Frank Zhang uses photography to celebrate the worldwide influences that have shaped fashion.听Aesthetics from Africa聽centres Ghanaian model Sonia Barbie Tucker, as Zhang explains: 鈥淔or a long time, the fashion industry鈥檚 perception of beauty was seen through a Eurocentric lens.鈥 In the series, Tucker is adorned in structural, gold jewellery, everything about her suggesting power and confidence.
The artist lends his voice to an increasing number of people in the industry who are calling for greater diversity and celebrating creatives who are working outside of the Eurocentric ideas. In 2022,聽痴辞驳耻别听published an article entitled 鈥淏rands are casting 鈥榙iverse鈥 models. But they鈥檙e still not challenging Eurocentric beauty norms,鈥 whilst the BBC wrote of 鈥渉ow luxury African fashion has wowed Europe鈥檚 catwalks.鈥 International exhibition聽Africa Fashion,聽meanwhile, visited world-renowned such as V&A, Brooklyn Museum and National Gallery of Victoria, showcasing the influence the continent has had on global trends and celebrating Africa’s huge variety of histories and cultures. Africa鈥檚 Fashion Diaspora, meanwhile,聽is one of the first books to explore the diverse perspectives and significant roles that Black designers have contributed to the creation of international fashion culture. Zhang, and other artists, designers and creatives, are rewriting what it means to be “high fashion.”聽
Zhang is an artist of many talents. He has a Ph.D. in Physics, working as a nano optics scientist for University of Massachusetts Amherst and National Institute of Standards and Technology. His photography, meanwhile, has gained acclaim with the Fine Art Photography Awards (FAPA), Toyko International Foto Awards (TIFA) and Siena Creative Awards 2022. The sleek and stylish fashion portraits have seen the artist work with brands like Tiffany鈥檚, Harper鈥檚 Bazaar,聽Vogue听补苍诲听Cosmopolitan.听
All images courtesy of the artist.
