In August 2018, Tyler Mitchell made history as the first African-American photographer to shoot the cover of US Vogue when he lensed Beyoncé for its September issue. However, Mitchell was already well on his way to changing the face of fashion imagery forever. Known for his depictions of black utopias – such as the series I’m Doing Pretty Hood In My Pink Polo, which he made with Dazed in 2016 – Mitchell has long sought to visualise what he calls a “full range of expressions possible for a black man in the future”.
Now he’s been commissioned for the cover of writer and critic Antwaun Sargent’s upcoming book The New fronting what publisher Aperture describes as “a radical transformation taking place in fashion and art today”. Inside the book, other photographers carving out a more inclusive world of imagery, such as Campbell Addy, Ruth Ossai, Stephen Tayo, Nadine Ijewere, and many more, are celebrated.
Alongside the portfolios, are conversations between Tyler Mitchell and Deborah Willis, Shaniqwa Jarvis and Renell Medrano, Daniel Obasi and Stephen Tayo, Mickalene Thomas and Quil Lemons, and Jamal Nxedlana and Campbell Addy.
The New Black Vanguard: Photography between Art and Fashion – published by Aperture – is released next month