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Though New York positions itself as a beacon of artistic (and self) expression, it’s no secret that the city isn’t exactly what it once was. Remember when taste was built and sharpened as you strolled down your street, exposed to a litany of new and different takes on fashion and unfamiliar tunes blasting out of boomboxes? Exposure therapy, ‘80s edition.
When the cultural landscape begins to feel overwhelmingly uniform, we turn to the resplendent imagery of street photographer Jamel Shabazz. As a Brooklyn native, Shabazz captured life in New York in the ’80s, particularly for the Black community, with a reverence that is equal parts staggering and rejuvenating. Shabazz’s photography is a love letter to his community, a means of encouraging authenticity, style, connection, and autonomy—evidence of a bygone era in which people put effort into trying to differentiate themselves rather than trying to look just like everyone else.
Shabazz’s work transports us to a time when people styled themselves according to their own tastes. It’s a joyous reminder of the value of individuality and self-expression, one that encourages us to conceptualize our predilections outside the bounds of what social media prescribes. It’s oversized fur coats paired with baggy jeans, feathered hair ruffled by the breeze and high waisted satin shorts. It’s a silver belt glinting in the sunlight, draped across an all denim jumpsuit.
Serviette aspires to an end result much like Shabazz's photographs: fragrances that are unquestionably alive and complex, that celebrate beauty and individuality in their myriad forms (even when in a not so nice environment, like the New York City subway). If you were stopped on the street and asked to name your favorite artists, what would you say? If a photographer took your portrait on the sly, would you feel represented by your choice of clothing?