The Black Allure

The black allure  photographed by Emma Summerton and styled by Edward Enninful and features models Ajak Deng, Arlenis Sosa Peña, Chanel Iman, Georgie Baddiel, Jourdan Dunn, Joan Smalls, Kinee Diouf, Lais Ribeiro, Melodie Monrose, Mia Aminata Niaria, Rose Cordero and Sessilee Lopez. The black bombshells evoke the essence of the 1920′s/Harlem Renaissance era with finger waves, turbans, and cigarette holders and wearing dresses from Louis Vuitton, Donna Karan and Versace. Vogue Italia February 2011.

http://www.beautyisdiverse.com/2011/02/the-black-allure-vogue-italia-february-2011/

             This Picture caught my eye because of the contrast of colors, light, and and composition. I love how the photographer embodied the essence of Harlem Renaissance Fashion but made it modern at the same time. Though it's a picture from a magazine, Summerton and Enninful made it look authentic with their use of creative style and obvious knowledge of the Harlem Renaissance.

             From looking at previous examples of Harlem fashion, I knew that this picture wasn't the most accurate example but I liked that there was a balance of old and new. If this was an accurate portrayal of Harlem fashion, the cleavage wouldn't be shown as much, the make up would be a slightly be more subtle, and they wouldn't be smoking in public. During the Harlem Renaissance, the black community was fighting for equal rights and to be seen as equals in our society. In order to make a good impression, women dressed very fashionably, covered themselves appropriately, and never smoked in public.  However, the use of turbans and flapper inspired dresses gave the photo a veritable quality of the Harlem Renaissance and made the photo look more realistic. 

            The Black Allure photo is an example of Pride in during the Harlem Renaissance. The women in this photo look very confident and proud. They lounge around on furniture, carefree and fearless. The inspiration behind this image came from the women during the Harlem Renaissance. They experienced so much discrimination and racism yet carried themselves with pride and dignity. The artists behind this photo were inspired by the strength of those Black women, and were able to incorporate the essence and authenticity of the Harlem Renaissance into their image.
  The link below is an example of the traditional Harlem renaissance fashion.
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.riverwalkjazz.org/images/public/jazznotes/WomenHarlemRen_HarlemFlappers.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.riverwalkjazz.org/html/eng/public/795.shtml&usg=__QYH_is5HkErEO6VjgE7_DJkbEYU=&h=434&w=300&sz=174&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=Tu2Im8nVn4qRKM:&tbnh=144&tbnw=101&ei=hYRlTdS-JYvUtQPDl8zfBA&prev=/images%3Fq%3DHArlem%2Bflapper%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26biw%3D994%26bih%3D573%26tbs%3Disch:1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=723&oei=hYRlTdS-JYvUtQPDl8zfBA&page=1&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:0&tx=83&ty=25