About two years ago I found this website and fell in love. It was a fashion house somewhere in Africa. They used traditional prints and patterns to inspire their look. Now I can't find it again but I had some pics from it that I saved. I thought the photography was beautiful and the patterns were fabulous.
* I found the link it's Freetown: Afro Chic (2/2007)
Noel Waggener is a talented graphic designer who does excellent screenprints featuring different African Americans. I love his stuff, check it out.
I've had this magazine cover since 2001. Not only because it's a good design issue but mainly because of Lauryn Hill. I saw this when I was contemplating on going natural. This powerful image of her inspired me to go for it.
It's a shame she totally removed herself from the public eye for so long (except briefly to promote her last album and until recently with her band-mates, Wyclef and Pras) because she represented so many young women who look like her; brown skin, full lips natural hair. Faces, images, you don't typically see when beauty is concerned. Instead it's the Beyonces' and Christina Milians' honey dewed glow look (sorry Bey, I still love ya) representing Black beauty. Lauryn was someone we could look to as another reference of beauty, and this photo says it all.