We hear a lot of people talking about urban fashion and urban clothes but how well do you know what it means?

The first designer who proposed the term urban fashion was Tommy Hilfiger, who was extremely popular in the 90s. This trend has a lot of elements from the hip-hop culture forming urban streetwear. However, things changed since then and nowadays urban fashion is more related to casual wear that is worn during urban activities rather than hip hop itself. Of course, you will often find elements from hip hop such as comfortable clothes, certain dark colors and accessories, but urban fashion is much more.

The media has also popularized the image of the urban man or woman, a person who likes to dress in style but without sacrificing comfort. These individuals are often portrayed with an aloof and an independent look because the clothes are meant for younger adults who search their autonomy.

Another element of urban fashion is portraying a big city life and also borrowing some of the colors that people might associate with big cities. Dark grey, khaki, beige, charcoal are just a few of the colors often used in urban fashion.

When it comes to accessories we have big handbags that could fit anything, large jewelry and futuristic elements. You will often see urban fashion borrowing elements and colors from the steampunk culture as it works really well with the designs and resembles elements of cities industrialization. Urban fashion is not meant for anybody, it is designed for individuals who are in a hurry, who like to dress cool and love expressing their independence.

If the tribal references continue to grow for several seasons already, the motives and materials inspired from the rich African culture have never been present on the catwalk in such a great amount as they are in the spring-summer season of 2012. How to fill one’s desire to escape? Rain of wooden beads and raffia excess, African crafts are showcased among many designers such as Christopher Bailey who did not hesitate to make African inspiration the main trend of the Burberry Prorsum parade. Raffia hats, hand-made footwear, batik patterns and linen trenches.  There is no doubt about the journey’s destination with this collection.

Hearted attempt at Marni, where, two passages take us toAfrica: the brightly colored floral dresses and the new collection of necklaces of tribal inspiration, made of resin and ceramic. “Afriluxe” is how Michael Kors describes himself his new collection defined by earth colors, ethnic prints and the same inspiration source for jewelry. The American designer also makes use of the traditional African hand-dyeing techniques to come up with warm colors like amber, ivory and olive for the blanketed skirts, caftans and loose sarongs he created.

Two trends within one dress: fifties for the cut, ethnic for the fabric. This great initiative is signed by Proenza Schouler. At Missoni, abuse of fringes is the main feature. The style hesitates between gypsy and safari. The invitation to travel is smooth at Barbara Bui, where the African print is handled brilliantly: this summer, it will come as combi-shorts.  Modern form, but tribal inpired fabrics are the features of her new collection. African trends also work on the red carpet. The evidence is Kate Bosworth, who has already adopted the dress batik prints. Was this the last step before African culture invades our wardrobe?