Singer Solange Knowles takes the cover story of Harper’s BAZAAR‘s Fall 2020 Digital edition lensed by fashion photographer Naima Green. In charge of creative direction was Solange herself, with beauty from hair stylist Kendall Dorsey, and makeup artist Miguel Ramos. Set design is work of Tim Ferro.
I truly hope that every Black spirit does whatever they need to do during this time to hold themselves up. Whatever it may look like. Honor your grief, however you are led to. Hold on and go all the way into your power, however it calls to you. – Solange
My mother loved me a million different ways. One of the ways my mother loved me was by surrounding me with many a tribe who could care for me; my mom’s deliberate choice to make “the shop” my after school care.
All of the women had their own stories to tell. Women from every background, name, and face in Houston, Texas came to transform within the safety of themselves. Boyfriends and husbands waited in their cars or in the front reception, and women ran the show. They talked shit, cackled, shrieked, cried, or read and contemplated quietly—thrilled to escape their lives as mothers, sisters, teachers, and healers. Regulars would greet me with a big hug and ask me how school was, to get them a glass of wine from the back, or ask me to show them the latest dances. I took dance classes weekly, but it was in that shot that performance really began. The theater of the shop and I. It was there that my storytelling became more vivid, elaborate, and exaggerated! It was there that my gestures became language. I watched and studied my favorite women—the way they walked, dressed, moved their nails when they turned pages. They paid attention to me, celebrated me, and always made me feel safe. My dances soon turned into monologues, and soundtracks soon followed. It was there that performance thrived and became alive. It was there. The shop became my theater. I was raised by a beauty salon. – Solange
Photographs by Naima Green
Creative Director: Solange Knowles
Entertainment Director: Nojan Aminosharei
Fashion Features Director: Kerry Pieri
Accessories Director: Kathy Lee
Fashion Editor: Kia Goosby
Styling Assistant: Julio Delgado
Hair: Kendall Dorsey
Makeup: Miguel Ramos
Set Design: Tim Ferro
Shoot Assistant: Curtis Morton
Special thanks to Home Union
Photography © Naima Green for Harper’s BAZAAR, read more at harpersbazaar.com
