“A repositioning of Black bodies within the historically French colonial context through the exploration of the season’s soft, ornate, and frill-filled take on masculinity."

see the full story on www.VMAN.com

“We saw this vintage French aesthetic on the F/W’20 Runways and with the rise in Black models, it was inevitable to see the aesthetic on brown faces — contrary to what we’ve seen historically.

When you think of French Renaissance artwork, it’s devoid of Black faces, but Black culture and French culture are not mutually exclusive. We created images inspired by renaissance-age French portraiture through the Black lens with some of the season’s finest garbs to match.”

photography by Chrisean Rose; styled by Alexander-Julian

hair: Andrita Renee, grooming: Michela Wariebi, casting: Irene Ojo-Felix @ Sola Casting, Asst: Chloe Lucan + Rachael Bettencourt

models: Aheem Sosa @ IMG, Ibrahim Kamara @ NEXT, Kendall Harrison @ DNA

Shot at The Montauk Club

Alexander-Julian

Alexander-Julian

Content

Alexander-Julian

CONTENT

The Black French Renaissance for VMAN

“A repositioning of Black bodies within the historically French colonial context through the exploration of the season’s soft, ornate, and frill-filled take on masculinity."

“We saw this vintage French aesthetic on the F/W’20 Runways and with the rise in Black models, it was inevitable to see the aesthetic on brown faces — contrary to what we’ve seen historically.

When you think of French Renaissance artwork, it’s devoid of Black faces, but Black culture and French culture are not mutually exclusive. We created images inspired by renaissance-age French portraiture through the Black lens with some of the season’s finest garbs to match.”