms stretched high in the air, this is George 2.0 on stage at AfroPunk yesterday as he hypes up the Janelle Monae’s fans. It was a packed crowd of all kinds of beautiful individuals. Such an awesome show!”
Reach for the moon, Janelle! A fan zooms in as he holds his video camera steady to get a closer glimpse of her electrifying show. There was very little space between our bodies as we jumped, clapped, sang and danced to songs like “Cold War” “Sincerely Jane” and new song “Electric Lady”.
From Nastassia’s pics it looks like fans were in absolute musical rapture.
Thanks for the gorgeous pics, Nastassia! You can follow her on Twitter @NastassiaDavis.
Next year, I wanna be there! For more Afropunk inspiration check out The Fashion Bomb and the New York Times.
Did you go to the Afropunk fest? How was it, bellas?
That’s me with the white and blue striped shirt, with the girl in the yellow hat, my friend Kate. I got to meet Nastassia and buy a print from her. She is such an inspiration to me as a young, black girl. And AfroPunk. The clothes! The hair! The people!
AfroPunk was absolutely amazing. It was such a rich sample of beautiful people who believe in the power individuality. I loved the DJ sets, the wares (Bad Apple NY :), and Janelle Monae slayed! Best of all, nothing crazy went down. Peace and love for real.
I’ve never been to Afropunk before. It was my support of Janelle Monae that brought me to attend. While exploring, I came across Nastassia and was intrigued. All her work was
phenomenal, but her piece “Coming Out of My Shell” was a standout due to the quality and the simultaneous vulnerability and hopeful possibility it exudes. I also think it stood out to me because of its resonance with some things I’m going through in my own life. I liked it so much so that I bought a print! Great artist!
That is why i love that kind of functions. People can express their self with the help of different hair style too.
I wish I could have been there! Going to the Naturally Isis Hair Festival in Dallas this weekend, hopefully it’s something like that!
Brooklyn is vibalicious; I absolutely love the Pro-Black Afrocentric vibe of pride that she provides my soul!!!
Looks like it was a fun time. You should definitely go next year.
Wow! It must have been absolutely fantastic to witness all those different hairstyles in just one place. I particularly like the hairstyle of that one woman who dyed her hair white. I like the contrast she was able to create with her hair and hair colorful blouse. It takes a certain level of creativity and imagination to come up with that kind of hairstyle, but it requires an even higher level of courage to wear it! Kudos to her!
“Courageous, young, and fresh.” I’m with you @Curtis McHale. I don’t know if I will ever feel courageous enough to rock white, platinum, or pale lavender hair–at any age–for fear of someone thinking that it was grey. I guess when you’re barely twenty, it’s no big deal. There are no crow’s feet to betray the age you feel on the inside. LOL! Nice post, Patrice.
It was amazing. You won’t regret going next year.
Putting your afro on is one way to represent how stylish, bold, and cheerful you are! These ladies are gorgeous; they just showed how to work their hair, complete with the clothes and accessories! I find males with afros nice and appealing, too.
You said it right, Elnora. One thing that impresses me are the music artists and athletes that wear their afro whenever they would perform or come out in the public. A hairstyle isn’t just about fashion; it somehow signifies your attitude towards work, game, etc.
Love it!