In 1959, the Trinidad-born journalist Claudia Jones organised Britain’s first Caribbean carnival at St Pancras Town Hall. Held in the aftermath of the 1958 Notting Hill race riots, during which Black residents faced sustained racist violence in the area, it laid the foundations for what would become the first Notting Hill Carnival in 1966: a multicultural street festival organised by activist Rhaune Laslett to bring together the neighbourhood’s different communities. She invited Trinidadian steel-pan player Russell Henderson and his band, who led a procession through the streets of west London, echoing the carnival traditions of Trinidad and Tobago. Masquerade bands followed, bringing elaborate costumes inspired by the country’s pre-Lenten festivities, alongside calypso and, later, soca. By the 1970s, sound systems had joined the procession, spearheaded by Leslie Palmer, then director of the carnival. “The ingredients were West Indian to the bone,” says ’s Riann Phillip, a lifetime member of Mangrove Steel Band. “And they became distinctly London.”

Which brings us to this weekend, when photographer Fabrice Bourgelle joined an estimated two million people in W10 and W11 to celebrate not only Notting Hill Carnival’s 60th anniversary, but the indelible contribution Britain’s Caribbean community continues to make to the national patchwork. Captured around floats, beside sound systems and on the steps of people’s homes, his photographs document “the classic characters, aunties, mas bands and elder Rastas bringing a spirit of togetherness and style”, he said. “In its 60th year, it felt particularly important to keep those communities – and the beauty and fashion they bring to the streets – firmly in focus.” And what did that beauty and fashion look like? A mash-up of flags, string vests, crochet bikinis, fluttery tops, boho belts, pedal pushers, miniskirts, cheetah print and sequins; ornate nails and face gems; intricately twisted buns, two-tiered box braids and Afro-braided mohawks – the full gamut of sartorial daring – plus, perhaps most importantly, practical shoes. Scroll down to see 50 of the best street-style moments from Notting Hill Carnival’s 60th anniversary.