Beyoncé is featured on the new cover of noted French fashion magazine L'Officiel Paris. The publication is celebrating its 90th anniversary; Ms. Knowles joins the festivities by "paying tribute" to Nigerian musician and human rights activist Fela Kuti. Apparently she went to see the Broadway show Fela! and was inspired to use his music as an influence on her upcoming album. The magazine photo shoot is tied in somehow, with an "African Queen" theme. According to a statement from the mag:...
>>>Beyoncé is featured on the new cover of noted French fashion magazine L'Officiel Paris. The publication is celebrating its 90th anniversary; Ms. Knowles joins the festivities by "paying tribute" to Nigerian musician and human rights activist Fela Kuti. Apparently she went to see the Broadway show Fela! and was inspired to use his music as an influence on her upcoming album. The magazine photo shoot is tied in somehow, with an "African Queen" theme. According to a statement from the mag:
Far from the glamorous Sasha Fierce, the beauty posed for the magazine with amazing fashion designers clothes, but also in a dress created by her mother. [It is] A return to her African roots, as you can see on the picture, on which her face was voluntarily darkened. All the pictures will be available in the collector edition, on sell at the end of this month.
While this is not blackface in the traditional sense, it still raises so many questions. Why didn't she go whole-hog and have her body painted, too? is this yet another case of how much fashion loves blackface? Is it still blackface when the woman is black? Is it still offensive when it's meant as a tribute?
**This excerpt was taken from the Jezebel article, "Beyonce's Face "Voluntarily" Darkened for Fashion Shoot," written by Dodai Stewart which is linked below. Do click through to read more.**
http://jezebel.com/#!lofficielparis
