French fashion bible Elle has denied charges of racism after unleashing a storm by suggesting that a black American elite, inspired by the Obama couple, was finally embracing "white" fashion.
The January 13 blog post entitled "Black fashion power" has drawn volleys of angry protest on both side of the
Atlantic, with the
New York Daily News tabloid saying it managed to "insult black Americans as a whole".
In the piece, which has since been removed from Elle's website, journalist Nathalie Dolivo cited singers Erykah Badu or Rihanna and the actress
Zoe Saldana, as black Americans who understood "the importance of style".
"In an America governed for the first time by a black American president, chic has become a plausible option for a community up until then bound by its streetwear codes," she wrote.
"In 2012, the 'black-geoisie' has integrated all the white codes ... but with a twist, bourgeois with an ethnic reference that recalls their roots," she argued.
