Sao Paulo
Since childhood, Mari Lobo, 26, has loved mixing colors and prints and creating combinations with what she had in her closet. But as she grew up, she had difficulty finding other welldressed, fat black women.
“As I was researching a look, a flood of thin, white women popped up. For a long time I was very inspired by people who didn’t represent me,” he says. Today she is a model and content creator to serve as a reference for new generations.
Lobo is a representative of a new trend called Afropatys and Afromauricinhos black men and women who use fashion to express their heritage.
They usually mix pieces from popular stores with clothing from luxury brands, as well as elements that relate to black culture, such as hairstyles, lace (a type of wig), dreadlocks and braids. “I think it’s more about creating your style than about having money,” concludes the model.
The topic sparks debate because it is based on an idea that is considered derogatory and white. However, those who call themselves black patricians a variation of the term want to show that they are occupying places of safety and breaking the stigmas that surround the black population.
For influencer Josy Ramos, being an Afropatity is a source of pride. “It is black women who understand that they can and should take the space they want. We can even be a little pointless. We are not forced to be warriors all the time,” says she, who has been calling herself that name since 2018.
“These terms are a joke to us, we don’t want to take the place of the white Paty because our experiences are different and we know that.”
Black women in Brazil still earn less than half as much as white men, according to a study by economist Janaína Feijó of FGV.
The search should not be to reproduce the idea of a preppy girl in white forms, says Carol Barreto, visual artist, fashion designer and researcher. In her opinion, the construction of black people’s status and social advancement should not be aimed at imitating whiteness.
Even if black people use these terms to give them new meaning, a critical understanding is necessary, says the researcher.
The author of the blog O Cara Fashion, Fabiano Gomes, 36, says that he is often considered Afromauricinho by the public, but does not usually use this expression. “The term carries the stigma of a person surrounded by privilege, something we are far from being,” he says.
Fabiano created his website in 2012 due to a lack of references that represented him. “Men’s fashion blogs have been very limited to the straight, white, cisgender standard.”
He claims to have tried to adapt to what he saw while surfing the Internet. But little by little he realized that it wasn’t his place. Today, he says, he uses fashion like armor. “I prepare myself for the moment I leave the house, I get dressed, I sit down and I feel confident.”
A feeling shared by content creator Bruno Gomes, 26. For him, the movement that emerged on social media is not just for show, but to show that black people can move in places of comfort.
Fashion producer and photographer says he has always seen few black men in magazines and on catwalks. That’s why she says she grew up being inspired by black women. “There wasn’t the slightest chance of having a man who looked like me,” he says.
Creating forms of selfaffirmation, new idols and connections to places of comfort is one of the goals of black youth, says communicator and fashion and behavior researcher Luiza Brasil.
She believes that the relationship between black people and fashion must go beyond aesthetic issues and also reflect the identity and heritage of the African continent.
He cites the example of African tribes that used clothing and other visual elements to define a person’s social status. “With the forced diaspora to Brazil, all of that falls away, but some elements influence African religions and are still part of the repertoire of our culture,” says Luiza.
The researcher also emphasizes the role of music in this topic. According to her, black singers like Tony Tornado and Wilson Simonal opened up space for a style that glorified blackness.
The musical legacy of the 1980s and 1990s, such as rap and pagoda, brought an identity and singing experiences, especially for young people, says the researcher.
The same thing still happens today with pop icons like Iza, Ludmilla and Liniker, who sing but also show on social media how they express their blackness through their lifestyle in different ways.
Names have also tentatively appeared in the fashion world. Examples of this are the designers Angela Brito, Isaac Silva, Hisan Silva and Pedro Batalha from Dendezeiro with agender fashion and Cíntia Félix from AZ Marias with sustainable clothing. They differ in the design of their pieces and have in common that they look for references that go beyond the white standard that still prevails in the industry.
References were crucial for 23yearold model Babi Paula. She, who is also a fat woman, took the first step towards her career after finding a similar professional on social media. “If I’m not a normal person, someone might laugh, someone might belittle my dreams.”
For her, who says the market needs more body diversity, Afropaty is a term for someone who wants to “send a message of confidence.”