Inspiration from Africa

One of my favourite trends for summer are the African inspired safari and tribal trends.
Designers featured modern tribal influences on their spring runways with wild prints, such as ikat, monochrome and batik, and chunky jewelry.
The safari trend has been evolving over the years. I honestly thought it wouldn’t be as big of a trend that it was on the runways. It has kind of started to become a classic, but it doesn't always remain the same. I really like the new versions for spring.
It’s not a coincidence that these two trends are linked together. They’re inspired from the same culture and they also look great paired together for a real global-tribal-safari-chic look!

Etro had a colourful collection and showed a lot of dark moss green. I loved how the green was paired with all kinds of prints and bright colours.

These are more sophisticated looks, but still casual. The colour is neutral in light beige. Bottega Veneta had a suit; cropped pants and a slightly oversized jacket/shirt, the perfect safari outfit. J.Mendel showed the ultimate safari dress dress with big pockets, which is a classic look for this trend. Proenza Schouler had a bit different outfit from the other two, as the buttons gave it a bit of a military vibe.

The tribal trend was a big hit on Diane von Furstenberg’s runway. I’m not a big fan of the headscarves, though. DKNY’s monochrome shirt dress is youtful and fresh.

Oscar de la Renta showed a big interest in Africa in his spring collection. He clashed prints together and the result was dramatic dresses and accessories.

Get the Look

H&M’s spring collection has a lot of african prints, but you'll have to wait until you get your hands on all those affordable, trendy pieces. To keep on within the cheaper price range, Topshop has a few tops and dresses in ikat prints. I love their Animal Ikat Print Dress. Urban Outfitters have this great Ikat Printed Scarf, which is a great way to get this look and not overdo it.
To switch completely in gear as the prices go, 3.1 Phillip Lim has a great oversized safari cardigan, available at Net-a-porter. The Mulberry cotton safari dress, also from Net-a-porter is fab. And the perfect safari cargo pants come from Michael Kors. For the tribal look, Pringle of Scotland have an amazing monochrome print dress.