We're back! I'm delighted to start off 2025 by sharing a conversation I had with the talented @maimouna.trr about navigating 'French girl style' as a Black French woman, exploring your personal style when confronted with clichés, Aya Nakamura (icône), and so much more.

🍄 Follow Visual Interest on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/visualinterest_/

🍄 Watch the podcast on YouTube: https://youtu.be/u3QUB93ZL6M

👩🏾‍🎨 https://www.instagram.com/maimouna.trr/

👩🏾‍🎨 https://www.tiktok.com/@maimounazzle

👩🏾‍🎨 https://www.instagram.com/mandhour.co/

👩🏾‍🎨 https://www.tiktok.com/@mandhour3

👩🏾‍🎨 https://www.mandhour.com/

Resources 🔖

🌐 Global Soft Power Index: https://brandirectory.com/softpower

🌐 The images of Jeanne Damas, Caroline de Maigret, and Anne-Laure Mais, were sourced from their respective Instagram accounts. All credit goes to their rightful owners. https://www.instagram.com/jeannedamas/ https://www.instagram.com/carolinedemaigret/ https://www.instagram.com/annelauremais/

*The images of Brigitte Bardot, Catherine Deneuve, and Jane Birkin were sourced online. Full credit goes to their rightful owners, who unfortunately were not credited in the files available online.

🌐 Hypebeast culture 101: https://hordabrand.com/en-en/blogs/notizie/che-vuol-dire-hypebeast#:~:text=Portioned%20from%20the%20words%20%22hype,and%20exclusive%20clothing%20and%20accessories.

🌐 Wearing Red Lipstick Is An Act Of Resistance For Black Women: https://madamenoire.com/1298696/red-lipstick-resistance-black-women/

🌐 The Politics of Red Lipstick: https://www.allure.com/story/red-lipstick-white-feminism-history

🌐 ‘Black Girls Don’t Wear Red Lipstick’ Exhibit Challenges Beauty Standards: https://www.reportingtexas.com/black-girls-dont-wear-red-lipstick-exhibit-challenges-beauty-standards/

🌐 Aya vs the Racists: https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/26/sport/aya-nakamura-france-culture-wars-paris-2024-spt-intl/index.html

🌐 More Aya vs the Racists: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/26/aya-nakamura-thanks-fans-support-olympics-racism-wins-awards-les-flammes

🌐 Even more Aya vs the Racists: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68552093

🌐 Aya’s Olympic Games Opening Ceremony performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuHtD8MOaFk

🌐 My two fave Aya Nakamura songs (hehe): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0RFzCu_tCQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJ2A_tdYa38

🌐 An op-ed about the use of the term ‘Fatou’: https://www.huffingtonpost.fr/life/article/je-m-appelle-fatou-ca-vous-pose-un-probleme_80439.html

🌐 The racist video (sigh): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFwN8FAhqQA

🌐 ‘Enclothed Cognition’: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022103112000200

🌐 Homie (not sponsored): https://homie.com.au/

A very special mention to my wonderful friends, Kaylah and Indigo ❣️

👩‍🎨 Logo artwork by: https://www.instagram.com/robynarthur_/🪗 Video & jingle by: https://daanverbr.ee