Celebrating the release of the book The New Black Vanguard: Photography Between Art and Fashion by Antwaun Sargent, Gucci hosted a private party at their Gucci Wooster store. Filled with works by prominent artists like Campbell Addy, Tyler Mitchell, Ruth Ossai, Micaiah Carter and others, the volume is an exploration of vibrant portraits and conceptual images that fuse the genres of art and fashion photography that break down long-established boundaries.

The edition puts in focus 15 standout artists whose works have been widely consumed in traditional lifestyle magazines, ad campaigns, and museums, as well as on their personal social media channels. The images open up conversations around the roles of the black body and black lives as subject matter, collectively celebrating black creativity and the cross-pollination between art, fashion, and culture in constructing an image. The works act as a form of visual activism, seeking to challenge the idea that blackness is homogenous and presenting new perspectives on the medium of photography and the notions of race and beauty, gender and power. 

The author himself put in an appearance too, signing. copies of the book for guests. Check out the images from the big night of art and fashion at Gucci Wooster below: