Photographer Dawan Wryet Alford: Juxtaposed against an urban backdrop where the cl...

Photographer Dawan Wryet Alford: Juxtaposed against an urban backdrop where the cl...: Juxtaposed against an urban backdrop where the clothing of choice for many black men consists of a pair of sagging pants, exposed boxers and white tees – the “hip hop” generation has produced another phenomenon of style – the New Age dandy. A performance and embodiment of sophistication, Dandy Lions are gentlemen of exceptional manners who consciously postulate what it means to be Black, masculine and full of “swag”, not simply as performance but an embodiment of a lifestyle.

Dandy Lion takes a glance at urban Black Dandies who like their continental African counterparts, Le Sapeur of Brazzaville, Congo, embody style, sophistication and a commitment to culture via dramatized masculinity. Dandy Lion is an homage to the fashionable urban gentleman – an African Diasporan man of style, an urban connoisseur of sophistication and a contemporary man of SWAG.
Photographer Akintola Hanif contributed his awesome perspective in this photography exhibit entitled "Dandylion, Behold a Gentleman" in which i was featured. The play on words to feature men in urban environments who have a keen sense of style- dandy - lion, led photographer & photojournalist Akintola Hanif to me for a photoshoot that conceptually embodied the idea perfectly.
Styled by Ciara Walker