No matter who you are, where you live or what you do, rage will be a familiar emotion. Some experience it more than others, but we’ve all felt it at some point in our lives, even more so when confronted with the sociopolitical horrors of the last few years. Now, after handing over the reins to guest editor Riccardo Tisci last issue, Boy.Brother.Friend has returned with a ninth edition musing on the many faces of rage. But rather than focus on any individualist notion of the word, editor-in-chief Kk Obi and editorial director Matthew Sterling Benson see the emotion as a springboard for collective action.
Split up into four distinct sections, the latest issue kicks off with ‘The Case for Rage’, an opening section exploring the roots of the emotion. ‘Facing Fury’, a defiant fashion spread by acclaimed photographer Clifford Prince King takes us to Côte d’Ivoire at sun-dappled dusk, while an essay from the writer Jasmine Amussen on her hometown of Atlanta recounts years of carceral crackdowns from the state and the effect they have on cultural production. Following that, a second section called ‘Burning Down The House’ sees Pharrell’s Wild West-inspired Louis Vuitton collection repurposed for “the world of homoeroticised Black cowboys parading in a kind of masculine drag”, shot by Jebi Labembika with Obi on styling duties. This is followed by a rage-filled fashion spread from Delali Ayivi and Feranmi Eso, where models go at it in new season Diesel, MM6 and Martine Rose.
In a change of pace, the third section, ‘The Aptness of Anger’ sees the artist and dancer MJ Harper transform into a smouldering starlet for a shoot lensed by Matt Lambert and styled by Ola Ebiti. The accompanying essay on the idea of grace – written by Harper – describes the feeling as a kind of weaponised glamour, a beautiful shield, a “transcendent quality that allows us to traverse various spaces”. Elsewhere, the final section ‘Transforming Collective Rage’ examines the “significance of community as the empowering salve to rage and which is needed to generate mass change.” Dazed contributor Miss Jason sits down with choreographer to the stars Sean Bankhead for an expansive conversation about going to the gay club, personal style and more, plus a shoot featuring Dauan Dacari’s mesmeric clothing accompanies a conversation between the designer and writer Cynthia Igbokwe.
Boy.Brother.Friend issue nine is out now and available here. Scroll through the gallery above for a preview of the issue.