Global fashion and beauty founder Robyn Rihanna Fenty collaborates with artist Lorna Simpson on the January+February issue of ESSENCE. The cover collage, Of Earth & Sky reinterprets “the narrative of modern-day beauty”. Also included is a 12-page portfolio.
Simpson has had a three decade career. She has created collages that “recontextualize images of Black women from vintage pages of Ebony and Jet magazines”. Here, Rihanna is her muse wearing designer pieces from her own Savage X Fenty line as well as Prada, Givenchy, Hood by Air, Thelma West, Rick Owens and others.
“…I needed to create images of Rihanna to place within the environments of source materials from my archive. For the project to have the same kind of dramatic visual intensity as my collage work to date, I had to consider the atmosphere and lighting of specific source materials before arriving to set. Knowing Rihanna’s charisma and commanding presence, my effort was then to be as present and prepared as possible to capture her exquisite performance for the camera…”
Lorna Simpson
The issue also pays homage to VP elect Kamala Harris. Five influential Black women reflect on the historic win: Donna Brazile, Leah Daughtry, Karen Finney, Star Jones and Minyon Moore.
The issue also features Barack Obama talking about his new book and experiences as America’s first Black president.
Issues should be on newsstands next week. You may also visit ESSENCE.com for more information.
