Kreyolicious Reads…Kreyolicious Reads…your very own Haitian-American Book Club…in which—in which I discuss a book about Haiti.

Today’s novel is Stella by Emeric Bergeaud.

This book is special to Kreyolicious Reads for so many reasons. Originally written in 1859, Stella is the oldest novel that has been selected for the Book Club. This translated edition of the novel is brought to us by Luis Duno-Gottberg and Adriana Umana Hossman, two language and literature professors who took it upon themselves to make this novel (written originally in French) to the English-speaking community.

Emeric Bergeaud chose to make the Haitian Revolution the background of his novel. Had to remind myself that this book was written just 55 years after the 1804 (re)founding of Haiti. Now to think of it…this would be like a modern author writing about the 1960s in our day, and recounting historical moments probably still fresh in still-living contemporaries.

So, who is Stella? She’s not exactly the heroine of Bergeaud’s story. She’s more like one of many players. There’s Romulus and Remus—two brothers who are instrumental in the revolution—the undeniable heroes who overshadow real-life figures like Jean-Jacques Dessalines and Henri Christophe. A fictionalized version of the period that leads to the disintegration the former French colony Saint Domingue, Stella has all the sparks of the historical novels about the U.S. Civil War that you may have read.

And for this reason, and for a whole lots more, it’s a Kreyolicious Reads selection.

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE A COPY OF EMERIC BERGEAUD ON AMAZON

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE A COPY OF EMERIC BERGEAUD FROM THE PUBLISHERS MARKUS WIENER

Kreyolicious Celebrity Sightings…in which…in which I track down our Kreyolicious celebrities and see what they’ve been up to.

Stella Jean was all smiles at Milan Men’s Fashion Week in Milan, Italy. The Italian-fashion designer showed off her own Spring/Summer 2016 collection.

Those ballerina flats she has on sure look comfortable on Stella Jean, don’t they kreyolicious cheries?

I like the fact that she’s wearing jeans on the runway. Those accessories on her wrists! The top she’s sporting is no doubt from her own collection. And the nerdy glasses…so Stella.

Ooh, let’s take a look at those jeans again! They are slightly baggy…almost hood-baggy, and Stella has the hems rolled up. Always had this impression that she was very petite, but I see she’s rather tall. Hey, she did used to be a high fashion model at one point! So kreyolicious.

One thing I’ve noted about Stella Jean is that she rarely has her hair sweeping her shoulders. It’s almost always in a bun or in a low-maintenance mode. That’s simplicity for you.

Garcelle Beauvais looked glamorous, and downright kreyolicious at the Hollywood premiere of the Warner Bros. film Magic Mike XXL.

For some, weary white is a scary thing. You never know when you might drop something on your dress…no matter how careful you may be. I like the straps on the dress, and I really, really adore Garcelle’s bob. That cheve is laid, kreyolicious cheries.

Garcelle had to show up looking her best at that premiere. The film Magic Mike XXL is all about being fit.

Ooh, look at that Egyptian mascara on Garcelle. She really has pretty eyes. Hard to believe that Garcelle is almost 50. That’s that Black/Haitian Don’t Crack combo at work. I remembered when I interviewed her, she had mentioned how she’s continuously working on herself. I will never forget that. Working on the inside, and on the outside.

And a full photo of her look…Look at those arms! Boy, she looks like she be lifting bags of diri. So toned.

Didn’t I read somewhere that Garcelle is a descendant of a Haitian general…a Mr. Beauvais? Athlete on the war field, and an athletic body on the red carpet. These Beauvais seeds were born to kill it.

Ooh, how cool is it that she topped that all-white outfit with those green flats?

So, while Garcelle Beauvais was attending the Magic Mike XXL premiere of Magic Mike XXL” at the Chinese Theatre IMAX in Hollywood, blogger, journalist and social media influencer Claire Sulmers was showing off her intricate braids not too far away at the Mondrian Hotel in Los Angeles at the Tidal X: Meek Mill event.

There’s a reason whey she’s called The Fashion Bomb. Maybe it’s because she’s known as a fashion blogger, but I rarely see her being cited as one of the instigators of the natural hair movement. But she ought to be. She’s been rocking these blonde twists. I like how kreyolicious avant-guard she is when it comes to her look.

Karen Civil joined singers Tyrese and Kelly Rowland in Cali as part of Genius Talks presented by AT&T during the 2015 BET Experience at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Ms. Civil was the panel’s moderator. Look at those spiral curls on and wore a coral romper. Look for Karen’s book set to be released by Cash Money and Simon and Schuster this November.

[Photo Credit: Garcelle Beauvais—Frederick M. Brown and Kevin Winter. Karen Civil—Jerrod Harris. Claire Sulmers—Jason Merritt. Stella Jean—D’aprano.]

Stella Jean combines her Italian and Haitian background to create some of the stunning pieces in her self-named fashion line. Born in Rome of a Haitian mother and an Italian father, Jean is the mother of two young children and is widely recognized as one of the industry’s most avant guard designers.

Afro-Caribbean culture and a Euro influence, with a sligh hint of Asia permeate her designs. Most of the bracelets and necklaces of her accessories line are oversized; not bigger than life, but much bigger than the average wrist and neck.

Stella Jean’s designs can be found at some of the most exclusive boutiques in the world: Saudia Arabia’s chic Lo Spazo’s clothing store to France’s Jacques Loup to London’s Matches to Kuwait’s posh Al Ostoura.

As a woman of Haitian descent living in Italy, Jean affirms that there isn’t a big Haitian community there, but she remains close to her roots. She joined forces with the Haitian Embassy in Italy for Fashion-Able, an initiative to create textile-related jobs in Haiti. One of her most cherished memories of the first time she visited Haiti was meeting her grandmother Ninine, a smiling woman who absolutely loved gardening. The designer admits that she doesn’t go to Haiti often, but takes every chance to devour diri ak djon djon, he favorite Haitian dish.

When it comes to her career, she admits that it’s “pretty hard” as a designer who’s constantly on the go, to find time for herself. But having had developed the extreme endurance that every big player in the fashion industry must have, Stella Jean is doing just fine, thank you very much. And her parents? She labels them as her first—and one of her biggest—supporters.

Q & A

So you were born and raised in Italy.
I’ve find in fashion the necessary room to make my two opposite identities breathe, and conciliate finally. Having been born and raised in the Italy of the Eighties, as the result of a multiracial family, even if in a “milieu aisé”, it ain’t been easy or painless. I started in fashion as a model, and since the very first time I set foot in a fashion designer’s studio, I knew I was in my element. It was the right place to be, but the wrong way to be there. Eventually, I made some changes and found my own style, which allows me to express myself as a designer. When I’ve first presented my collection in July 2011 at “Who’s on Next”; AltaRoma and Vogue context in Rome, it represented to me a way to bring peace between the two most important parts of my personality, the European and the Creole. It’s not easy to find a balance in an emotional conflict such as the one I experienced between these two parts of my soul. Fashion gave me ample space to maneuver and find a place where both these cultures could coexist. This weak point became both a strength and a fresh start.

So prior to become a designer, you were a model for Egon Von Fürstenberg. Do you think that having been a model gave you some sort of edge when it comes to designing and concocting clothes?
It absolutely gave me a “full immersion training”, and the chance to know many different stylistic settings.

What gives you strength on your worst days?
My children and my faith.

You’ve said in past interviews, that your Haitian heritage inspires some of your designs. How so?
In my collections, I just talk about me, my roots and Haiti’s historical metissages [interracial] journey.

Queen Marie Louise of Haiti actually went to live in Italy in the 1820s, and was reportedly a sensation everywhere she and her daughters the Princesses Amethyste and Athenaise went. Do you find yourself inspired by her, and the princesses as they were one of the first Haitians to have some link to Italy?
Queens and princesses will never impress and inspire me much as slaves did.

What words of wisdom do you have for them in terms of how to get their names out there, and how to get a following—that sort of thing?
I have two pieces of advice: Before even thinking about breaking into the industry, you must try to break into people’s hearts. You always have to put people before the industry. Your works must have your fingerprints on them. They have to show your personality and your history. You can’t find ideas on blogs and social networks, only through a long and not-always- easy journey into yourself –the very same journey that will always allow you to find a way home.

Do you think that your Italian background gave you a sort of advantage in the fashion world. After all, some might say, you’re already in one of the fashion capitals. Did that make starting out any easier, because you’re absorbing that world, and you grew up in the middle of it?
It surely gave me a natural aesthetic tendency and sensitivity.

You are constantly wowing fashion critics and fashion lovers. What do you have planned for the world of fashion in times to come?
As I am the result of a mix of different cultures and races that could appear completely opposed, I’d like to promote a sophisticated and alternative multiculturalism through fashion. Blending traditions that are so distant, I want to create new and unexpected cultural messages, while keeping the ability to balance content and shapes.

You can visit the designer’s website here.

[Image Credit: Showroom photo Federico Ciamei]