Pride In Colour

Every third Wednesday of the month, Old Spitalfields Market is distinctly more colourful.

This is thanks to Florent Bidois and friends. Their Colour Walk  is a parade of people dressed in outfits to notice – the brighter the better. Frenchman Bidois, is chief organiser while his friend Sue Krietzman, is the originator. “Sue is the face of it, and I am the arms. That is what I like to say,” he laughs.

Here, Bidois tells all about the importance of expressing yourself, East London’s creative melting pot and how colour can change your world view.

Where did the idea of the Colour Walk come from?
It came from Sue. She has been colour walking for ages in my opinion but she never put a name on it. She wears colours every day, she curates herself before going out on the street and she is a walking gallery basically. Galina Sherri put a name on it. She officially organised the first one in 2016. I made it a monthly thing because I thought it would be a way for people to get experience from each other and meet.

Is it a community?
I would describe it more as a tribe than a community. It is a group of creative people who really love to dress up and who love colour. We call it a walk but we don’t actually walk very much. A lot of us are older and they are not so mobile.

What are people’s reactions when you conduct the Colour Walk?
People are always very happy. It’s so much in your face, there’s no way they can react negatively. Usually people are attracted to it and they ask for pictures. We don’t do it for the attention, it’s to express and to feel comfortable, but we never say no to pictures.

So is it a safe space to explore identity?
It is a non-judgemental safe space for everyone. When I say the only requirement is loving colour, some people don’t actually wear colour, they don’t like it, some always dress in black and white but they have some flair. It’s all about being out there and trying, and being yourself basically.

Do you think Pride also acts as safe space for the LGBT community to express themselves?
It’s a big celebration, it’s a big fuck you to the haters because the more we see, the more we accept. That will also apply to the Colour Walk. It’s the psychology of fashion: we all believe clothes and colour can make us happy.

The obvious connection between Pride and the Colour Walk is the rainbow flag isn’t it?
Actually, I love flags. I just love the colours. I take the meaning out of them. I have made several French flag dresses, Brittany flag dresses.

Would you ever make a design out of the rainbow flag?
I have made a rainbow collection but it was never out of the rainbow flag. I definitely would. Thank you for the idea!

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The Colour Walk is every third Wednesday of the month. The next one is on 20th July.
For more information click here