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ISSUE No.

masthead #85 CHAIRMAN & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF_CLAUDE GRUNITZKY EDITORIAL ASSISTANT EDITOR_Mikaela Gauer Editor at Large_Stephen Greco INTERNATIONAL EDITOR_ANICÉE GADDIS Editorial Assistant_ Audrey Guttman Staff Writer_Devin ‘Pan’ Barnett, Steve Mascatello ART art DIRECTOR_ericka herod FASHION FASHION DIRECTOR_CHRISTINE DE LASSUS FASHION MARKET EDITOR_ROBYN V. FERNANDES UK EDITORIAL UK EDITOR_PARDEEP SALL PRINT AND PRODUCTION MANAGER_Kelly Goddard FASHION EDITOR_DAVINA MASHRU EDITORIAL AND FASHION ASSISTANT_MELISSA SIMPEMBA ART ASSISTANT_SIMON AUCKLAND

COVER CREDITS Model_Arlenis Sosa @ Marilyn Photography_Ryan Michael Kelly Fashion_Christine De Lassus Make Up_Robert Greene @ See Management for Lancôme hair_Kenshin Asano @ L’Atelier NYC

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS_Nadia Bettega, Keita Demming CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS_ Darren Keith, Emmanuel André, Glynis Selina Arban, Jason Gardner, Lauren Dukoff, Nadia Bettega, Samuel Fosso, Sandra Fourqui, Ryan Michael Kelly ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE_Damaris Taylor MARKETING COORDINATOR_SIGOURNEY SALLEY Trace UK is Published BY_Reactor Media UK Publishing Consultant_ Ben Martin Sales Manager_Christopher Keeling OPERATIONS MANAGER UK_LANA DE MEILLON MALARD UK INTERNS_MARQUITA HARRIS, MICHAELA NESSIM WEBMASTER_ANDY LI

TRACE HEADQUARTERS 41 GREAT JONES STREET 3rd Floor, NEW YORK, NY 10012 INFO@TRACE212.COM WWW.TRACE212.COM TRACE UK 105-107 FARRINGDON ROAD LONDON, EC1R 3BU TEL +44 207 0207 0149549 FAX +44 207 168 5727

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©2009 TRACE magazine TRACE MAGAZINE (ISSN 1366-1752) IS PUBLISHED is published quarterly BY TRACE, INC. TRACE MAGAZINE IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. NO PART OF THIS PUBLICATION MAY BE REPRODUCED IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT THE WRITTEN PERMISSION OF THE PUBLISHER. THE VIEWS EXPRESSED IN THE MAGAZINE ARE THOSE OF RESPECTIVE CONTRIBUTORS AND ARE NOT NECESSARILY SHARED BY THE MAGAZINE, ITS STAFF OR PUBLISHER. ALTHOUGH TRACE MAGAZINE IS ALWAYS ON THE HUNT FOR DOPE MANUSCRIPTS, ARTWORK AND PHOTOGRAPHY, ALL CONTRIBUTORS OF UNSOLICITED MATERIAL MUST MAKE ARRANGEMENTS FORF THEIR COLLECTION AND RETURN. TRACE MAGAZINE IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR LOSS, DAMAGE, OR INJURY TO UNSOLICITED CONTRIBUTION.

Contributors

Audrey Guttman Audrey Guttman was born in Brussels, Belgium, and lives between New York and Paris. She studied political science, jazz theory and song in Paris and has previously worked as an exhibitions organizer in the fields of art, design and architecture. After starting a MD in Business Law, she took to her heels and returned to New York to fill her appetite for the bizarre and extraordinary. She is slated to begin a masters in Communications at Sciences Po in the fall.

Nadia Bettega Raised in Zambia of Swedish/Italian parents and currently based in London, Nadia Bettega works as a freelance photographer. Having studied Psychology (BSc.) and Reproductive and Sexual Health research (MSc.) with a focus on Stigma and Risk, she is familiar with the many challenges that individuals from vulnerable groups of society face. As part of her degree at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, she worked in a team of researchers with high-risk groups (adolescents, sex workers amongst others) on the subject of HIV/AIDS related stigma, applying it to prevention and care efforts (in Zambia). Nadia has been involved in educational photography related projects dealing with asylum seekers, refugees and BME youths in the UK. She is one of the founding members of With Open Eyes, a social project that aims to encourage creativity, innovative thought and talent in marginalised members of society, through the art of photography. She is also currently involved with educational projects for the Photographers Gallery in London.

Glynis Selina Arban From Charleston, South Carolina, Glynis Selina Arban is an Honors graduate of the University of Georgia at Athens and has a B.A. in Literature with a speciality in the medieval period. She is a self-taught photographer. Glynis also writes and paints. Her grandmother, Millie Lewis, was a top model in New York in the 1940’s.

Mikaela Rachelle Gauer Hailing from the beautiful west coast of Vancouver, Canada, Mikaela Gauer came to New York for two weeks last year in June following her graduation from the University of British Columbia. Captivated by New York, she fell in love with the city, and with one suitcase to her name canceled her flight home and joined the TRACE team as an editorial intern. A few months later, Mikaela was invited to join TRACE as the assistant editor, and has been working on every aspect of the magazine, from writing and photography to editorial direction, ever since. An avid and restless traveler, Mikaela has traveled or volunteered in over 30 countries around the world, and continues to pursue creative endeavors and explore life as passionately as possible.

Robyn Victoria Fernandes Robyn Victoria Fernandes was born in Brooklyn to a Cape Verdean/New Yorker father and a black native New Yorker mother. Now residing in Queens, Robyn has worked in the fashion industry for over 8 years. She began her career assisting different stylists and then flew the coupe to style fashion editorials in magazines and to style bands. She loves the creative and collaborative aspect of styling and feels most rewarded when her ideas come to life on film and paper. Robyn has been a member of the TRACE family for a while, and appreciates TRACE’s dedication to transculturalism, as “it is the only magazine whose stories pertain to and touch the minds and hearts of people from varied cultural and social backgrounds”. Robyn enjoys styling beautiful fashion editorials that feature models from the varied ethnic spectrum.

EDITOR’S LETTER

Throwing Shade As we were wrapping up this thirteenth edition of “Black Girls Rule!” I was struggling to come up with a different angle for this editorial page. Then, one rainy Spring evening, I received a last minute invitation to attend the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council’s annual “Downtown Dinner.” The benefit dinner, which was held near the top of a highrise building located at the infamous World Trade Center site, was memorable for the artist Rashaad Newsome’s performance of his “Shade Compositions 2009” piece. Essentially, for this performance, which Rashaad created and conducted, a group of elegantly dressed black girls from different walks of life sashayed into a line to the steady soundtrack of Soul II Soul and started “throwing shade.” For those who are not familiar with this very specific piece of African American terminology, throwing shade is a non-verbal way of communication, usually a “dis,” where one gets to express their dissatisfaction with a situation or a person. Of course, many black girls know how to throw shade with sassiness and attitude, and that is exactly what they did, high heels, coiffures and all, for “Shade Compositions 2009.” I was so moved by the piece that I spoke with Rashaad after the performance and made an appointment to visit him in his temporary studio at 77 Water Street in lower Manhattan. Rashaad, who was born in New Orleans and has exhibited in prestigious institutions like The Kitchen in New York and the Fondation Cartier in Paris, explained that he cast the girls, pictured here facing him, based on their ability to be very expressive. Because “Shade Compositions” is a choral piece, the girls would be very limited in what they would be able to do, so expression and “an amazing sense of rhythm” would be crucial to the casting process. He contacted New York Model Management, Craigslist and Backstage magazine and ended up choosing mostly working actresses in New York City. The most important part of the casting, Rashaad told me, was that his girls represent a variety of shades - skin tones - and sizes. That very rigorous casting process would help to steer the piece away from literal interpretations of what is means to be a black girl today. I was really impressed by Rashaad’s vision, because it so closely mirrors my own vision of what the “Black Girls Rule!” statement should be. I asked him why do black girls rule? “For a couple of reasons,” he answered. “First, our civilization cannot go on without these black women who fascinate me. These women are more emotive that many black men, who are unable to express emotion. Second, the black woman and the black man as a couple have historically been at the bottom of the socio-economic totem pole, although that is now changing.” Rashaad was obviously alluding to Michelle and Barack Obama in the White House, and at that moment I realized how much the statement had been validated since Spike Lee interviewed Michelle Obama for last year’s edition of “Black Girls Rule!” At the time of that interview, Barack was just a candidate. What a difference a year makes. – Claude Grunitzky

Terrace

Low key

anguilla may be known as a celebrity hub, but this Caribbean gem is still under the radar, making a visit to its beautiful beaches and preserved colorful coral reefs an ideal vacation. text_Claude Grunitzky

photography_Vida Mulec

The first boom in tourism development on the tiny island of Anguilla took place in the 1980s, and most new hotels were built on the Western end of the country, a British overseas territory in the Caribbean. With a total land area of just 39 square miles and a population of less than 15,000, Anguilla has few land-based natural resources, and the island has quietly become a hideaway destination for affluent Americans and Brits seeking an escape from the Caribbean’s mass-friendly tourist resorts. Robert de Niro, John Malkovich and Mariah Carey are some of the more famous recent visitors to Anguilla, but a second boom is expected to defy the recession this summer. The Viceroy makes its debut on Mead’s Bay with a hotel, a resort and private residences that were built on the northernmost of the Queen’s Leeward Isles, joining the top-rated Malliouhana, the Greek Island-inspired CuisinArt Resort & Spa and the five-star Cap Juluca at the highest end of the island’s hospitality food chain. On a recent visit, TRACE was given a bus tour of the island, which is built around one main artery, a single road that connects all the key spots around The Valley, as the island’s capital is called. Carl Irish, the affable “Chief Service Officer” of the Altamer, gave us a tour of his property, which is one of the more charming escapes among the many private, locally owned resorts on the island. “We consider ourselves to be in a different league,” he said without the slightest hint of irony. “Most of our guests come in private jets.” Indeed, the Altamer, which is located directly on the Caribbean Sea, was decorated with a Northeastern Brazilian sensibility in mind, with masks, colorful figurative paintings and off-white furniture that seem to have been imported directly from Bahia state. Carl did admit, however, that Altamer does compete with properties like Temenos, a set of villas hanging over the Sea in an area called Long Bay. With the rise in foreign interest, the Anguillan government, which owns all the beachfront land, has put a moratorium on all land sales to non-Anguillans, meaning that the island’s spectacular coral reefs and tiny cays are likely to be preserved for a while yet.

beautiful

dress_gardem bracelet,belt_barbara bui shoes_kenzo

THECOMEBACKKID TRACE icon Brandi Quiñones returns to the runway, fierce and sexy as ever text_Claude Grunitzky In many ways, Brandi Quiñones remains a big part of TRACE magazine’s iconography. I tell this story quite often, because I like to remember the struggles of the early days, but that first “Black Girls Rule!” cover from May 1997, a black and white picture of a happy, laughing Brandi that was shot by French lensman Thierry le Goues, is the first issue of TRACE (issue number 5!) that many readers noticed, on both sides of the Atlantic. After the success of that early issue, and the buzz generated on the newsstands, we would turn BGR into a yearly franchise, but Brandi has remained a part of the TRACE consciousness ever since. Even though we featured her four other times in the magazine after that first cover, including on another BGR cover from 1998, the magic gradually disappeared and many readers sent me letters, longing for a return to the old Brandi. By the turn of the nineties, Brandi had faded into relative obscurity. Back in those days, I would routinely ask around, in New York and in Paris, and few of her friends or bookers would comment on her state or whereabouts. Even the photographers who knew her well insisted on every statement staying off the record. That was because the news was apparently not very good. From the late nineties right up until the mid-2000s, Brandi did a great job of building up a name for herself as a has-been, a fashion pariah whose career stalled when she partied just a bit too much in front of way too many influential fashion people. The Los Angeles-based agent Michael Sanka, who used to work at her agency Karin’s in Paris back when Brandi was still the talk of the town, did tell me in early 2005, “Watch out for Brandi, she will soon make a real comeback. There aren’t too many girls like her in the business.” Sure enough, in January of this year, I started hearing that Brandi was back in Paris, and making noise in some of the most important fashion circles. Those who saw her in person told me that she looked “a-mazing”, that at 32 she was just as fresh as the wildly optimistic 15 year-old SicilianPuerto Rican-Cherokee Indian-Bahamian bombshell-turned Vogue and Elle cover star that Karl Lagerfeld decided to make a face of Chanel, a first for a woman of color. When the photographer Sandra Fourqui, who used to work at Karin’s, sent me a recent video clip of Brandi that was shot in the streets of Paris, along with a few stills from a recent photo shoot, I knew that it was time to reintroduce Brandi to old and new TRACE readers. The Brandi that you see in these pictures is the same supersexy, superfunny Brandi that I spoke to back in mid-March. This is the same Brandi who was written about on the Art & Commerce blog - “If you have been watching the Paris runways as closely as we have, you may have noticed the surprising line up for the Givenchy show. Note Look No. 9, worn by Brandi Quiñones. What a stellar comeback: those cheekbones, that body, that strut! Even with our lofty imaginations, we could not have fathomed a better context for

photography_Sandra Fourqui Brandi’s return!” When I mentioned that her appearance at the Givenchy show made quite a few waves, she said bluntly, with the full confidence and irony of an Aquarius, “It’s a great time to be a beautiful woman on the runway, and hopefully in the ad campaign.” Brandi, ever the Aquarius, says that fashion is her thing, and that, contrary to many models who like to refashion themselves late in their careers as MTA’s (model turned actress) or MTS’s (model turned singer), she has never even thought of launching a new career in film or music. (Like so many other models, she could have chosen to reinvent herself as a trophy wife, but that’s another story.) “I just want to stick with fashion, because if it’s for you, it’s for you.” She did admit that she withdrew for a while. “I was in Los Angeles for three years, and then in Miami with my man for the past two years before moving back to Paris.”

“Brandi did a great job of building up a name for herself as a has-been, a fashion pariah whose career stalled when she partied just a bit too much in front of way too many influential fashion people”. The last time she saw Karl Lagerfeld, the man who “made” her, was on a shoot in Venice Beach, California a few years ago, but I could sense from the tone of her voice that that particular relationship needed rebuilding. The new, improved Brandi revealed the following when I asked her about her future: “I pray that in the coming decade I will have my own business and continue a career in fashion and at some point have a family and travel the world.” Although she said that Paris has not changed much since the nineties, she admitted to me that she “used to suffer from depression sometimes.” Still, Brandi seems to now be fully aware of the many perils of the fashion industry. “I don’t keep friends in the industry anymore. I learned my lesson, and now I separate my private life from the industry. I pray to God, because I want to stay focused on my dream, which has always been to have a house in Spain or the South of France – those would be great places to raise kids one day. I will have the last laugh.”

clothes_Dsquared2 glove_karl lagerfeld shoes_celine

top_celine

jacket top_marithe et franรงois Girbaud bracelet_karl lagerfeld pant_barbara bui

top_Yiorgos Eleftheriades boxer_xuly bet shoes_plein sud

top_miu miu leather belt_Malene Birger legging_Yiorgos Eleftheriades bracelet botte_barbara bui bracelet _celine

“I will have the last laugh” – Brandi

fashion_Marie Revelut Model_Brandi c/o Karin Make up_Sophie Nomine Hair_Elika top_sass & bide gilet_marithe et françois Girbaud boxer_kenzo bracelet_Dsquared2

code mode

City in Bloom photography_Gylnis Selina Arban fashion_Robyn Fernandes

yellow & gray fringe top_ Topshop Unique ripe patch jeans_Levis scribble pumps_Vicini

print dress_Miss Sixty wedge booties_D & G

pink plaid shirt_PRPS dress_Herve Lager sandals_Just Cavalli

red moto jacket_McQ blue shirt_D & G jeans_G-Star ac/dc sneakers_Converse

black tux jacket_Adidas vest_Co-hesive grey striped shirt_D & G bowtie_D & G black pant_G-Star boots_Converse by John Varvatos

blue floral zip jacket_Life with Bird grey top w/ lace insets_Kova & T grey shorts_Stella McCartney for Adidas sneakers_Adidas

printed bodysuit_ Chanel denim jacket_G-Star

grey blazer & skirt_Osklen cropped print sweatshirt_ Topshop Unique Shoes_Just Cavailli

Right charcoal grey mini dress_Kova & T leather jacket_Just Cavalli boots_D & G Left military jacket_Converse by John Varvatos tee shirt_MMM plaid pant_Levis boots_Converse by John Varvatos

fashion assistants_Mikaela Gauer, Audrey Guttman Make up_Min Min Ma @ Workgroup ltd. Hair_elizabeth morache @ Workgroup ltd. green leather jacket_Elise Overland print tee_Doe print pants_Topshop Unique purple pumps_Giuseppe Zanotti Design

The nexus

LostinTranslation In her breakthrough novel “Book of Clouds,” Chloe Aridjis tells a story of displacement and exile, as a young Mexican Jew living in Berlin attempts to connect with a city haunted by a dark history text_Mikaela Gauer and Claude Grunitzky photography_Emmanuel Andre “The permanence of the printed word is something every first-time novelist has to confront,” says Chloe Aridjis. Indeed, Chloe worked on “Book of Clouds” for quite a long time, in a vacuum, and suddenly in March, her novel came to life and materialized in print. The week her book was published, she read the opening scene at the New York bookstore Idlewild, in front of a 200-strong crowd that included her famous father, the Mexican poet and diplomat Homero Aridjis, her American-born mother, undeground filmmaker Nick Zedd and actors Hugh Dancy and Claire Danes. Later that week, the New York Times Book Review declared that “Book of Clouds” is “required reading of the most pleasurable sort.” Two days before the Times review was published, TRACE sat with Chloe at the Mercer Kitchen in SoHo for an afternoon chat about Berlin, language, and the similarities between Tatiana, the book’s narrator, and Chloe herself. Following in the footsteps of her father, “Book of Clouds” proves that although her path of becoming a writer may have been inevitable, her growing success could only have been achieved on her own. Chloe, unlike her father, chose to spend her 20s in academia, obtaining a BA in Comparative Literature from Harvard and a PhD from Oxford, studying poetry and magic in nineteenth-century France. Her academic background lends itself to her debut novel, in which the real and the imagined are constantly in flux, examined against the sharp backdrop of an ever-changing world city plagued by an unforgiving past. Although the protagonist, Tatiana, and Chloe, the author, share a Mexican and Jewish heritage and a complex relationship with Berlin, “Book of Clouds” is not autobiographical. The characters and experiences are fictional – although, Chloe admits the haunting introduction recalls one of her very own experiences as a young girl traveling with her family in Berlin. The riveting scene takes place on the U-bahn, only moments after a protest at the Berlin Wall. Tatiana, separated from her family on the packed train, sees an old woman and immediately recognizes her. “This is Hitler, I said to myself, there is no doubt that this is Hitler. The old woman had the sameshaped face, the same black eyes and high forehead, and, now that I looked again, even a shadowy square area where the mustache would have been.” There is no question of whether or not the woman actually is Hitler, or at least a reincarnate. To a young mind, that image will never disappear; just how the actual figure of Hitler can never be removed from Germany’s past. “For some people, Hitler is still everywhere,” Chloe says. The scene sets the precedent for the rest of the novel as Tatiana encounters the remnants of a divided country and her divided self in every aspect of her Berlin experience, and in particular, through her job as a transcriber for the brilliant historian Dr.Weiss. As Tatiana sets out to interview people scattered across a city still struggling with the aftermath of both the distant and more recent past, she develops a precarious love interest with a meteorologist as elusive as the weather. As time passes, Tatiana’s solitary nature is increasingly reflected in her relationship with her surroundings. “The urban landscape mirrors the narrator’s internal landscape”, Chloe explains, “in a similar way to many

19th-century novels in which crises of the self were often projected on to the city.” For some, memories of Berlin’s past occur in haunting shadows that fill the side streets, and ghosts that ride in the empty seats on the train. Tatiana’s alienation stems from her preferred lack of interaction with those around her; she avoids the three Fraus that live below, limits her conversation with the professor, and remains isolated despite her ambiguous relationship with the meteorologist, Jonas. Her displacement also arises from a feeling of being lost in translation, something that Chloe can relate to very well. “Dialogue can be interpreted very differently, due to cultural, linguistic, or generational misunderstandings. You’re a different person in a different language, and sometimes a part of you gets lost in translation”. Tatiana’s mystical encounters with signs from her Mexican heritage blend with the phenomena of Berlin, as she struggles to form an identity in a city she is never truly able to call her own. Not a foreigner, and yet not a native, Chloe speaks of her own strange time in Berlin: “I didn’t feel Mexican, I just didn’t feel German”.

“ ‘This is Hitler, I said to myself, there is no doubt that this is Hitler. The old woman had the same-shaped face, the same black eyes and high forehead, and, now that I looked again, even a shadowy square area where the mustache would have been.’ ” With regard to the prevalent atmosphere of ambiguity, Chloe insists one must read carefully between the lines; the text is layered with the irony and playfulness of metaphysical comedy. “Book of Clouds” is filled with haunting imagery and poetic metaphors that play into Tatiana’s own unstable perceptions. “I’m playing with the myths of Berlin”, Chloe reveals. Berlin’s ever changing landscape allowed Chloe to delve into the psychology of the foreigner, leaving the complex interior portrait in the novel, much like the city itself, in a conclusion open for interpretation. After an extremely disturbing event, Tatiana questions her years spent in Berlin, and seeks a further selfimposed exile in order to continue to search for herself elsewhere. As she ascends into the clouds away from the urban landscape, Tatiana reflects on her love-hate relationship with a city full of people and haunting memories that she could never fully give herself to. “There is little difference between clouds and shadows and other phenomena given shape by the human imagination”. Chloe Aridjis’ “Book of Clouds” is a brilliant commentary on perception, illusion, and identity – take the time to read it carefully.

love deluxe

Globalistas Amadou and Mariam’s “Welcome to Mali” is music for the world text_Audrey Guttman photography_Mikaela Gauer Upon meeting married couple Mariam Doumbia and Amadou Bagayoko, one would never suspect the pop stardom they’ve enjoyed since the release of their Manu Chao-produced and internationally praised, Un Dimanche à Bamako. To be black, blind and wildly successful is not a mere feat – especially in France – and I had to be intrigued: they have backed Scissor Sisters, performed at the opening ceremony of the World Cup in Germany, and have just been announced as special guests of Coldplay on their US summer tour… who’s really behind the designer sunglasses? Their warmth, integrity and delicacy shone through from the start of our conversation, as they were eager to delve into detail about Mali’s musical traditions. “There is a huge musical tradition in Mali, because there are many ethnic communities, and each one has its own music. For example, Oumou Sangaré is Wassoulou, Salif Keita is Mandé, Ali Farka Touré is Songhai, and we are Bambara. Then there are two systems: the griots, and the voluntary musicians like us – we are not from the griot tradition but we love to make music. The griots sing famous stories, about conquests and wars, and it is passed on from father to son. We usually address society and everyday life.” And they do so brilliantly, tackling politics and corruption “Ce n’est pas bon”, praising marriage “Compagnon de la vie”, and celebrating solidarity “Africa” with skill and ease. As we chat about love and music, their bond is striking. The couple has played together for almost thirty years. After meeting in a Bamako school for the blind, they found a common love of music and went on to become one of Africa’s most successfully exported acts. Their love for each other – they finish each other’s sentences – transpires into the songs. “We are always together, we travel together, we have common visions on many things. We like the same kind of music”, they add in unison. Mariam writes at night, and Amadou during the day. “The message can be the same but the content needs to always change. We always address society, and speak about love and peace. We believe the world needs peace and love to give hope to people. Don’t give up, life is full of surprises. Love yourselves and others.” In their eagerly awaited follow-up, the duo has refined their sound with the help of producer Damon Albarn (aka Blur/Gorillaz frontman), while remaining true to the musical tradition of Mali. The djembe and guitar are spectacular; the production is slick and polished. The album also features guest appearances by kora player Toumani Diabaté and Somalian rapper K’Naan. Although this blend of styles is nothing new, the combination of Albarn’s ethereal keyboards, the infectious voice of Mariam and a sense of African timelessness hits the right tone, from the opening beats of “Sabali”, somewhere between synth-pop and candid variété. Sabali means patience – and for Mariam, “when you are patient you can have many things, really. For love, you need to be patient. In life, you need to be patient.” Their sound, neither “ethnic” nor “world”, is truly modern global pop that is both multi-lingual and at the crossroads of various influences, hailing the immemorial values of love and solidarity. Filled with optimism and hope for Africa, this ode to humanity resonates in these troubled times… unlike any African music you’ve heard before.

“to be black, blind, and wildly successful is not a mere feat… who’s really behind the designer sunglasses?”

Styles Ahead

photo_Maarten Schets

Dutch International Viktor & Rolf’s fantastical designs may have paved the way, but the new renegades emerging on the Dutch fashion scene insist on pushing the envelope. text_ photography_Claude Grunitzky

Amsterdam may be a metropolis of only one million people, but its influence on world culture is immense. Many of Amsterdam’s cultural exports can be traced back to its roots as a major port where the best Dutch creations were shipped to the whole world, thanks to many innovations in international trade. Natives like to talk about the period known as the Dutch Golden Age, roughly spanning the 17th Century, when Dutch businessmen and artists were considered to be the best in the world, but it must be noted that the new millennium has brought a new renaissance of sorts. In the fashion business the new Dutch vitality can be found in the success of global brands like G-Star and international supermodels like Doutzen Kroes and Lara Stone. 20 year-old G-Star took the insight of “raw” denim a step further into the self-assurance that comes with military uniform styling and created a billion dollar business. Victoria’s Secret Angel Doutzen Kroes is a Vogue and Time magazine cover girl who has parlayed her athletic Northern European look into major advertising campaigns for Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, Calvin Klein and L’Oréal. Gap-toothed bombshell Lara Stone, the face of Givenchy, is a darling of top photographers and fashion editors, including French Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld, who devoted the entire February 2009 edition to Lara’s ultrafeminine figure.

photo_Barrie Hullegie

“There is an entirely new generation waiting in the wings for that big break” Those are the big names, but there is an entirely new generation waiting in the wings for that big break. Local and state governments have been somewhat supportive of the budding fashion ecosystem, enabling smart designers like Marlies Dekkers to build, with just a few small government grants in the form of start-up capital, viable businesses around the export of simple design concepts. (In Dekkers’ case, it was the idea that lingerie could be designed around a simple deconstruction of the layered garment, making women feel dressed and undressed at the same time.) On a fourday visit to Amsterdam last Spring, TRACE was given a guided tour of the new Dutch fashion scene, and the one common thread to our discussions with local designers was the inspiration that was provided by the success of homegrown talents Viktor and Rolf. Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren, both 40, founded their company in 1993, having met while studying fashion at the Arnhem Art Academy. Although they spent most of the late 90s and early 2000s in Paris, pushing their high concept designs and staging shows meant to attract media attention to their witty eccentricities, they struggled to get their label recognized as a true fashion contender until L’Oréal contracted them, in 2006, to develop their first perfume Flowerbomb. Later that year, the Viktor & Rolf collection for H&M proved a big hit, allowing the duo to draw up expansion plans, which were put in place last year when they sold a controlling stake in their company to Diesel owner Renzo Russo’s Only The Brave fashion conglomerate. Although Viktor & Rolf is now a full-fledged label with big commercial ambitions, the duo’s credibility remains deeply rooted in their arthouse sensibilities, and the fact that they continue to work as curators and subjects of major museum exhibitions lends further credibility to their theory that “fashion is an antidote to reality.” In their constant referral to specific pieces from past Viktor & Rolf collections, the new generation of Dutch designers we spoke to seem to acknowledge that some of the duo’s trademark design tricks, such as upside-down and lop-sided dresses, were first developed when they were in art school. This view was shared by several of the young designers gathered under the roof of the Dutch Fashion Foundation, a stomping ground of an institution that is housed at the World Fashion Center in Amsterdam, an imposing set of three 15-storey buildings that is also home to more than 400 showrooms. Angelique Westerhof, an erstwhile fashion director at the short-lived (but truly prescient) fashion magazine Dutch, who happens to run the Foundation, explained that although Amsterdam is still very much “off-center” when it comes to fashion, she interacts daily with quite a few promising, budding talents who could be the next Viktor & Rolfs. Angelique introduced us to this year’s graduating class, as well as to graphic designers and young artists who work closely with the fashion students. After more than a dozen studio visits, we were most impressed by the creativity of young fashion designers Bas Kosters (who also moonlights as a DJ and party promoter), Franciscus van der Meer and Felicia Adelina Mak, as well as by the intricate creations by Miss Blackbirdy and Victor de Bie. On the other side of town is one of the most original epicenters of Dutch fashion: the red light district. If Amsterdam’s garment center is still the World Fashion Center, then the new hub for leading edge designs is the series of buildings on the historic red light district canal. Formerly housing brothels, these buildings have been converted to ateliers for emerging

fashion designers. We visited several of those ateliers, which are part of the Redlight Fashion Amsterdam pilot project, and found that the most original designers on that scene are Mada van Gaans (whose collections are “often inspired by myths around female figures”), Jan Timinau (a self-described romanticist “with a passion for authentic materials and techniques”) and Brigitte Hendrix and Jolanda van den Broek, who design colorful outfits under a label called …And Beyond. TRACE was also invited to a sneak preview of the upcoming Amsterdam International Fashion Week schedule by program director Merle Deterink. Amsterdam International Fashion week, which started only in early 2004 “as an initiative to put Amsterdam on the map as a sparkling and internationally oriented destination for fashion,” is held twice a year in the former Gas factories in Amsterdam’s Westergas neighborhood. Standouts include fashion designer Daryl van Wouw (a rare black Dutchman on the fashion scene who says he is “interested in the clash of cultures”) and the American-born Dutch jewelry designer Bibi van der Velden, who says she makes “wearable works of art” by using materials she discovers along her many travels. However, in our search for the next big thing on the Dutch fashion scene, it appeared that the consensus is that the next Viktor & Rolfs could be Klavers van Engelen, Spijkers & Spijkers, or Monique van Heist. Still, after visiting all those designer studios and conversing with shop owners and fashion experts, there is no doubt that this summer’s Dutch fashion highlight is the Gone with the Wind exhibition at the Zuiderzee Museum in Enkhuizen, another port city located right outside Amsterdam

Designer Mada van Gaans

Concept fashion store Sky

Nelleke Strijkers, owner of Sprmrkt store

Gone with the Wind showcases creations by dozens of high-profile designers of fashion, jewelry and accessories, as well as the work by renowned stylists, photographers and illustrators. With seven pieces, Viktor & Rolf is well represented in the show, which was curated by the fashion designers Alexander van Slobbe and Francisco van Benthum. Alexander and Francisco gave TRACE a guided tour of the exhibition before it opened to the public. The idea, they said, was “to show the history of Dutch fashion, but also to show new work based on our traditions.” Walking through the museum’s different galleries, it became obvious that the elegant way in which the exhibition combines contemporary designs with traditional costumes proves that time-tested Dutch themes – such as the use of bright floral patterns in traditional costumes or the unique method of folding parts of the garments for decorative effect – will endure, inspiring future generations of fashion designers. After all, not all Dutch fashion needs to be highly conceptual. In Amsterdam, we stayed at the Lloyd Hotel & Cultural Embassy in the newly developed Eastern Docklands, tel: +31 20 561 3636 or lloydshotel.com The most interesting shopping experiences in Amsterdam are the stores Van Ravenstein (Keizersgracht 359), Individuals (Spui 23), Sprmrkt (Rozengracht 191-193) and Sky (Herengracht 228) The Arnhem Mode Biennale, which was creative directed by illustrator Piet Paris, is on view until July 6th, 2009 Amsterdam International Fashion Week’s Spring/Summer 2010 shows will take place from July 22nd to 26th Gone with the Wind is showing at the Zuiderzee Museum until November 22nd, 2009

Designer Brigitte Hendrix from the label …And Beyond

Designer Jan Timinau

new day

Living Optimism in Cote text_ photography_Nadia Bettega

D’Ivoire

While traveling in a country with the highest HIV/AIDS rate in West Africa, photographer Nadia Bettega captured the resilience of ten Ivorian women, who share their personal stories about fighting for survival despite the epidemic, and keeping hope alive.

A nation still emerging from the legacy of civil war, Cote d’Ivoire has, since 2003, been one of fifteen “focus countries” to receive funding from the largest single-disease health program ever launched by one nation: the US “President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief” (PEPFAR). Having invested $15 billion in AIDS prevention and treatment over the past five years, Congress voted this July to commit a further $48 billion to the program up to 2013. However, providing treatment to HIV-positive people under PEPFAR is becoming more expensive as many people develop resistance to first-line drugs and require more expensive second-line therapies. Photographer Nadia Bettega traveled across Cote d’Ivoire, a country with the highest HIV infection rate of any in West Africa, to document the human stories that lie at the core of the international efforts to combat the disease. Bettega’s project provides a chronicle of a society facing deep-seated stigmatization of HIV/AIDS. Along the way, she encountered moments of

“Poverty, the stigmatization of HIV and AIDS, the increasing number of infections, and the living and health costs for the poor are just a few of the challenges the volunteers at IDEAL face on a daily basis”. hope and courage: women’s groups speaking out against the social silence surrounding the epidemic; Muslim organizations engaging openly for the first time with the sexual health of their communities; children receiving new treatments which will see them into adulthood. IDEAL, (INITIATIVE DEVELOPPEMENT ENVIRONNEMENT AFRIQUE LIBRE), was born out of the necessity to provide a war-torn local community with humanitarian aid and resources for the increasing number of refugees, homeless, social cases, and those afflicted with illnesses such as AIDS and malaria. In April of 2000, 45-year-old Aboubacar Ouattara teamed up with

several friends who had experience working with non-profit organizations, and created IDEAL in order to “improve the living conditions of people through health, humanitarian aid, and development”. Nadia first met Aboubacar while passing through Korogo, and was inspired by his positive, community-oriented approach. The volunteers at IDEAL undertake a wide variety of projects, provided they receive enough financing. These projects include STD prevention and HIV education, nutritional support, medical advice for sex workers, advice and voluntary testing, malaria information, orphan and childcare, as well as agricultural projects that generate income for the community. Poverty, the stigmatization of HIV and AIDS, the increasing number of infections, and the living and health costs for the poor are just a few of the challenges the volunteers at IDEAL face on a daily basis. “Poverty, hunger, the AIDS epidemic – these problems often occur because people are not educated. Often they cannot read or write, and the percentage of children who go to school is very low”, Aboubacar explains. Of course, the program is difficult to sustain as a non-profit due to lack of finances. “A lot of our basic income is based on subsistence agriculture, so the basic household income is low. We try to promote activities that not only generate revenue more efficiently, but encourage parents to send their children to school, especially young girls.” Despite the challenges, Aboubacar has witnessed the significant impact IDEAL has had on hundreds of lives. “In 2005, IDEAL was the only organization in this region which looked after victims of HIV. We helped a patient who was very sick to do his medical check up and put him on ARVs. We informed his two wives, who were not HIV positive, and his family so that everyone would provide him with emotional support. One of his wives then got pregnant. When his wife gave birth, he asked us for permission to name the child IDEAL. Until this day we continue to look after his children as unfortunately he has since passed away.” The following 10 images present 10 remarkable women, their stories and views about living a full life with HIV/AIDS. Together, these images form a portrait of a nation in transition, as it seeks to fight an epidemic on two fronts: through the delivery of massive international aid and the transformation of deeply entrenched social prejudices.

YĂŠo Mawa

Yeo Womboo Finin

Yeo Womboo Finin 50 years old

Yéo Mawa 40 years old

Widow with 4 children

Married with 3 children

I am HIV positive and I have only known this for three months. For 13 years, I suffered from chronic illnesses. I used to think it was an evil eye that had been cast on me. After a medical check-up, the doctor discovered my illness. He put me in for treatment without telling me that I was positive, as he thought I was not fit to receive such news. When my health improved after a few months, he informed me about my condition and recommended that I go to IDEAL. Knowing about my state of health was an initial shock, and that shock gave way to fear. Where did I get it? Was this the end of my life? The doctor and the people from IDEAL helped me understand that AIDS does not mean death, and that I can be like anyone else who is healthy. Sometimes, the people around me don’t understand HIV. I think they would be surprised to know that I was positive. I feel healthy and well and I can carry on with my activities and take care of my family. That is the main thing that drives me. What I value most are ARV’s – they are the passport for my life. I know that without ARV’s, I can have a relapse. What brings me peace is the gaze of my children, seeing them happy. I want to see them become models of society. And I will fight for them. I fight this, for them. IDEAL helps me with everything – especially to overcome the anguish I felt when I first heard I was positive. They also provide food and health care at home. My wish is for an effective HIV cure to be found in order to save children in the future. I want to ask people to treat those with AIDS like they would treat anyone else. Don’t be scared or frightened. Be strong.

I am HIV positive, and I have known for 2 years. Before I found out, I was frequently ill – diarrhoea, malaria, weight loss – and my health did not improve, despite taking medication. The doctor decided to test me for HIV. I did not refuse the test, because I had not done anything wrong and did not think anything would come of it. It was a big surprise when I found out the result was positive. The doctor had surely given me someone else’s results by mistake! Me, who had never been with a man other than the father of my children - it wasn’t possible! To die so early - and my children! Who was going to look after them given that I am their only provider? They say that HIV kills. This is just one prejudice that exists about HIV sufferers, but it is a lie. Those who have these types of prejudices don’t have all the facts. People would be surprised to know that I have this virus because of my appearance, and my frequent illnesses have stopped. I am not yet on ARVs. Today my opinion of my illness has changed. For a start, I know that the illness can be transmitted in a number of ways, and that medications can improve my health – although I’ve been told that it is incurable. IDEAL helped to change my point of view. I got to know about IDEAL through my aunt, because she knew someone who was being helped by the organisation. They give us food, follow our medical progress without charging us a penny (which is not the case with the hospital), and give us free medication, if we cannot afford to pay for it. The home visits are a joy for me – they are what I value the most. They make me feel that people outside those who are close to me care about my plight. I feel at peace during the support group meetings, as the sessions allow me to share my worries with other people. I wish there was a cure for AIDS. Everyone should take an HIV test, even if they fear it.

“Knowing about my state of health was an initial shock, and that shock gave way to fear. Where did I get it? Was this the end of my life?”

“They say that HIV kills. This is just one prejudice that exists about HIV sufferers, but it is a lie.”

Coulibaly Bintou 42 years old Childless widow For years, I lived with my husband in Yamoussoukro, as he battled a long-time illness. When he died, I decided to return to my family in Korhogo. Then it was my turn to fall ill with the same symptoms as my husband. My brother suggested I take the HIV test, and it was then that I discovered I was HIV positive. I immediately felt guilty for the death of my husband, because if we had known earlier he would still be in this world. At the beginning I was only concerned with improving my health. I only had one question: was there any treatment for this? I was sick of being a burden on my family on account of the many prescriptions demanded by the illness. I got in touch with IDEAL through a friend of mine, and they started me on necessary treatment. My appearance and health improved, due to the ARV’s. For those of us living with AIDS, ARV’s are a gift from God. I am so grateful for this. Today I feel a lot stronger, and I am open about my status. I think it is important to be positive about it so that the illness does not take over my life. I must stay strong for those around me. It’s hard though, because people are not properly informed – many people who are HIV positive are pariahs. However, this does not discourage me. My mission is to lift the veil of misconception about HIV that covers so many people’s eyes. I have a desire to survive and live! Life is beautiful. If I had one wish, it would be for a cure, and that I could remarry and have at least one child. Be happy and positive. Sharing your status helps and you would be surprised by how many are in the same situation as you, even if it doesn’t always feel that way.

“For those of us living with AIDS, ARV’s are a gift from God. I am so grateful for this.”

Makoura 42 years old

Ouattara Bocoum Fatou 42 years old

Single with no children

2 children

I am HIV positive and I discovered it while I was donating blood. At the beginning I told myself that there must be a problem with the test because I did not show any signs or symptoms. Three years later, the signs started to appear – tuberculosis, malaria, recurrent diarrhoea– and as I had left the family home because of differences with my father, some people said that it was a curse. Then one of my cousins, who is an educator in the community, recommended I take the test and the result came out the same: HIV positive. I knew that I certainly was HIV positive. I felt so distraught; I tried to kill myself several times, which left its mark as I can no longer have children. I was scared and felt alone. Despite all this, I feel that I have grown a lot from this experience and I consider myself blessed. I was given a lot of love and support from my family, and this inspired me to move on and upwards. My cousin led me to IDEAL, and now I have been able to rise above this difficult challenge. Now I have so much energy and I feel at ease – the sky is my limit and I have the possibility to do everything I have dreamed of doing. To be sick with AIDS isn’t necessarily a handicap – you can live a full life. I didn’t know this before, but now I am living it. I am a witness, a living witness to this. Whether or not you are HIV positive, know that we are all the same. People are people. Fear doesn’t need to get in the way.

I found that I was HIV positive when I took a prenatal test. At the beginning, it was difficult for me to accept and I was especially scared for the child I was expecting. I was also worried about my husband’s reaction, even though he insisted that I take the test in the first place. I remember I wanted to lie about my HIV status. I used to hide when the tests were offered at the clinic but over time, despite being jovial, I grew very thin. My husband told me to tell the gynaecologist. I felt bad about lying to him, but the anxiety of having an HIV positive child got to me. I began treatment, for my child and myself. I stopped breast-feeding my son Franck after 6 months, and he was spared. Then the questioning started again. My mother in law, who lived with us, said she did not understand why women these days wanted to stop breast-feeding so quickly. I couldn’t stand it anymore. My doctor advised me to share my status with my husband, and I did. I was greatly surprised when he told me that he was also HIV positive, and that was why he insisted I take the test. We were both living in fear of the same thing. But now we are in this together and we feel strong. The doctor referred us to IDEAL for our check ups in our community. I feel at my best today when I am with my children and my husband, as they are all that I have most dear and I thank God that my children are not HIV positive, which is even more reason to stay positive and to surround them with love. I can no longer be angry with others who judge me. Ignorance pushes people to do many things. To know your status is to gain in life.

“The sky is my limit and I have the possibility to do everything I have dreamed of doing.”

“To know your status is to gain in life.”

Coulibaly Bintou

Makoura

Ouattara Bocoum Fatou

Fattoumata Married for 9 years HIV for 4 years 4 children Before I was diagnosed, I was the typical housewife who took care of her husband and children and worked in the market. When I started getting sick, I stopped working because I was so tired. Then I started taking medication, and now I am able to work and take care of my children. I also give talks to fellow HIV-positive people. HIV has taught me that life goes on and there’s always a tomorrow. I give thanks for all the good and bad things that have happened to me. Everything that happens in life teaches you something and you can always build on that for the future.

“HIV has taught me that life goes on and there’s always a tomorrow.”

Marie Louise

Clement 43 years old 4 children

I just found out that I am HIV positive. What are my dreams? To live a full life, to be happy, to work, to love, to feel love, to grow old, to see my children grow up, to see their children – to die with peace. I feel at peace the most in the morning, just as I wake up. If there is rain, it can feel even more so. I am not on treatment yet; my CD4 count is not high enough. I have no children, I am not married. I have told my partner, but he finds it hard to talk about it. What would people find surprising about me? I sometimes like to dance in my room when no one is watching – as if I am a famous singer. My message would be – love each other.

“I sometimes like to dance in my room when no one is watching – as if I am a famous singer.”

I live in Korogo. My story is similar to the others, as I didn’t think it could happen to me and found it very difficult to accept. But I feel happy to be here. I believe that I will be around to see my children grow up and stay healthy. The people who believe in me keep my faith going, and I keep myself motivated. I’ve always been an optimist. I believe we are here on this earth for a purpose and I have yet to fulfill mine. I have also learned that if you love yourself and those around you, you attract the same thing back to yourself. I have nothing to hide. I do not see myself as a victim and am honest to those around me. I explain to them what this is, how it works, what can be done and how we can live. I see life as an opportunity. A great opportunity that we have all been given together.

“I see life as an opportunity. A great opportunity that we have all been given together.”

Fattoumata

Marie Louise

Clement

“I dream to be an emblematic figure of the fight against HIV/AIDS in the Ivory Coast and Africa.”

Semi Lou Bly Bertine 45 years old 1 child I am HIV positive. I would like to share with you my experience as a HIV positive woman and mother. It all started in April 1997. I had recently given birth, and everything was going well. Ten months later, my health started to deteriorate. I was continuously ill. During my pregnancy, I had the opportunity to do an HIV test but I was very scared, so I refused. I lost my first child. Time passed, I regained some strength and I became pregnant. Then my health started to deteriorate again. At the clinic, the doctor asked if I would do an HIV/AIDS test. I said yes without hesitating as I had lost 13 kilos and I was tired of being ill all the time. Two weeks later, I got the results of the test: I was HIV positive! HIV positive! This was hard, very hard! I started the treatment to avoid transmitting the virus to the child I was carrying. For a long time I hesitated to tell anyone about my status, even those close to me. Some people were already gossiping that I had AIDS. I would disagree and show them the result of a test that read “negative”; which was in fact a test for malaria. I couldn’t hold out for very long. This lie bothered me. One day, I told the members of my family I was HIV positive. This left them completely shocked and scared. Even though they found it difficult to imagine that I was HIV positive, they were ready for my death. It was extremely hard for the members of my family. It took time and a lot of information in order to demystify the illness. Bit by bit, I put weight on and the treatment enabled me to find an aspect of normality in my life. The fact that I was able to have another child without HIV changed my family’s idea about AIDS. My HIV status brought me to fully engage myself in the fight against HIV. I am currently a community adviser at the hospital of Treichville (an area of Abidjan) that deals with HIV positive mothers. Together with some friends, I set up an organisation called Femmes Actives, where we meet newly diagnosed mothers to be, and ensure that everything goes for the best. Sometimes, I am obliged to tell them my story and to meet their partner. Very few people accept the fact that I am HIV positive but it’s true! I remember a woman who cried of happiness when I told her that despite my HIV positive status, I was able to have a child, and on top of that my daughter was HIV negative. I told her: “don’t cry as you do, you will be

called to tell your story one day”. I fight every day to mobilise resources and improve the conditions for the women living with HIV; to acquire vehicles for home visits, and coordinate activities across several regions in the Ivory Coast. My husband supports me in the fight against the illness. Sometimes, to convince the partners of those infected with HIV, I call on my husband. Some members of his family, those who are a bit more aware, are informed of my HIV positive status and this has not created any problems. It is time that people rid themselves of the idea that HIV/AIDS equals immediate death – longevity and purpose exist. My husband, my daughter and myself lead an ordinary family life. We go out, we have fun, we have picnics on the beach, we bath ourselves, like any one else. Regarding our private life, we use condoms and practice monogamy. As you can see, those who carry the virus are no different from others. Some will say that I am a person who has been paid to play a role. But I am HIV positive and have gone through all the stages of the illness – just like millions of others. Some people are so distraught by their states that they throw themselves away – but it’s not necessary to get to that stage. I therefore tell all those who are HIV positive, that it’s not the end of the world. You can be HIV positive and still make your dreams come true! And I have many dreams. I dream to be an emblematic figure of the fight against HIV/AIDS in the Ivory Coast and Africa. I dream that work and efforts in life prosper. I dream to work in the system of the United Nations. I dream to be invited to the White house by Michelle Obama. AIDS well and truly exists but it is not a death sentence. For those who are infected, hope is possible – medication and support are facilitators but the strength is also within you. The former relies on material and financial support – whereas the latter relies on you and the love of those around you. We all have the possibility of life.

Semi Lou Bly Bertine

art eternal

Samuel Fosso’s

African Pantheon text_Audrey Guttman photography_Samuel Fosso In ‘African Spirits’, photographer Samuel Fosso re-interprets photographic icons of great leaders from the African Independencies, Civil Rights Movement in the US or Black cultural titans, bringing to light a a contemporary and underrepresented African sensibility. His flawless portrayal of négritude from Aimé Césaire to Angela Davis, set in post-colonial times, is an homage to those who paved the way. You have been making self-portraits for over twenty years. Why interpret these historical figures today? My series are in my head for years before I produce them. They mature, recompose, then the moment arrives, and that’s it. My future series have also been in my head for a long time. Your pantheon is filled with icons – isn’t it paradoxical to have celebrities represent the African spirit? Doesn’t it corroborate a western perception of modern Africa? They are not celebrities, they are legendary founding figures. I don’t know what the western perception of Africa is. Is there only one? With these arranged portraits, you revisit the history of a whole continent. Can humor transcend the weight of the past? Are these stagings comparable to a representation, an allegory, a disguise? I’m not pretending to revisit anything from the past, but to inscribe history in me – it is my story first and foremost. Humor is not really my goal, it doesn’t bother me if my work is interpreted in that way. It is about my representation, there is no question of allegory or disguise. What differences do you see between the response to your work in Paris, the US and Africa? There are none, same disbelief, same question, same interest. At the end of this election year, how do you perceive the renewal of the debate on racial identity? There was no election year where I live, in Republic of Centrafrique! I am very proud that Barack Obama is President of the United States. The fact that he is black and of African origin is something to be proud of but, viewed from here (Bangui), it doesn’t go, for now, any further than that. How do you define modern African identity? I think the concept of négritude has been modern for a very very long time!

Muhammed Ali

…As in all my works, I am both character and director. I don’t put myself in the photographs: my work is based on specific situations and people I am familiar with, things I desire, rework in my imagination and afterward, I interpret. I borrow an identity. In order top succeed I immerse myself in the necessary physical and mental state. It’s a way of freeing me from myself. A solitary path. I am a solitary man.” Samuel Fosso, in “Samuel Fosso”, 5 Continents Editions, Milan.

Leópold Sedar Senghor

Kwame Nkrumah

Dewey Davis III

Martin Luther King Jr

John Carlos

Malcolm X

Salif Keita

Angela Davis

Haile Selassie

AimĂŠ CĂŠsaire

Nelson Mandela

Patrice Lumumba

Martin Luther King Jr

Samuel Fosso, Autoportrait, “African Spirits” ©Samuel Fosso 2008 courtesy jean marc patras / galerie

Escapism

LimingandWining the birthplace of the party – Trinidad & Tobago’s Carnival text_Keita Dem min g

r photography_Jas on Gar dne

Describing the Trinidadian or Trini carnival experience is like trying to describe the best day of your life over the span of three days. Trini carnival is begins on J’ouvert morning, well before dawn, when revelers hit the streets smearing paint, oil, mud and water over each other, while dancing to Calypso music blasted from the backs of trucks. Later in the day, the sea of muddy revelers turns into a sea of beautiful colors as masqueraders hit the streets dressed in beautiful costumes. In Trinidad, carnival is a time for celebration and a time of freedom. The tradition stems from the time of slavery, when slaves were given two days of freedom. During this time, slaves would take to the streets dressed in colorful costumes that showcased their rich African heritage. Today, the carnival experience has evolved, but the atmosphere and the feeling of freedom is still present. Known as the most festive island in the Caribbean, carnival really stops in Trinidad. The lead up to it all starts in August when bands host events in order to entice patrons to join their band. Then, for months after carnival, bands host parties and events to thanks patrons for choosing to play in their band. The Carnival experience lies somewhere between a trip on some kind of psychedelic drug, and a fantastic workout. Participants spend two days dancing, singing, and reveling through the streets of Port of Spain, meeting new people, old friends and two-day friends. The experience reminds me of when I was a child and would talk to any other child in the room with little hesitation. Revelers shed all social restraint and invite others into their lives regardless of their creed or race. Carnival is our culture in Trinidad. We live by the phrase “do ask meh to wok for carnival”. For a Trinidadian, carnival is in our blood. Life is nothing without the party. Life is nothing without taking time to celebrate, let loose, be free and forget all the worries of the world. Carnival is our country’s psychologist, and it cleanses us from life’s worries and prepares us for the year to come.

Surround Sound

thefutureof

sound

Elvis is back â&#x20AC;&#x201C; in the form of Korean-born, w orld-bred eclecti c music sensatio n JIHAE tex t_M ikae la Ga ue r

photography_J os

h Roth stei n

I dare you. Listen to any track off of rising star Jihae’s latest album, Elvis is Still Alive, and try to define it. You might say sultry. Dark. Rhythmic. Poetic. But according to genre: it is alternative? Pop? Electronica? However you try to characterize Jihae’s intricate melodies and haunting vocals, one thing is for sure – its strangely hypnotic. “I think people need categorization, and I don’t blame them, because often you have to categorize in order to know what you want to be listening to. I get it. But you’ll have to put me in five or six categories, cause I just like to experiment and play with sound, whether I go rock or electro or whatever. I’m not going to limit myself to one genre.” Judging from her previous two releases, My Heart is an Elephant and her Afterthought EP, Jihae doesn’t seem like the type of girl to ever limit herself. Born in Korea, raised in Nigeria and Sweden, and finally settling in New York City, she has constantly pushed the boundaries that define the norm. Nine years ago, Jihae found herself in a situation familiar to most who migrate to NYC in search of something different, whether it is glitz and glamour or simply a new environment. “I was broke, I had no direction, and I was trying to figure out what to do,” Jihae recalls the difficulty of trying to determine her future. “New York is brutal. Most people go through the initiation process and just get burnt and leave. It’s a tough city.” True to her character, instead of burning out, Jihae let her situation ignite her creative juices in the form of poetry. Inspired by her roommate, who was in a band at the time, Jihae turned her poetic prose into lyrics and thus began the birth of her musical journey. She insists that her first couple of songs were horrible, but she kept at it, moving to London and continuing to experiment with music before returning to record a demo in New York. Experimentalism definitely explains why every track on Elvis is Still Alive sounds different than the last, as some songs boast wailing electric guitars and haunting cello strings, while others a myriad of percussion and harmonies layered on top of keyboard digital effects. “I’m going to use whatever sounds and noises I want to make that song’s meaning come out,” Jihae explains, as she worked hard and fast with a variety of musicians to produce her latest album. “We lay down the basics in two days, and after that we spent two to three weeks writing overdubs and doing vocals.” It’s hard to believe with all of its musical intricacies, Jihae and her band, including two producers, Jean Luc Sinclair (NYU Professor for Music, who focused on composition and synthesis) and Ivan Evangelista (Professor at Touro College), put the entire project together in one month.

“The production really shined with Ivan and Jean Luc’s collaboration with me. Their aesthetic tastes are rock and experimental/electronic, spectrums both of which I appreciate and like to combine”. Elvis is Still Alive is the kind of mixed tape to play on a late night drive or at a Lower East Side dance party. And although the sultry, yet almost eerie nature of Jihae’s sound may fall into line with Björk or Tom Waits, her sound has been defined by her own individual experiences and mixed tape memories. “At some point, you do get influenced by someone deeply and profoundly. When I was 16, my older sister was in high school in New York, and we would send each other mixed tapes. I knew she was a huge fan of Nina Simone, and so I went to Papa Jazz in South Carolina, which is a used CD and Vinyl shop, and I found Nina. I listened to the album before I sent it to my sister. And there was something about Nina Simone’s voice that really shook me… it wasn’t so much how beautifully she sang, I mean, I thought she was a man initially! It was more how she delivered it – her emotion. That was the first time I was really inspired and moved by a songwriter.” Currently, Jihae is working on promoting her new album, filming a music video, and of course experimenting with creative side projects. She is developing an audio/video art installation that was inspired by a quote from the German cultural critic Walter Benjamin, whose assessment of gramophone records is enabling “the original to meet the beholder halfway.” The art installation features aspects of visual installation in real time with live performance by Jihae with songs deconstructed into their basic components, each explored in several ways by the band and presented as a work in constant flux, free from form, as the composer might experience it in the writing stages. “What I got out of that,” referring to the theme of the production, “is that a song or piece of music is a result of a displaced event, inspiration or experience from its original time, translated and processed into the sonic medium. So, a piece of music or a song exists only as a reproduction of that particular time. The whole idea of this installation is immersing the beholder into the realm or the gap that’s usually only experienced by the composer like a flashback of the creative/composition process.” As Jihae continues to ignite the music and art scene with her fresh sound and defiant style, keep your eyes and ears open. Whether or not Elvis has come back to us reincarnated as the eccentric rising star, there is no question that Jihae is alive and ringing in a whole new generation of sound.

Asa

The Audacity to be Different

text_Audrey Guttman photography_ Lauren Dukoff Asa (pronounced Asha) likes to do things her way. When a student-led strike erupted at her university in Nigeria, she left to study music theory. When she couldn’t find a musical counterpart, she took up the guitar, and was performing on stage a mere six months later. She explains this in a matterof-fact way, relaxed in a conference room at her New York label, Downtown Records. The same determination underlies her music: soft, intimate chords that conceal political undertones, with a strong whiff of rebellion. Although new to the United States, she is already an established artist in France, and is comfortable playing the interview game with ease and skill. Her story could be told around an elliptical timeline. Born in Paris, Asa was raised in Lagos, Nigeria, and achieved fame upon returning to France. Yet it could also be weaved around the music figures she is so keen to summon, such as Nigerian super star Fela Kuti: “Fela had the audacity to be different. Back home, religion holds everybody together. They are bound by morals. Fela didn’t fear anything – he spoke the truth, went out of the easy way. I draw inspiration from Fela Kuti and Bob Marley, two of my biggest influences. They are the same person, they just bear different names. They broke rules. They started something. Music is universal.” Asa grew up in a musical scene dominated by the likes of Fela, Orlando Julius, and Sunny Ade. Now she’s opening for John Legend and Beyoncé. But she could care less about being famous – to go pick up her prize at the highly-mediatized Prix Constantin competition in Paris, she turned down the chauffeur and took her bike. And she won, justifiably so, with a selftitled album bursting at the seams with passion, and featuring a handful of melodic songs to treasure.... Call it a folk ballad with a story to tell, trimmed with countless reggae notes. Or call it a sprawling work of world music, complete with deep-rooted spirituality and forceful rants.... I’ll just call it wonderful, and a welcome anomaly on the global music scene. The reggae and ska influence is unmistakable, giving her folk-infused afro-beat sound a twist. Her voice warms you, and you are effortlessly transported into her

universe, through touches of Yoruba, a Nigerian dialect, and curious sound effects. “I collect lots of music; I go out and listen to what other people play. There is a need for sharing. No idea is original. My bid is to be versatile, ready for collaboration, informed by musical styles around the world.” That open-mindedness infuses the philosophy of her music, as she proclaims her secret: “Being local, but thinking global. Experiencing other people’s culture, people from everywhere gather around, you see creativity everywhere you turn.” But hitting the right tune is only part of the story. There is universal truth in Asa’s music. In a flood of songs about love and sex, it is truly gratifying to come upon lyrics that sound harmonious and make sense. Don’t let the smooth instrumentals and honey voice fool you - her lyrics are forceful, as she sings in Jailer: “Am in chains, you’re in chains too”. She has written and composed nearly every song on the album, including “Eyé àdabà” a compelling song about peace whose lyrics translate as “I see doves in the sky/ Birds flying high/ Then in silence/ I pray for peace/ For my people”. “Fire on the Mountain” speaks of the African military-caused bloodbath: “I wake up in the morning, tell you what I see on my TV screen, I see the

“ ‘My bid is to be versatile, ready for collaboration, informed by musical styles around the world’”. blood of an innocent child, and everybody’s watching”. Her conscience of her privileged status is acute: “As a Nigerian women, I broke the rules. The music scene is male-dominated, society is myopic. We need to educate ourselves. Education is a luxury in Nigeria, and in Africa. And the borders are so tight. If you make it, you are triumphant, you become a menace to society”. She has ignited comparisons from Lauryn Hill to Angélique Kidjo, but in truth, Asa is different from anything you’ve heard before. If she crafts protest music, the listening experience feels effortless and never patronizing. For her wish is to “heal, to be positive”. She adds, “as there are more wars, there’s need for more music. People need to smile!”

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TERRANOVA Against all odds, 17 resilient young refugees have resettled in New York City in pursuit of their American dreams. text_Claude Grunitzky photography_Emmanuel AndrĂŠ

Isabelle Glimcher is an 18 year-old New Yorker who took a year off after high school to volunteer with the International Rescue Committee’s New York Regional Resettlement Office. In the fall, she will start her freshman year at Harvard. She says that the most amazing thing about the refugee students pictured on the following pages is that “they’ve seen incredibly horrible things, but they’re still optimistic and haven’t given up on civilization.” The IRC is a highly respected 75 year-old non-profit organization known for going into crisis zones around the world to provide emergency relief for refugees and lead them to new, safer homelands like New York and London. The IRC relies on volunteers and motivated field operatives for the missions, both on the ground and in the resettlement offices. Many people are now aware of Darfur, and horror stories are often recounted for the news media, but few know how appalling the humanitarian conditions actually are in the refugee camps of Darfur, or in countries like Nepal, which is recovering from a decade-long civil war in which an estimated 13,000 people were killed. Bradford Adams, an American law student who worked previously with the IRC in Darfur, recalls a conversation he had with a gentleman called Idriss Ismael. Idriss was a resident of a displaced persons camp who had been working with Bradford’s group as a water supply technician, operating three wells that distributed water to 20 tapstands in a camp of 40,000 people. Idriss was responsible for making sure that the pumps kept working, the pipes stayed clear, and that broken water taps were replaced. It is a huge problem when water stops running in a camp of that size, and Idriss was the man who carried the responsibility of making sure the water kept flowing. Bradford met with Idriss because Idriss had earned a promotion to be a team supervisor. “When I got to talking about the change to his modest salary, he stopped me and he paused for a long time, looking a little offended. He said to me, ‘I’m not working here for the money. I live in this camp. I was living here for months before anybody came to help us. And during that entire time I was working to bring water to the camp, without any money from anybody. I like working with IRC, but I am not working for money.’” Bradford says that each resident of that camp worked for their survival and for the preservation of their dignity as a community. In Darfur, Bradford’s job was to help bring some supplies, training, and organization to the camp, but what he remembers most clearly is the camp residents’ determination to preserve their integrity, as people and as a community, despite massive physical and emotional threats. None of the refugees in these photos come from Darfur, but the scars are apparent nonetheless. For this photographic portfolio, we selected 17 promising New York City-based students from the IRC’s “Leaders in Training” program – a Saturday session driven by a series of activities rallied around a strong drive towards achievement through emulation. We asked them two not-quite-sosimple questions: “What is the American Dream to you?” And “What kind of leader do you want to be?” Although English is not their first language, many of these students (who were born and suffered hardship in lands like Guinea and Nepal) have been able to do well in the New York City high school system. To them, America is synonymous with ambition and freedom, but perseverance seems to be a unifying theme in their answers, which collectively give quite a bit of insight into just how hard they are willing

to work to rebuild their young lives in America. One of the most famous refugees affiliated with the IRC is 28 year-old Ishmael Bah, the author of the best-selling book “A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier,” and in conversations with this group it became clear that civil war is an undercurrent to many of their early life experiences. These pictures were taken in January and February, so the promise of the new Obama presidency loomed large over most answers (and t-shirt choices). 29 year-old Goldie Fernandes is another IRC volunteer who works as a teacher at the New York office. He first heard about the IRC from his sister, who had worked there before moving to a refugee camp in Kenya. Goldie’s sister told him that he would have a direct effect on these underprivileged children, and that the experience would be very different from teaching in a public school, which is what he initially wanted to do with his life. “When I started working with these kids, I learned how privileged I am. I don’t complain as much as I used to.” Indeed, the stories are moving. Poe Lah Koe, who comes from Burma, gets up at 5:30am five days a week to go to work at an Amish market in Manhattan. 18 year-old Kadidja Ata is from the Central African Republic. Her father was assassinated when she was a child, and she fled with her mother and brother to Cameroon before coming to New York in 2007. Her selfconfidence started to develop when she enrolled at the Bronx International School. Kadidja is friends with Abdoul Diallo, an affable 19 year-old from Guinea who has emerged as the de facto leader of the “Leaders in Training” program. Abdoul, whose childhood was tainted by the knowledge that his father would be in prison for a long time, has turned into a sharp and witty (and very social) bookworm. In addition to fluent English, Abdoul speaks French and the West African languages Fulani and Soussou. At the time of our interview, he was waiting to hear back from several colleges, including Princeton, where he recently traveled for an interview and applied for full scholarship. Although America is still, in many ways, perceived to be the Promised Land, some of these students remain very much attached to their home countries, and one could tell that they miss the traditions they had to leave behind. On the day of the first shoot, Helen Samuels wore a pink polo shirt to celebrate Thai Royalty. “The pink is for the queen,” she told me. “We wear the yellow shirt on Mondays, because we want to show that we respect and love our King.” Elizabeth Demchak, the 28 year-old Education Services Officer who schooled us on the students’ particular affinities and guided us through some of the more complex psychological considerations, says that, above all, she is impressed by the group’s resiliency. “They all have experienced different levels of trauma and conflict. Yet they are still able to acknowledge their past while moving forward. Their resilient spirits drive their determination to make a change.” Elizabeth, who has worked as a teacher in the New York City Public School system, has gained quite a bit of pedagogical experience from teaching in Williamsburg while pursuing, on and off, her Masters in International Affairs at the New School. She revealed that, before admitting students into the “Leaders in Training” program, she checks their English language proficiency and carefully evaluates their sense of maturity and awareness. “It’s really about how much they want to be advocates for themselves,” she admitted. In essence, these interviews show that there are many different ways of being a leader.

“ ‘ They all have experienced different levels of trauma and conflict. Yet they are still able to acknowledge their past while moving forward. Their resilient spirits drive their determination to make a change’”.

George Tarr 17 Liberia What is the American Dream to you? To live your life, have a house, a family, and children. The American Dream is to be somebody. What kind of leader do you want to be? I just want to help people, like the president of my country, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who helped to end the 15-year civil war in my country. I may become a doctor.

Kadira Mouhamed 17 Togo What is the American Dream to you? A change you can make for your future? It is an opportunity to achieve to your goals. What kind of leader do you want to be? A Leader is someone who gains respect, by listening, supporting and helping people. My goal is to become a doctor. I want to help people who are sick and one day help people in my country.

Tek Nath Gautam 18 Bhutan What is the American Dream to you? To be great and continue my studies and help the poor and orphans of this society. I would love to help this nation, the USA, and also my own country. What kind of leader do you want to be? A political leader.

Omar Bah 17 Sierra Leone What is the American Dream to you? A lot of things. A black president in America, which came out of MLK’s fight for equality. Obama’s “Yes We can” spoke to people. Today, every vote counts and women are next. It’s a democracy. What kind of leader do you want to be? Someone like Barack Obama, who is an honest leader. It doesn’t matter where you came from. He doesn’t use the words ‘black on white’. I wasn’t born here, otherwise I would have run for President of the USA too. But I can go work for the UN, and help people in places like Israel, Palestine and Somalia.

Tuka Neupaney 20 Nepal What is the American Dream to you? I want to help the people, and that comes from getting a good education. What kind of leader do you want to be? I want to become a doctor. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve wanted that since I was a child. I want to help the poor people. I like to learn about the different types of diseases and medicine.

Ida Adjivon 14 Togo What is the American Dream to you? My future was a question to me when I was in Togo. The best-paid jobs were only for those who work in the government and those people are usually the family members and friends of the president. Since I came here I am free to choose whatever I would like to be and plan a goal without fear of someone or something interrupting it. All I need now is willpower. What kind of leader do you want to be? I want to be a leader, and a respectful one. I want to help everyone I can and try to establish a good future for my next generation! I want to help in all the ways I can.

Abdul Diallo 19 Guinea What is the American Dream to you? Learning English, the most important language in the world. I also want to go to college, and become a doctor. What kind of leader do you want to be? I do not want to be involved in politics or the government. It is important to be respectful, to have empathy for others, to recognize peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s qualities, and to accept people for who they are, not what you want them to be.

Moti Kharel 19 Nepal What is the American Dream to you? It’s like the IRC group, from harm to home. It’s about a better life, and a better future. When you come here, you realize that America is heaven, because I don’t have to face what I faced in my country. What kind of leader do you want to be? I want to be a social leader, a social worker who works for the community, using the tolls of technology.

Raghu Chimoriya 17 Nepal What is the American Dream to you? The American students and the American people, theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been able to develop the country and make it successful. What kind of leader do you want to be? I want to be the leader of a group, like Christopher Columbus did when he came to America, and our mission will be to bring education to Nepal and other places like India.

Hassanatou Bah 18

Housseinatou Bah 18

Guinea

What is the American Dream to you? Everything is different for Africa. It’s not like women have to be in the kitchen. We all have an opportunity.

What is the American Dream to you? To live my life, and not worry about what’s going to happen tomorrow.

What kind of leader do you want to be? I don’t know yet. It’s up to God. I just want to have a normal life. It doesn’t have to be so big.

What kind of leader do you want to be? Someone who will listen and share.

Helen I. Samuels 16 Thailand What is the American Dream to you? People who do not believe in the dream need to understand that if you keep going, you can get there, as long as you have the freedom. What kind of leader do you want to be? I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t like the idea of one leader very much, because in a group some people just follow the leader and ask for help. In a group, everyone should be a leader, even if one person is at the top. I would love to be a leader at a place like UNHCR, and help the people who need it the most.

Mariam Sanogo 16 Mauritania What is the American Dream to you? If you have the knowledge and the courage, you can achieve your dream. What kind of leader do you want to be? I want to be a great leader, not just someone that tries to control everybody. I want to give people structure for their ideas, so that one day they can become a leader just like me.

Aissatou Diop 16 Guinea What is the American Dream to you? Liberty, Happiness and Achieving your goals for all that you want to be. For me that is to be as educated as possible and to one day become a doctor. What kind of leader do you want to be? I want to be the leader of my country, the President. I want to be a role model, so I need to be the best that I can be. That way I can help people, being there for them if they need me.

Poe Lah Koe 20 Burma What is the American Dream to you? Obama. What kind of leader do you want to be? I want to help my people in Burma to come out of their difficult life. I came here, with only my older sister, without the rest of my family. I have a vision to go to school, college, and after that I can go back to my country and help my family. I am practicing my English, my computer skills, and my knowledge of American history so that my life can improve, just like our president Obamaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s.

Kadidja Ata

19 Central African Republic What is the American Dream to you? Whoever you are, whatever you want to do, you can do it. What kind of leader do you want to be? I would like to put people in the right direction, and help to show them what is good and what is bad.

Parbat Chapagai 15 Nepal What is the American Dream to you? I was a refugee in Nepal. We were not treated well in Nepal, and had to stay in a camp. My parents and I were not free to go out. Now, in America we are free and we see a lot of people doing well. Especially with our new President Obama, who is new and doing great things. As a new person, I feel that I, too, can achieve the American dream. What kind of leader do you want to be? I want to inspire people to be educated, not to have to depend on others, not to hate others, like we were hated in Nepal. The only way to fight for freedom is to be educated.

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Extra special thanks to Elizabeth Demchak, James Lenton, Vida Mulec, Louis André, Matthieu André, Lio Malca, Hong Tam André, Geraldine Levy, and Heather Gorman. For more information on the International Rescue Committee, please visit www.theirc.org. These pictures are being exhibited at the Lio Malca Gallery, 526 West 26th Street, in New York City until June 26th.

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Behind the scenes with Courtney C. and TRACE fashion stylist Robyn F

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Our annual Black Girls Rule! issue is like a barometer. Each year, when we think about what the central idea of this issue means to us now, we take inventory of the new developments we feel most important to our readers, starting with beauty and style and identity, but ultimately centering on personal power. This year, everything seems new. People all around the world are realizing that capitalism had become a parody of itself – that we had been gorging on false wealth and wallowing in fake power. And we can’t help thinking that our readers, because of their ongoing embrace of the real, were among the first to get this, and are the best prepared to use the situation as a medium for unprecedented growth. Talk about ruling! No one has expressed this better than a young black woman I was speaking to during a recent Trace photo shoot, Courtney C., a Howard University grad who is currently working as a freelance fashion assistant. As model Arlenis Sosa created visual magic on set with photographer Darren Keith, Courtney and I discussed the world’s sagging economy and the ways in which savvy folks are taking advantage of a sense of optimism that was ushered in by the first moves of the new U.S. president. “Before, people were lost in stuff,” said Courtney — “stuff that didn’t matter. It was all about how much can you get. Now, it’s more what can you give – which, in a way, is more like the American Dream than anything I’ve seen in my lifetime. Major changes like this give you impetus to figure yourself out. The most important part of this cultural shift we’re living through is that people are digging a lot deeper into themselves — finding their passions – and working from that. That’s bound to contribute to making the world a better place.” And that – along with the amazing photos and revealing stories in this issue – is what we think Black Girls Rule! is all about right now…

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This true beauty has taken fashion by whirlwind text_Audrey Guttman photography_Ryan Michael Kelly Hang on to your hat, this girl is dynamite. Call it a Cinderella for our times â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Arlenis Sosa is, at 19, the new heroine of black beauty. The wunderkind has had one of the most explosive starts for a new face seen in recent times, and frankly, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s easy to see why the fashion set is smitten with her: extraordinary eyes framed by voluminous brows, cheekbones that could carve glass and, um, that skin! To the long-drawn-out talk about chromatic diversity on the runway, she offers her own silent answer, hitting you warm and candid among an army of tight-lipped blondes.

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When Arlenis bumped into local designer Luis Menieur in Santo Domingo less than two years ago, modeling was the last thing on her mind. A zealous student hailing from the small town of El Copey de Montecristi, in the northern part of the Dominican Republic, Arlenis spent her childhood in a village counting almost a thousand people before moving to the capital upon graduating. Menieur ran into her two days later – he approached her assuming she was one of his models. The young woman brushed him off with a dry “I don’t know you!” Taken with her stunning cuerpo and features, he eventually succeeded in convincing her to join the world of modeling. “The first time I ever put on high heels was that night.” Dreamily, she confesses, “He made me. He taught me how to walk, to take pictures… My jobs were little ones in Santo Domingo, but it made me feel good to work in my country. After a year, he encouraged me to go to New York, where the market was more important. That was my first time traveling.” Menieur showed a few photos to the Marilyn Agency, and shortly thereafter, Arlenis obtained a three-month tourist visa. In the span of two weeks, Arlenis booked her very first spread in the infamous, Meisel-shot “All-Black” issue of Vogue Italia. (Excited, she names all of her co-stars). “A lot of girls! Iman! I’m like, wow! I don’t know anything about modeling and here I am with the best photographer and the best models!” Escalation ensued. “The next day Anna Wintour wanted to see me. I didn’t know who she was. She was so nice. I didn’t know English, and when I got there, I met her assistant who nervously told me to be natural and confident. I said don’t worry – I am.” She brought the newcomer to the Metropolitan Ball clad in Oscar de la Renta’s clothes and flanked by his son, Moises. Unsurprisingly, Arlenis was the superstar of the evening, dubbed “the illumination of the party” by designer Michael Kors. She was spotted by a Lancôme representative, and became their new face a month later, the first black woman to join a roster of boldface names like Kate Winslet, Anne Hathaway, Inès Sastre and Daria Werbowy.

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An impressive debut runway season in New York then cemented her rising star status. Online forums buzzed about her Polaroid snaps on Confessions of a Casting Director, a popular casting blog. A part of 2008’s Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, she was even featured on the cover of the coveted TIME magazine Style & Design issue, who christened her “the new face of fashion”. And indeed, the young girl seems poised for high fashion fame. Thinking for a moment about the reason for her success, she says, “My personality. Of course I worked with Steven (Meisel), and then I got more jobs - but most of all he liked my personality. I smile. I thank God because I am very Christian, and I always thank everyone for the amazing opportunities that are given to me.” Indeed, the grateful creature doesn’t put on a show for us, the way some contrived starlets do - she is genuinely and endearingly sincere, showering us with thanks after the photo shoot. Her eyes light up when we mention her agent, Menieur. “He knows who I am. He taught me everything about modeling. He’s like family – we are very close and I have great confidence in him.” She beams at the allusion to her country as well. “The people from Dominican Republic are very confident. They can meet you today and trust you. They are always happy, doing something crazy. If we want to do something, we do it, because we are spontaneous.” But don’t mistake this matter-of-factness for naïveté – this girl knows what she’s worth, and is ready to defend it. “The agency wants to help you to behave, tell you what you have to say, but I think I just have to be me. If not… how can you work it?” She adds, “I always want to improve my career and work with people and brands I haven’t worked with before, like Lanvin and Louis Vuitton, and do covers for Vogue magazine . After modeling, I want to do business in the Dominican Republic.” She’s even started a foundation in the Dominican Republic to help children with diabetes. Beauty, intelligence, and business acumen – a winning disposition that is sure to lead her in the steps of her idol, Iman. We wish her the same success.

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Model_Arlenis Sosa @ Marilyn Agency Make-up_Robert Greene @ See Management for Lancôme Hair_Kenshin Asano @ L’Atelier NYC

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jacket_Ohne Titel bodysuit_Ohne Titel brief_Calvin Klein necklace worn as bangle_Patricia Von Musulin

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GRACIE

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ARLENIS

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dress_Lanvin belt_Alessandro Dellâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Acqua leggings_Topshop Unique bangles_And_i ring_Exhibitionist NYC shoes_Barbara Bui

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top/bra_Paul Ka skirt_Lanvin necklace_Alessandra Dellâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Acqua ring_Alexis Bittar bangle_Patricia Von Musulin

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dress & belt_Alexander McQueen cuffs_Barbara Bui

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GAYE

bathing suit_Herve Leger skirt_Paul Ka earrings_Stella McCartney

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ADESUWA

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YARIS

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AUSTRIA

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ELIGHA

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UBAH

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AUSTRIA

top, vest and leggings_Ohne Titel skirt_Zac Posen bangles_Alexis Bittar & Stella McCartney shoes_Devi Kroell

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UBAH

bustier_Zac Posen top and leggings_Three as Four bangles_Alexis Bittar ring_Patricia Von Musulin shoes_Cesare Paciotti

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Ubah - Click

Austria - IMG

Age? 21

Age? 16

Where are you from? Somalia. What’s on your iPod? I lost my iPod… but i had Jason M’Raz, Sting, David Bowie, Michael Bublé, Frank Sinatra, Tupac, Mary J Blige… What drew you to the fashion industry? At first, just the idea of not having a nine to five job. And travelling was pretty appealing too. Where does your inspiration come from? After a month of eating healthy and going to the gym, when I see the result – that inspires me. I look up to supermodels: Cindy Crawford, Iman, Heidi Klum : they have done it all. They are models, wives, entrepreneurs… it gives me hope that some girls have done it. If you could change one thing about the world what would it would be? The way people see color and judge other religions. Just a day without judging anyone. How would your friends describe you? Unpredictable, and I don’t like to go out at night, so they call me Grandma! I go out once a month, but then I can’t stop dancing. After that I need a month to rest. Maybe because I’m a Virgo or because I have sisters who have kids, I’m always taking care of everybody and worrying about them. My boyfriend told me, you’re not my mom! What is the best piece of advice you’ve been given? Once at a Japanese restaurant, I met a couple in their eighties that looked so happy even after being together for so long. They told me their secret was to treat your partner as your best friend. “If she doesn’t wanna go to your fancy Christmas dinner, that means she doesn’t wanna go”. I apply that to my job and my life. When you treat people like they’re your friend, you don’t have expectations. What is your greatest love? My little niece, Nimo! Don’t call her Neemo or she’ll lose it. She is the best thing in my life. She’s 8. If she’s eating an apple, she’ll call me and make sure we’re eating the same color apples. We’re both Virgos. That girl loves me. And I love her back.

Where are you from? The Dominican Republic. What’s on your iPod? Diva from Beyoncé! What drew you to the fashion industry? My dream wasn’t to be a model. I won a contest in my country and now I really love modelling. Where does your inspiration come from? My country. I also want my family to be proud of me. If you could change one thing about the world what would it would be? I would put an end to wars. How would your friends describe you? Very friendly, sometimes shy but fun, honest, outgoing, a good person. What is the best piece of advice you’ve been given? To be yourself and not get a big head because you are in fashion. What is your greatest love? My family. They always support me. Your family is always there.

Arlenis - Marilyn

Eligha - Major Age? 23 Where are you from? Sudan. What’s on your iPod? R’n’B, African music, reggae, some gospel… What drew you to the fashion industry? I came here to visit a friend and she told me I should go to agencies. Where does your inspiration come from? When people are happy and there is a good vibe. If you could change one thing about the world what would it would be? If everybody lived in peace, it would be wonderful. The world is really crazy. How would your friends describe you?Outgoing, funny, silly sometimes! What is the best piece of advice you’ve been given? Don’t ever give up. Even when everything has gone wrong, keep trying. What is your greatest love? My mom. She went throught a lot to bring us here, and to raise us.

Age? 19 Where are you from? The Dominican Republic. What’s on your iPod? Very soft music: Christian music, Chris brown, Maxwell, Madonna to dance What drew you to the fashion industry? I was discovered on the street. Where does your inspiration come from? God first, then my family. If you could change one thing about the world what would it would be? The way people live. They don’t think about anything, about what’s important, they’re living in the present. Also that people believed more in God, that there was more spirituality. How would your friends describe you? Funny, crazy sometimes, lovely, always happy. What is the best piece of advice you’ve been given? I remember one day, I did a fitting with Alek Wek, and she told me I was doing amazingly well, being at that Dior show with her right after the casting. She said, you are a rocket! You are rocking it. She’s like a big sister. What is your greatest love? My mom! She’s 46 but we look so alike. In Paris, my agency told me (with a mom like that), of course you have that skin! Her hair is soft, more beautiful than mine. My hair was straightened.

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Yaris - Ford Age? 18 Where are you from? The Dominican Republic. What’s on your iPod? Reggaeton, hip-hop, romantic music... everything but house ! What drew you to the fashion industry? My mother has an Arts school, and the etiquette teacher knew a modelling agency. Where does your inspiration come from? I work to make money for my foundation in my hometown, Higuey. It’s called Proteina (Protection all’infancia americana). It encourages the children’s imagination – in schools, hospitals… If you could change one thing about the world what would it would be? There are people who don’t respect what others think. We should tolerate other people’s opinions as long as they’re not doing others harm. How would your friends describe you? I say crazy things sometimes! What is the best piece of advice you’ve been given? My mom told me never to do anything that can make me feel bad in order to get something. What is your greatest love? My foundation.

Gracie - Marilyn Age? 18 Where are you from? Sao Paolo, Brazil. What’s on your iPod? Ne-Yo, American hip hop. What drew you to the fashion industry? A model contest at the Way agency in Sao Paolo. Where does your inspiration come from? The people around me… If you could change one thing about the world, what would it would be? Getting rid of wars and violence. How would your friends describe you? Educated and very happy. What is the best piece of advice you’ve been given? To stay focused, not to stray. What is your greatest love? My family ! (and my boyfriend in Brazil)

irl

talk

Celine http://www.celine.com Giuseppe Zanotti http://www.giuseppe-zanotti-design.com/ Paule Ka http://www.pauleka.com/ Michael Angel http://www.michaelangel.net/

Gaye - Next Age? 19

Alessandra Dell’Acqua http://www.alessandrodellacqua.com Alexis Bittar http://alexisbittar.com/home.php Patricia Von Musulin http://www.patriciavonmusulin.com/

Where are you from? Jamaica. What’s on your iPod? I don’t have one! I love Halo by Beyoncé. What drew you to the fashion industry? I enjoy modelling, I like fashion and dressing up. I didn’t want to do it at first, but then I entered a competition and now I’m learning more and more about the industry. Where does your inspiration come from? Naomi Vampbell and Tyra Banks. If you could change one thing about the world what would it would be? I would change the way people think of others, we should accept people the way they are instead of jumping to our own conclusions. How would your friends describe you? Silly, funny, weird, one in a million, crazy at times, stubborn, outgoing, down to earth What is the best piece of advice you’ve been given? That an opportunity only comes once in a lifetime, and you should make the best use of it. Even if later on you may regret it, just go with the moment. What is your greatest love? My boyfriend in Jamaica and my Mom and Dad.

Ohne Titel http://www.ohnetitel.com/PH: (212)675-6916 And_i http://www.and-i.net/ Barbara Bui http://www.barbarabui.fr Alexander McQueen http://www.alexandermcqueen.com/ Devi Kroell http://www.devikroell.com/2009/ Preen http://www.preen.eu/ Herve Leger http://www.herveleger.com/spring2009/index.php Lanvin http://www.lanvin.com/ Manish Arora http://www.manisharora.ws/ Raphael Young http://www.raphaelyoung.com/ Stella McCartney http://www.stellamccartney.com/ Subversive http://www.subversivejewelry.com/212.679.0453 Zac Posen http://www.zacposen.com/

Adesuwa - Muse

ThreeasFour http://www.threeasfour.com/contact.html

Age? 20 Where are you from? I grew up everywhere : my Dad is from Nigeria, my Mom is Chinese and Thai, and I was born in Minnesota. What’s on your iPod? Lily Allen, Soulja Boy, K’naan, classical music, chinese traditional music. What drew you to the fashion industry? I used to be very introverted. After my first photoshoot I saw myself as a different person, and I got into it – running around the city may not be fun, but my thing is meeting cool people and doing awesome shoots. Where does your inspiration come from? My parents, my friends, good weather… good hair !! If you could change one thing about the world what would it would be? Poverty : it’s a very big issue in Nigeria and Asia, and even in America. How would your friends describe you? The irrational, spontaneous, crazy one ! Sometimes a weirdo… What is the best piece of advice you’ve been given? To be true to myself. What is your greatest love? My siblings: Omorose, she’s 13 and my clone - and Osasu, my little brother, is 16.

Topshop Unique http://www.topshop.com

Cesare Paciotti http://www.cesare-paciotti.com/212.245.3785

D&G http://www.dolcegabbana.com/Tel.+1-212-7500055 Jeremy Scott http://www.jeremyscott.com/ Jean Paul Gaultier http://www.jeanpaulgaultier.com/

Photo assistant_Sloan Laurits / Kerstin Hovland Digital Tech_Maki Hirose fashion assistant_Robyn V. Fernandes fashion assistant_Courtney C. Hair_Menelaos Alevras @ L’Atelier NYC Hair assistant_Charly Christen Make up_Yasuo Yoshikawa @ L’Atelier NYC using Lancome Make up assistant_Harumi Machii Interviews_Audrey Guttman

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Who? Mary-Kate Olsen, André & Andre 3000, Waris Ahluwalia, DJ Paul Sevigny

Le Baron in New York City’s East Village

Belvedere Mr. 1X Launch Party

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Lucky 7

Life Ball

text & photography_Claude Grunitzky For the 17th addition of Life Ball, which took place on Saturday, May 16th in the Vienna City Hall, celebrity activists gathered to raise more than two million Euros for various international projects and organizations, like AmFAR, in order to battle HIV/Aids around the world. Those present included President Bill Clinton, Eva Longoria, Pamela Anderson, Katy Perry, models Sessilee Lopez, Kinee Diouf and Lydia Hearst.

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