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A person poses against a purple background, wearing a colourful patterned knit dress and a matching wrap. They have bright orange makeup around their eyes and are framed by a backdrop of green palm fronds and bird of paradise flowers.

Breathtaking fashion photographs from Swiss photographer Namsa Leuba

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Date
16 July 2012

These stunning shots for WAD Magazine are the work of Namsa Leuba, a Swiss-Guinean photographer currently living and working in Paris. Namsa’s practice focusses heavily on an African identity perceived through western eyes, appropriating the artefacts of Guinean culture and recontextualising them to fit a westernised perspective. Previous projects have seen her travel across the continent to photograph locals in subverted traditional dress, something that, on occasion, solicited “violent reactions from Guineans who viewed my procedures/practices as a form of sacrilege. Some were afraid and were struck with astonishment.”

Quite apart from the engaging theoretical background to Namsa’s work she also has an incredible gift for taking technically brilliant photographs, as the sheer richness of these images testifies.

A person stands against a bright orange background, wearing a red and white checked headwrap and blue eyeshadow. They wear a layered outfit of a polka-dot shirt, a red dress and a striped skirt, paired with striped socks and red trainers. They hold a large bouquet of green leaves and white flowers.
Above

Namsa Leuba: WAD Magazine

A person stands against a pink background, their head completely obscured by a lush arrangement of green tropical leaves and white flowers. They wear a green outfit with colourful embroidered details and striped socks. Five spotted cat sculptures in various poses surround them on the floor.
Above

Namsa Leuba: WAD Magazine

A person poses against an orange background wearing a bright yellow hooded parka with a faux-fur trim. They wear a structured headpiece made of green folded materials and a peach-coloured bodice with a green patterned skirt.
Above

Namsa Leuba: WAD Magazine

A person sits on a chair draped with a Union Jack blanket, wearing a red jacket and a large headpiece of pink lilies. They look directly at the camera against a gradient blue and green background.
Above

Namsa Leuba: WAD Magazine

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Further Info

About the Author

James Cartwright

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James started out as an intern in 2011 and came back in summer of 2012 to work online and latterly as Print Editor, before leaving in May 2015.

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