TIES THAT BIND
from left: Dancer and choreographer
MJ Harper; dancer Harry Alexander; Grace
Wales Bonner; model Aurelie (standing);
model and artist Kesewa Aboah; and model
Romaine Dixon. Hair, Mustafa Yanaz;
makeup, Siobhan Furlong. Clothes by Wales
Bonner. Shoes by Manolo Blahnik x Wales
Bonner. Fashion Editor: Alex Harrington.
WHEN GRACE WALES BONNER
established her namesake menswear
brand, Wales Bonner, in 2014, she did
so with a clear intention: She wanted,
she says, “to reflect a broader spectrum
of black masculinity—to go into depth
in that study and remain committed to
that approach.” That philosophy has
rallied a community of like-minded
individuals, many of whom have
become consistent collaborators—
including MJ Harper, previously
a member of the Alvin Ailey and
Wayne McGregor dance companies,
who has choreographed many of
Wales Bonner’s shows.
In February, Harper performed a
daily ritual of movements over the
course of four days for Wales Bonner’s
multidisciplinary, multisensory
exhibition “A Time for New Dreams”
at London’s Serpentine Sackler
Gallery—which, the designer says,
“explored the ideas of mysticism,
spirituality, and ritual across the black
Atlantic.” (She also showed her fall
2019 collection—which featured Ben
Okri reciting a poem he’d written
for Wales Bonner and Ishmael Reed
playing a jazz tune on a piano—at the
gallery.) One notable visitor: Christian
Dior artistic director Maria Grazia
Chiuri, who was so enthralled that she
invited Wales Bonner to reinterpret the
house’s New Look silhouette for its
2020 resort collection.
“I’m interested in moments in his-
tory when men have been able to be
more expressive, and I think dance is
a space where you have the license to
be more expressive,” Wales Bonner, 29,
explains when we meet at her central
London studio. Often the people who
showcase her designs are friends—
or the result of street castings—and
benefit from the motivation and sense
of camaraderie a movement director
like Harper provides. The two met
shortly after Wales Bonner established
her brand and started working togeth-
er when Harper danced with Harry
Alexander of Michael Clark Company
for the spring 2016 Wales Bonner
show. “We were finding our voice at
the same time,” she says, “and he’s been
instrumental
Wales Bonner
By Liam Freeman
CONTINUED ON PAGE 162
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PRODUCED BY IMAGE PARTNERSHIP PRODUCTION. PHOTOGRAPHED AT SIOBHAN DAVIES STUDIOS.
