black photographers
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Throwback Thursday: Do You Know the Legendary Black Photographer Who Inspired Fenty’s Debut Campaign?
Of the many references in Rihanna’s first collection for luxury line Fenty, one is particularly special. The debut campaign for “Release 5-19,” was inspired by the work of living legend, Black Arts Movement photographer and fellow Bajan Kwame Brathwaite and the collective he co-founded and captured as his muses, the Grandassa models. “FENTY creates a…
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A Legacy of Artistry: Ruth E. Carter, Tyler Mitchell and More Celebrate the Enduring Impact of Kwame Brathwaite
What best befits a celebration of iconic artistry? Being recognized by icons in the making. On Thursday, April 11 at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles, Oscar-winning costume designer Ruth E. Carter (Black Panther), fashion designer Mimi Plange and Tyler Mitchell, who made history last year as the first black photographer to cover Vogue,…
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That Harlem Hustle: Meet Flo Ngala, the Young Photographer Behind Some of Cardi B’s Most Iconic Moments
Flo Ngala’s personality matches her photography—she’s elegant, refined, urbane, but not inaccessible. Her willowy frame ensconced in a vintage pink Ralph Lauren pantsuit, she’s undeniably fly, but her fashionista exterior belies a squishy, uproarious joy, always lurking around the corner and ready to burst out like her broad, cheeky smile. I first met Ngala when she…
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Grand Slam: Lindsay Peoples Wagner's 1st Cover for Teen Vogue Is Black Girl Majesty
Now, this is how you come through with some #blackgirlmagic. For her premiere cover as Teen Vogue’s new editor-in-chief (and the youngest black editor at any major publication), Lindsay Peoples Wagner recruited one of the world’s most dynamic women, Serena Williams, placed her in conversation with Naomi Wadler, one of the most intelligent and inspiring…
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Black to the Future: Nadine Ijewere Is the 1st Woman of Color to Shoot a Vogue Cover
When 23-year-old Tyler Mitchell captured Beyoncé for the September 2018 issue of American Vogue, it was a historic moment as he became the first black photographer to be granted a cover in the magazine’s 125-year history. Now, history is being made again, this time by 26-year-old Nadine Ijewere who, with the January issue of British…
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Anti-Selfie and Self-Aware: Visionary Arielle Bobb-Willis Explains How Photography Saved Her Life
Much has (deservedly) been made of Tyler Mitchell, the 23-year-old photographer seemingly whisked from obscurity after he was tapped to shoot Beyoncé’s 2018 September cover story for American Vogue. But while Mitchell is indeed a talent, he is far from the only young black photographic phenom on the rise today. There are scores of talented…
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This Is How We Do It: Essence's September Issue—Starring Naomi!—Is a Study in Black Excellence
Leave it to Essence to remind us what black excellence looks like on both sides of the camera. Making their contribution to a season of intense black girl magic—where we are covering a full 50 percent of the 2018 fall fashion issues—the legendary black women’s magazine shows us exactly how excellent a product by a…
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We Have September Issues: Black Women Are Covering Magazines, But Who's Behind the Lens?
A funny thing happened while we were basking in the glow of cover after cover of fashion magazines featuring black faces this September: We came across an absolutely gorgeous cover of Issa Rae on Ebony’s Fall Fashion Issue. Stunning in a black tulle Vera Wang ballgown while striking a ballerina’s pose, Rae was the epitome…