In the In-Between, We Bloom

Beauty has always been political. It was designed that way.
We inherited its codes early:  through glossy pages, runway archives, and quiet hierarchies that taught us what was desirable and what was disposable.
Thinness. Eurocentricity. Heteronormativity. Cisness. A standard sold as universal truth.

What does it mean to navigate the beauty industry as a Black queer woman and refuse its narrow architecture? What does it look like to take the very language that excluded you and turn it into a tool for resistance?

When beauty stops asking for approval, it shifts. It refuses to assimilate.
Flamboyance and masculinity occupy the same frame without apology.

This work sits in the in-between and stays there. It treats beauty not as a standard to chase, but as a structure to dismantle and rebuild. There is no singular answer here. Only space - for imperfection, for multiplicity, for love that does not require assimilation.

PHOTOGRAPHY SIMONE THOMPSON @simone.niamani
CREATIVE/PRODUCTION ALEC CHARLIP @alecjessecharlip
STYLING DIONE DAVIS @dionemdavis @bornartistsrep, using only personal vintage pieces 
HAIR JAZMINE SHEPARD @jazshepard
MAKEUP MARK DE LOS REYES @makeurmark @agency.paradis
MODELS KAILANI GASPAR @kailani_lanai MINAMI GESSEL @minamigessel MECCA MOZELLE @meccamozelle all at @kev_mgmt and DYLAN KEONI @dylan.keoni @elitenyc KIMMY @kimmysomething 
MOVEMENT DIRECTION ASH RUCKER @a_rucker
PHOTO ASSISTANT JOSH JIMENEZ @that_guy_hos

“In the past year, I’ve sat with and especially ruminated on the construct of ‘Beauty.’ In my teenhood, I was fed the politics of desirability through media and dog-eared magazines - impassively accepting beauty as eurocentricity, thinness, nepotism, and heteronormativity. Though not explicitly stated, the fundamentals of ‘beauty’ were implicit.”- Simone Thompson, photographer

“At the beginning of my photography journey, I gravitated toward and mimicked the references surrounding me. I enjoyed the aesthetics of beauty, but I struggled to articulate a visual world that felt both deeply personal and declarative of my politics while navigating the beauty industry as a Black queer woman.”

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“When we break down the pyramid of privilege that pertains to queerness, white cis men remain at the top. Declarations of whiteness and cisness are seen as 'palatable', while trans and BIPOC expressions of softness and beauty often go overlooked. Through portraiture, I aim to create a visual world that is both a haven for the subject and visually enticing for the viewer. The purpose of beauty photography at its baseline is simple - the goal in my work, however, is to articulate a language of softness and elegance for my subjects, who often occupy marginalized identities.”

“Now, many years later in my photography journey, I’m seeking to build a new body of work utilizing beauty as a mechanism for resistance. Through visual language, I aim to create work in opposition to oppressive systemic institutions. I’d like this story to translate as a conduit for reflection, language and love. For in betweenness, flamboyance, and masculinity all in one.”

@SIMONE.NIAMANI