TEMS is glammed in gold headwrap for ESSENCE cover; the September/October Fashion Issue.
The Nigerian singer styled by Gabriella Karefa-Johnson looked flawless wearing a clean beat styled in a themed black coat with contrasting white wool collar details and a gold headwrap complete with a gold and black toned statement neckpiece for the simple cover shot.
“Karefa-Johnson’s groundbreaking role as the first Black woman to style a Vogue cover, paired with Tems’s rapid ascent in the music industry, highlights the unique challenges and triumphs that trailblazing women experience.
As the two share and connect on the specifics of their journeys, they reveal the resilience that propels Black and diasporic women forward, inspiring us to follow our own paths with similar courage and passion.”
She also donned a feathered statement dress with a matching coat with a frayed crimped fringe hairstyle to seal the look. She also chose a gash leather dress with buckle details within the shredded detail for the hot look. She works some seriously fierce looks.
TEMS spoke to her stylist Gabriella Karefa-Johnson about her style, influence, her music and more. Excerpts:
Karefa-Johnson: I would say “sense of style” is a currency that audiences are really interested in these days, and I wonder if your style has evolved as you’ve gained more visibility on the global stage.
Tems: I feel like with me travelling, meeting different people, exploring and being exposed to new cultures, and just seeing new fashion ideas, I find myself more interested in trying new things. I could see a balloon skirt, and maybe two years ago I would not even be thinking of one. But today that would be interesting. I want to try it. I want to see how I feel in that. So I do a lot of experimentation now, but it has nothing to do with the outside world. It’s just my inner creativity trying to burst out—just waiting to be expressed, really. I just find myself wanting to try new clothes, new styles, new outfits, new hairstyles, just new everything.Karefa-Johnson: Well, I have to say, that’s a very interesting point of view, and it’s not always the case. I think being open to evolving in your style, and being open to collaborate with someone, is such an amazing virtue that I hope you keep forever and ever. Do you think there are elements—even if it’s just generally—that you try to incorporate into those new looks, just to kind of cement who you are?
Tems: I like fine jewelry, and I like crystals and rocks, and I enjoy silver and things that are mixed as well.Karefa-Johnson: Accessories and jewelry are a way of illuminating your presence onstage. That’s so interesting.
Tems: I like to be comfortable when I’m onstage, because the more comfortable I feel, the better my performance. And I just like to add a little bit of something unexpected in every look, you know.Karefa-Johnson: That speaks to the idea that one of the things people love so much about you is that you’re not willing to compromise your comfort, or what feels authentic to you in your performance, in order to project a certain image. I wonder if you have recognized that you mean so much to so many people in that way—in a “self-love and acceptance” way and an “authentically expressing yourself” kind of way. Do you accept being designated as somebody who’s pushing that kind of positivity out into the world?
Tems: I appreciate that that’s what’s coming across. And I do think people should be themselves. I can’t really be anybody else. It’s just not going to work. You are doing yourself a disservice trying to be someone else. You should just be who you are. Once you start trying, you’ve already missed the road. That’s a takeaway from how I live my life for sure.
Read ESSENCE’s full cover story with Tems here
CREDITS
Talent: @temsbaby
Photographer: @lizjohnsonartur
Stylist: @gabriellak_j
Hair: @am_stagrams
Makeup: @kaylaaperez_
Nails: @tinubellomanicurist
Set Design: @the_setstylist
Tailor: @laima_andrijauskaite
Post Production: @onehundredberlin
Location: @sunsetstudioslondon
Special Thanks: @rosewoodlondon
Production: @themorrisongroup
ESSENCE, SVP, Creative: @coreytstokes
ESSENCE, VP, Content: @itsnandibby
ESSENCE, Visual Director: @_mq______
ESSENCE, Design Director: @anthonybones_