Joan Smalls Wears Super Yaya Lensed by Justin French for Interview Germany Fall 2019

Joan Smalls Wears Super Yaya Lensed by Justin French for Interview Germany Fall 2019

Top Model Joan Smalls is styled by Jessica Willis in Super Yaya, from emerging designer Rym Beydoun . Chicago-born, New York-based photographer Justin French is in the studio for Interview Germany Fall 2019.

AOC goes in-depth for more info about new fashion-industry talents Rym Beydoun and Justin French.

Smithsonian Acquires Tyler Mitchell's Beyoncé Portrait for Vogue US September 2018

Smithsonian Acquires Tyler Mitchell's Beyoncé Portrait for Vogue US September 2018

Photographer Tyler Mitchell shares a spectacular piece of news about an image from his September 2018 Beyoncé cover editorial. In an embarrassing acknowledgement of racism in the fashion industry, Mitchell became the first African American photographer to shoot the cover of Vogue in its 125-year history.

Clearly, positive energy infused Mitchell’s editorial from every direction, so much so that one of his Vogue images has been acquired into the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery’s permanent collection in Washington, D.C.

The selected photo sees Beyoncé on location just outside of London, wearing a sequin-covered Valentino dress and exuberant Philip Treacy London headpiece.

“A year ago today we broke the flood gates open,” Mitchell wrote of the news on Instagram. “Since then, it was important to spend the whole year running through them making sure every piece of the gate was knocked down.”

As a concerned photographer, who is socially and politically engaged, Mitchell sees the Beyoncé shoot as an empowerment opportunity

“We’ve been thingified physically, sexually, emotionally. With my work I’m looking to revitalize and elevate the black body.”

We share the entire editorial in celebration of Mitchell’s growing success, Queen Bey herself, and the New Day society global citizens desire.

The Fierce Pride and Passion of Rhinestone Fashion | We Spend Time With Mickalene Thomas

The Fierce Pride and Passion of Rhinestone Fashion | We Spend Time With Mickalene Thomas

Contemporary artist Mickalene Thomas is best known for her large-scale paintings of black women posed against boldly patterned backgrounds and adorned with rhinestones. Illustrative of the artist’s signature style, her 2010 Portrait of Mnonja depicts a striking female figure reclining on a couch.

Visitors, who find their way to the high-ceiling third floor gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, consistently gather round this painting, fascinated by its bright colors and drawn to its subject—an elegant and poised African-American woman.

“She is owning and claiming her space, which is very exciting,” reveals the artist in a 2017 SAAM interview. The woman’s crossed ankles are perched on the sofa’s armrest, and her fuchsia high heels dangle over the edge. Her right hand rests on her knee and her fingers evoke a dancer’s enviable combination of strength and grace. Exuding an air of power and sophistication, Mnonja literally sparkles from head to toe—her hair, makeup, jewelry, clothes, fingernails and shoes all glisten with rhinestones.

Rihanna Drops Savage x Fenty August 2019 Lingerie Updates | RiRi on Trump, Rihanna Museum

Rihanna Drops Savage x Fenty August 2019 Lingerie Updates | RiRi on Trump, Rihanna Museum

One fact is for certain: a Savage x Fenty lingerie ad looks totally different from a Victoria’s Secret one. The talented business mogul Rihanna poses in her August 2019 lingerie drop, wearing pastel, muted prints and jacquard knits lensed by Dennis Leupold.