Street style has gone far beyond just everyday wear to a means of expressing individualism, activism, political views, and even sexuality.
At every major fashion week all over the world, you can find a flock of photographers eager to get the perfect shots of show-goers as street style is constantly being celebrated because of its effect on each season’s trends and the fashion industry in general. Because of this, Vogue has curated the Top 100 street style stars that keep pushing the bar and changing the status quo.
According to Vogue, This is street style in the truest sense: people who wake up in the morning, get dressed and bless the world with their dazzle and direction.
Check out all the Africans that made the VogueWorld 100 Street Style list below
Stephen Tayo
Lagos
I believe in pushing for the culture, not just because it’s a trend now, but because you have to push where you live, where you are, where you’re from. This is the life I want to show
Clint Malik and Moh McKenzie
Kenya
We use objects related to our culture, like matchsticks, brooms, handmade handbags [as accesories].
Amaarae
Ghana
As much as people are generally accepting of [my hair], there are more traditional people who see that kind of style as being demonic. But I must be doing something right if I’m challenging that point of view.
Barbara Simi Muhumuza
Uganda
I used to feel pressure [to look a certain way], but not so much anymore. At the end of the day, I need to make sure I’m happy with myself—and I can’t let anyone else influence that
Jadore Christ
Kenya
I experiment with my style every day, When I wake up, I have no idea what to put together. So most of the time it just pops into my mind at the last minute.
Shahd Batal
Kenya
I’ve had to unlearn things, like the European standard of beauty that told me I was ugly, and define beauty for myself.… When I first started wearing the hijab, my fashion sense was terrible.… I’d always seen Muslim women dressed very feminine, lots of skirts and dresses, so I tried that, but it just wasn’t me. I like baggy pants, t-shirts, chunky boots, layering, things that aren’t typically seen in the modest fashion world.
Valerie Eguavoen
Ghana
For so long, I would wear black in the summertime when it was hot as hell. I didn’t want to draw attention to myself. It was through the process of blogging and finding a group of people who are amazing, dress beautifully, and inspire me—representation does so much.
Louis Philippe De Gagoue
Ivory Coast
No, I’m not a dandy. It’s just my style. For me, the mirror is the only thing. If I like it, I’m going to wear it, even if it’s a plastic bag
Kimberly Anthony
Ghana
I work every day to have my own identity and to be different, to be me. My style is my identity. It tells my story.
Baingor Joiner
Nigeria
People are coming to understand the different as something that can be accepted,” he says. “Stylish, fashionable, and eccentric. We’re flourishing.
Velma Rosai-Makhandia
Kenya
My mother’s old photographs from the ’60s and also the women captured by photographers like Jean Depara, Malick Sidibé, James Barnor, and Seydou Keïta, and Jenn Nkiru’s film, Rebirth Is Necessary, a summation and collection of beautiful archival imagery of the black experience.
See the full list on www.vogue.com