But... black is the absence of colors...!
Yes and same is "white" so why do we have "white tunic over mail" and "white tunic"...HUH?!
Technically black is a legitimate pigment for an artist, it differs depending on who is talking about what kind of colour. Like a chef calling a tomato a vegetable, even though it is technically a fruit (Scientifically proven).
Scientifically, Black is the absence of colour and white is the combination of all colour (as colour is merely the interaction of certain wavelengths of EMR entering your eye and how your brain chooses to process that interaction), where to an artist it will be the opposite or both. In the fashion industry, they are always both colours.
TL:DR version
You both made me twitch.