Photography by Rebecca Miller
via: Odalisque Magazine
Cipriana and TK Quann are street style gold: beautiful identical twins with halos of hair and inimitable style. One glance at their subtly complementing outfits is enough to justify their place at the top of endless It Girls lists, however the Quann sisters excel on many levels. Cipriana is the co founder and editor in chief of Urban Bush Babes, a lifestyle website highlighting women of color. TK acts as UBB’s executive editor, and doubles as singer/songwriter/lyricist/ TK Wonder. Here, the sisters talk ideology, inspiration and influences including their mother, a Johns Hopkins educated, vintage wearing CEO with a stint in an all girls rock band. Clearly, being cool runs in the family.
AA: Your personal style is very beloved by the street style savvy. Why do you think you attract so many street style photographers?
CQ: I think our style comes off as authentic because it is! We love vintage clothes but designer wear as well. If we wear a certain designer it is not only because we love the collection but the person behind the name. Mixing the two; vintage and designer wear has become our signature. Plus the fact that we are twins I think adds an interesting twist to similar yet contrasting styles. Non aesthetically speaking I think we also resonate well is because we have showed you can use fashion to promote different social issues, using style as a catapult to discuss social issues.
AA: What inspired you talk about your natural hair in Amandla Stenbergí s #BlackGirlMagic video series for Teen Vogue?
TKQ: It is wonderful when you see the youth, such as Amandla use their platforms for social awareness and not waver in addressing issues that need to be discussed. When you see youth who have an audience and are proudly grasping the reins on of issues that some are tentative or fearful to address. If you had leaders that allowed their trepidations to hold them then back then most of the opportunities of today would not exist. You cannot expect change in what you feel is unjust if you do not speak up. Martin Luther King summed it up perfectly by stating, “The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.” I think the question I’d ask myself is why wouldn’t I?
AA: You often cite your mother as a major fashion and beauty inspiration. What were the most important things she taught you?
CQ: She showed us the freedom that comes with truly loving and believing in yourself, that mantra taught us that style like beauty is in the eye of the beholder, which includes yourself, so define what exactly it is to you. Till this day I have no idea how she did it but I do know it gave me a different outlook on how sometimes mainstream media can portray women as weak or fragile. Women are strong, resilient, intelligent and multifaceted. She taught me how to live…to read the complete interview, including advice we would give to our younger selves pick up the latest issue of Odalisque magazine.
Stylist Shala Rothenberg
Make Up Yoshie Kubota
Stylist Assistant Barbara Bevin
Studio Le Image Photo Inc.
from Urban Bush Babes http://ift.tt/20HqRyp
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