Complexd Women

Name: Masumi Watanabe
Occupation: Craft Artist
Current Residence: Sizuoka (Japan)

I was born and brought up in Sizuoka, Japan and I lived in London for over ten years.  London culture is now in my blood and has become my second home. London is so unique because of the mix of cultures you can socialise with.

I have just moved back to my hometown and forgot how relaxed and carefree it is. You can leave your bag on a chair in a café to go to the toilet and find everything there when you come back. Everything is safe and clean…even the fashion! The best way to describe fashion in my hometown is immaculate. That’s why I miss the personality in people’s fashion in London. People wear what they want to wear, not what they are expected to wear. I like that a lot, which is why I would describe my style as beautiful imperfection.

I illustrate, knit or draw creatures I have imagined in dreams or when I’m drinking tea from my favourite Scandinavian mug. My work has no practicality nor does it have an amazing story behind it.  I just want my work to be like ‘a cup of tea’ for people. It’s just something simple that I hope can put a smile on someone’s face.

Name:  Misha Bernier

Age: 21

Occupation: Model/Student

Place of birth: New Jersey, USA

I am Haitian and Filipino so I grew up in a very diverse household. Thanksgiving has always been my favourite time of the year because the fusion of my cultures makes the celebrations even more incredible. My parents have been very supportive about my choices in life and my career. They do all that they can for me and my siblings and I endeavour to take good care of them in the future.

I study full time and fit my model castings around my classes. In school my style is very laid back because I’m always in a morning rush. But when I get the chance I adore dressing up! I love wearing bright colours, bold prints, Kente cloth and vintage clothing.

I will never forget the day I signed with Wilhelmina models! I entered a contest and even though I didn’t win, they called me the next day and asked me to join their books. I hope to become an internationally known model that expands the definition of beauty. I have a passion for working with kids so I want to work on projects to do with education policy in urban areas.  I also want to work with international charities that help people become self-sufficient.

I’m Complexd because I’m a Haitian Filipino American woman who is not just about expressing herself through fashion. I love to read and discuss politics so I am very conscious of what goes on in the world.  I hope that all the political knowledge I have consumed can one day aid me to help others.

1st & 5th images photographed by MG Oania, Makeup by Taja Sparks and Hair by Karja Longmore

I’m a 24 year old MA student of Somali heritage and I’m currently studying African Gender History. I love to eat, write, sing loudly, dance wildly, eat some more and then write again.

I believe there are so many stories that have yet to be told, sometimes because there are no ears to listen other times because the voices are weighed too heavily into silence with life and experience. I write because I have to, because the experiences of my mother (and her mother and her mother before her) need to be told to guide my future daughter. I can’t make sense of the world except to write. So in essence, life, love, womanhood, friendship, mothers, daughters, tears and strength are what inspire my poetry.

I celebrate women and all parts of womanhood and believe that we are all unique. I believe being a Complexd Woman is about creating and carving out your own path, dancing to the beat of your own drum while you continue the legacies of all the sisters before you. We are all collective individuals; separate shining lights joined, a group in the individual as well as individuals in a group. I hope that is what I am doing in my time.

Read a snippet of Nimo’s poetry below

THAT WOMAN, THIS WOMAN, THOSE HANDS

She’s been over so many things,

Not one you could be under.

So next time you think you know a thing about her

Or even begin to wonder,

Know that this is the true Amazonian woman!

How can I make you believe?

That these women move mountains on a daily basis,

Creating fountains of life so potent,

No warlord will ever be able to take or break it!

This is the woman of the Pharaohs,

Whose tapestry is so rich with so many stories untold?

She whispers her secrets only to herself.

The Somali woman.

Do you know of women who build homes with their hands?

Weaving the fabric of a country

With just their own two hands,

What can you know of infibulations?

When you spend your time contemplating,

Why it is that she wears that?

For that is your major most trepidation

And she!

Well She has to worry how to rear a child of no apprehension

And no hesitation

In a world full of cancellations.

You know of child birth and labour,

She knows of being sewn, torn, and sewn again

Ripped open for his pleasure

And for equal measure

She’s taken fists in the face and knees in the stomach

Yet she gets up the next day and fills his stomach.

For duty is the first rule of being this woman.

Have you heard of a woman whose tears are silent and dry

For she will never cry,

On the outside,

But on the inside,

She’s died a thousand times?

You’ve seen refugees on the TV

Swollen bellies and flies,

She’s seen sorrow as she flies

Thousands of miles

Leaving her babies behind

Just so she can go, search and find,

That better life!

Alone she stands as an alien in a foreign land

Away from the home she built with her very own hands

Away from the babies she nearly died to deliver

Away from dalka hoyoo who she hopes can forgive her

Away from the wallal she would die to protect

And all the other brothers she’d give her own soul to resurrect.

Nimo Hussein

I was born in Mulhouse, France in the middle of two older brothers and sisters and two younger ones. I often refer to myself as the balance in between my siblings. I have a degree in communications and advertising and I design jewellery in my spare time.

I don’t really have a fashion philosophy; I just put on outfits I feel good in. I feel just as beautiful in shorts and a simple t-shirt as I do dressed up. I haven’t got a specific style that I follow but I know what I like and I’m not afraid to wear clothes that the fashion crowd would consider weird. I think anything is fashionable if you can adopt a style and make it your own. You could say that, that’s my fashion philosophy.

I always have a lot on my mind, so I use my thoughts to inspire my jewellery designs. It’s also my way of telling my story through jewels. I am inspired by everything because everything we see is an object of creativity.

A few years ago I spent two months in Goma, DR of Congo, working for non profit organization Don Bosco.  They have a centre that looks after displaced child soldier’s and orphans. Living with them and listening to their stories is an experience I can’t really explain but I know it has changed me as a person. I think it’s important to experience a difficult situation to understand life.

The most interesting place I’ve travelled to is Los Angeles because L.A is just totally different to France. I met a lot of happy people who rolled with the punches of life and just tried to enjoy themselves. From a Fashion point of view there was no conformity. Nobody was overly judgemental so I felt confident in expressing myself.

Right now my aim is to become a successful Jewellery Designer. I want to have my own store and be my own boss so I can create designs for girls who are really into fashion, but not obsessed with it.

See more of Isaure’s designs here

Me and the team spent the last two days finalising the BEAUTY + BODY issue which goes live in July. This issue features the work of two photographers who wanted their exploration of the female body to be asexual. I decided to research a variety of nudes from a variety of photographers to find out whether you can differentiate between sexual and asexual. I found a series entitled ‘Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere’ by photographer Ryan McGinley. The first thing I liked about this series was the different shades, shapes and sizes of the young women he captured. Secondly, although most of the nudes were full frontal, there was nothing sexual about them because their poses weren’t suggestive in any way. They looked very natural and sometimes awkward as if he had snapped them having a naked moment to themselves. The often hypersexualised nudes of women tarnish the perception of photographs of naked woman. The images I selected below remind us that most women don’t spend their time in the nude with an arched back, bum and breast poked out and an enticing stare.

View more from this series here

Front row at Islands of The World Fashion Week, Nassau Bahamas

To this day, my favourite fashion event was the launch of Islands of the World Fashion Week in Nassau, Bahamas. It was the people, the place and the friendly atmosphere that has remained in my mind. When designer Karen De Freitas Fraser who showcased her label Soka contacted me to update me on her progress, it brought back fond memories and also reminded me of the motivated people I meet throughout the event. I asked Karen what she has been up too and I was impressed by her determination to pave her way as a big designer coming from the small island of St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Karen receiving her applause at Miami Fashion Week

KC: So What have you been up to since we met a few years ago in Bahamas?

KF: Bahamas was my first introduction into the fashion world and it gave me a desire to continue with fashion design.  When I returned back home to St. Vincent I started to put my plan into action. I couldn’t just enrol onto a fashion course like in the UK and US so I shadowed seamstresses to learn how to sew and get from them the kind of advice that you can’t find on Google. To help market and promote my brand SOKA, I put myself in the limelight by showcasing at Miami Fashion Week and Nolcha in New York. It was a great experience and I wanted to do the same back home so I put together my own fashion production called genX which promotes art and fashion through the eyes of the next generation. I felt it was necessary to provide a platform for young designers on my island because established designers across the Caribbean regions receive repetitive exposure. Although I was passionate about it, I needed to pay my bills so I decided to follow my dreams and broaden my horizon by enrolling to Parsons the New School for Design in New York.

KC: How have you adapted to studying and living in New York and how is it different from your hometown St Vincent and the Grenadines?

KF: It was a culture shock when I first arrived. I didn’t have any friends or family in New York so it was lonely at times so I thank God for Skype! It took some time but I have fully adapted to the pace of life because I am a natural workaholic. I love being in the city because it’s so alive 24/7. You can get food from all over the world at anytime and anywhere. To get my curry goat and mauby fix, I just ride down to Brooklyn. There is art everywhere you look in NY, in the galleries, museums, statues, skyscrapers, street performances and in the way people dress. I love people watching because it gives me a wealth of ideas.  Most importantly I love the endless opportunities that I am surrounded by every day.

KC: Has moving abroad helped you creatively?

KF: Back home I worked independently. I had to be self driven and to keep that motivation I made close ties with experienced designers on the Island. But there wasn’t much financial support for the arts because the creative industry is still undeveloped in St Vincent. Parsons has cultivated my creativity because it pushed me out of my comfort zone. I am also able to network with a lot of creative’s which has helped me to gain much more confidence. I’m now exposed to a life where fashion is a lucrative market and this encourages me to develop my brand into a strong business and not just a hobby.

KC: What are your plans for the future?

KF: I’m not sure if I am going to stay NY.  I love it, but I don’t want to restrict myself. I want to travel because I think seeing the world contributes to your success as a designer.

Check out some designs from Karen’s label Soka

Photographer: tonga pictures, Mua: amanda rae negro, Hair: chantel george, Styling and wardrobe: Soka, Model:lorianna swain