Cultural togetherness is a force to be reckoned with because we all have a beautiful story to tell. The beauty that pours from Black people is extraordinary and will not go unrecognized. For Black people, beauty goes far beyond our melanated complexions, our Afrocentric facial features, and our swag surf. Our innate ability to make a way out of no way is beautiful. We make beauty out of what may seem to be thin air.

One person is not a representation of all Black people, and so it is essential for us to connect with more than just one. Today, we celebrate creatives Ryan Gale, Al-fuquan Green, Nzinga Watts Harper, Liniya Lanvin, Jeremy Grier, and Kendall Bassett, as their resilience to stop at nothing is beautiful.

In conversation with each creative, they presented their stories as they should be told. I asked the following questions: As a storyteller, how have your everyday experiences in America influenced your creative work? How has your resilience impacted your creativity? What qualities of Black culture are you encouraged to represent throughout your work? In what ways does your work serve bigger purposes in fashion as well as your community?

Here is what they had to say.

Ryan Gale | @ryancgale | Stylist and Designer of By Colby

As a Stylist, Editor, and a Black woman, I am filled with much joy and pleasure whenever I am creating with artists that look like me or share some of my experiences. It is important that my work represents all of who I am. I know my worth, I have mastered my skill. However, I believe there is always room for growth and improvement. I am a student of life, there is so much more for me to learn.

Without mentorship I have been able to carve out a place for myself within the creative industry. My success is a reflection of my grind. My past experiences have molded me into the person that I am today. I never gave up on my dream, I have only pushed for betterment. Although I still have a long way to go, I am very proud of myself and everything that I have created.

As a creative, my work is what keeps me going. Inspiration instills itself into our lives whether we recognize it or not. Inspiration evokes feelings to ascend and experience a higher version of ourselves. To aspire is to be inspired. One of the many privileges of being Black is that we are a multifaceted group. My work has many aesthetics. I am devoted to making fashion sustainable. I have a unique eye for styling vintage with current collections in a contemporary way.

Stylist: Ryan Gale, Photographer: Travis Matthews

Muses: Yahrock Bates and Daneyh

Hair: Soleil | Make-Up: Jasmine Williams

Manicurist: Tru Violet

Al-Fuquan Green  | @aldotg | Stylist and Art Director

I stand in being true to myself as a Black person and a gay man. My social identities are presented through styling and art direction. I was always told no, it is not okay or normal to be expressive. In fashion, I am bringing awareness to being expressive as it is undervalued for some of us. It is relieving and fulfilling to push newness forward amongst men in Black communities. It is okay to express yourself outside the norm. I am encouraged to always capture and value originality as well as Black aesthetics. We make due with limited resources. I love the hood shit, I love the ghetto shit, it is all unique and organic.

Our aesthetics are more symbolic than the negative stereotypes that may be attached by society. When resources are limited we create magical moments, making something out of nothing. It has taken me a while to get here but I am grateful and appreciative for the present. It is a blessing to make an impact and be an inspiration. I am too inspired by people around me. Through my work I will continue to research, engage, and work with upcoming brands which brings a sense of cultural newness and leads people, especially men, to step out of their comfort zones.

(L) Green photographed by Mark C. 

(R) Stylist: Al-Fuqan Green, Photographer: Tiana Katkova

Muses: Tiana Parker, Jalen Dominique, Mikael Cummings

Nzinga Watts-Harper | @nzingawattsharper |  Wardrobe Stylist

I choose to lead and live my life based upon my intuition and not so much by the outside world. I have acknowledged who I am, my truth, which makes me sharper as a Black woman.

Now America is catching on to the fact that we are stylish, Black women are sophisticated. Throughout my career, I have learned how important it is to not rely on one identity to sum up who you are.

As a Black woman, especially working in spaces that we were once shunned from, I think it is important to live up to your own expectations of “Blackness” is. We are not a monolith and that is my protest. Everything does not have to be verbal. Take up space, do great work, make an everlasting impact on those around, and you will never go broke a day in your life.

Even if the work is not directly adjacent to the Black experience, we have the means to inspire someone to not limit their options. I am fueled to show up as myself,  put on the next person, which is the representation we need today.

Assistant Stylist: Nzinga Watts-Harper

Stylist: V. Smith, Photographer: Sophie Chan, and Muse: Faouzia

Liniya Lavin | @7thgrl | Virtual Reality Art Director 

When I was 17 I first became inspired by the Black and Latinx ballroom culture and video vixens in rap music videos, that is what has driven my art direction. My work is helping people to become more open minded and willing to try out other genres. People accepting the visuals I create somewhat pushes for the acceptance and respect of voguing in real life. It’s beautiful to see the urban community as a whole slowly start to change and enjoy new or different art forms that wouldn’t be allowed a few years ago.

We are at a place now where we are able to tell the story and make our own narratives. Black people have always been into technology, we just didn’t have the visibility. I believe collaborating with artists such as DJs and musicians gives others opportunities to be seen by the virtual communities. It is important for us to be ourselves without censorship and watering down who we are online. I never felt like I had a purpose until I started to make art that made people feel good and encouraged to make their own. I don’t care about gaining clout , I am more about connecting with genuine people so other cultures can see us in a different, more positive light.

Jeremy Grier | @jeregrier | Photographer and Creative Director

I had a very black upbringing while growing up-north in Hartford, Connecticut. The intersection of my southern roots, the Caribbean culture that surrounded me, and my family’s history helped inform my taste and provided a visual language that I carry today. The imagery of my grandmother every other season, hanging up drapes in the winter with the tie backs (that I would secretly play with), to attending the West Indian parades every summer with friends.

My work contributes to the long lineage of Black portraiture by exploring themes of intimacy, identity, and belonging. More specifically, I engage the photographic moment as a way to think with and through Black life as its own point of reference, legitimacy, and agency. My journey as an artist is to serve as a truth teller by centering the lives of those who have been neglected, despised, and rendered unintelligible to the white imagination.

(L) Grier photographed by  Julian Barlow

(R) Photographer: Jeremy Grier | Muse: Jumar Browne

Kendall Bessent | @kendallbessent | Photographer, Creative Director,  and Stylist

As a young Black man in America I know that our innocence is not protected and that we may be seen as a threat. I do not focus on Black trauma, instead I embrace beauty and love. Through my photography, I resist the traditional beauty standards. We are beautiful no matter what the media shows us. When people see my work it’s stimulating because emotions are captured through my subjects. Besides, no one can tell our story better than us.

My goal is to inspire the youth to think bigger than their environment so that we break generational curses that plague our communities. Yes, I am responding to “Kendall did that shit!” But more importantly, I am extending a hand back into my community to encourage others to tell their stories. I am starting to come out of my shell, I see creative concepts exploring taboo ideas. People are afraid to push boundaries yet people before us were not afraid to do just that. As an artist, I do not feel compelled to be placed in a box. I am more than just one label and I should not have to live in a box of standards that does not embrace all of my identities.

(L) Bessent photographed by Braylen Dion

(R) Photographer: Kendall Bessent | Muse: Amadou Fofana