The Londonist.com paid another visit to The Colourwalk, Old Spitalfields Market

Click the photo above and watch Momtaz Begum-Hussain interview the 'Colourees' on a chilly Thursday afternoon in February... (Opens in a new window)

The Colour Walks

On selected Wednesdays or Thursdays, Spitalfields Market, London

From www.oldspitalfieldsmarket.com/
events/colour-walk

Sue Kreitzman, Florent Bidois and friends organise Colour Walks on selected Wednesdays or Thursdays at Spitalfields Market. Usually meeting from 12pm at the market.

An informal gathering of colourful, creative souls who meet, dressed in their finest to walk, talk and strut their stuff.

Click HERE to open the Colourwalk Facebook Event page. Come, get colourful and join us!

A Colourwalk is a parade of people dressed in outfits to notice - the brighter the better. Bidois, a 31-year-old Frenchman, is chief organiser while Sue 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.


Above: Colourwalk that took place on Thursday 25th October 2018.

Past event

Colour Walk on Sunday October 7th 2018

On Sunday October 7th from 4pm till 6pm, Sue took part in the latest Colour Walk along with her friends and Colour Walk co-organiser Florent Bidois.

Venue: Southbank Centre, Belvedere Rd, London, SE1 8XX.

Below is a video of a Colour Walk that took place in Spring 2016:

Filmed by Live Fashion


Click on the logo below to be taken to the Live Fashion Youtube channel:

Colour Walk Illustrations by Sue Harding. Instagram: @kookster1

Photo by Richard Kaby. Facebook: @richard.kaby

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.

Click the photo below to go to Florent Bidois's Creations website