Careening down the dirt tracks of the Marseilles coastline on cerulean scooters, wearing zingy tiger print boots and bolshy fur jackets, is French rapper Kitsuné Kendra and crew, as shot by Charles Thiefaine for the autumn 2021 edition of Dazed. Thiefaine, a photojournalist by trade, splits his time between Baghdad and Paris, where he reports on protest, civil unrest, and the daily lives of those in Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq. It means he rarely covers fashion, and you can tell. The spread is lensed with candour, objectiveness, and a certain invisibility. Though his style is evocative and clearly compassionate, Thiefaine disappears behind the viewfinder as if he were a mere bystander. And as a result, the shoot smokes through its six pages, breathing in sunset panoramas, blustery moped rides, and the spluttering rev of an engine.
Here, Thiefaine captures quiet in-between moments with sensitivity, housing the AW21 collection of Aniye Be firmly within his documentary practice. Likewise, schmaltzy, metallic cocktail dresses, blush tulle gowns, and technicolor, fur-trimmed leather coats have been pared back with jillabas, headscarves, and slippers from the wardrobe of stylist Edem Dossou, leaning into the realism of Thiefaine’s work. As the sky dims from blue to rose, what could feel cold – the skeleton of a car, concrete bollards, a generally stark attitude – soon becomes warm, with models enveloped in thick fleece, fussy florals, and kitsch head wraps.
Click through the gallery above to see the rest of the shoot.