Garage Magazine Taps Zendaya and Simone Leigh to Offer ‘New Vision of Black Womanhood’

By N. Jamiyla Chisholm Sep 09, 2019

In the latest issue of Garage magazine, Zendaya brings visual artist Simone Leigh’s famous sculptures to life to present “a new vision of Black womanhood within the pages of a fashion magazine,” according to the article. The photos, published online on Saturday (September 7), were accompanied by a three-way discussion between Zendaya, Leigh and Thelma Golden, director and chief curator of The Studio Museum in Harlem.

Inspired by Leigh's 16-foot-tall sculpture, “Brick House,” which is currently on display at the High Line in New York City, Zendaya wears the clothing that Leigh created for her “Cupboard” series. When Golden asked Leigh about being inspired by the intellectual thought of 21st century Black women, Leigh said she feels a responsibility to keep the conversation going through her art. “It also started as just a desire to keep up with cultural studies as more and more work was being done, to understand really what’s happened to us over the last 400 years,” said Leigh.

Zendaya, who leads the critically acclaimed series “Euphoria,” echoed the sense of responsibility she feels as an actor where stories “can be reflected, and somebody in the world can see themselves within these characters.” Regarding her character on the show, Rue, Zendaya said she “was a character that…never comes around for anybody, especially not a woman.” She continued: “Definitely not a Black woman.”

Read the complete interview here and watch a video of the shoot:

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