Tekoa Hash, the founding partner of The Teknique Agency and Teknique Productions, was the creative director behind a breathtaking editorial shoot inspired by Blitz Bazawule’s new iteration of The Color Purple.
Filled with sharp imagery, bold colors, and themes of sisterhood and unity, the stunning campaign pays homage to the original 1985 film and Bazawule’s bold new remake.
Source: Jerome A. Shaw / other
Hash’s beautiful editorial shoot came together in November 2023 at the height of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and SAG-AFTRA strike as writers and actors fought with Tinseltown execs for better pay. The rough negotiation period caused Hollywood projects to halt and impacted the press rollout for The Color Purple. Hash knew she had to do something to support beauty professionals struggling financially during the challenging period.
“It felt a little weird because we did this to be creative during a time when money wasn’t circulating because of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike,” the beauty guru told MadameNoire during an exclusive interview.
“Tym Wallace — one of our management clients who was the first to sign with our agency over a decade ago — is Taraji P. Henson’s hairstylist. Tym did all of Taraji’s looks for The Color Purple. Tym approached me and said, ‘Listen, I need some buzz. I don’t know if we’ll be able to do this press tour because of the union strike’ and I was just trying to brainstorm ways that he and the crew’s hard work wasn’t forgotten.”
Hash flew out to Los Angeles and began piecing together the concept for the editorial shoot, but her plan came just as the WGA and SAG-AFTRA struck a deal with Hollywood execs. Still, she felt compelled to produce a work to pay homage to the legendary film. Hash pulled together a team of Black makeup artists, stylists and photographers to bring her vision to life. The first day of the shoot was “complete magic,” according to the glam veteran.
“Melvin Sanders — our wardrobe stylist — runs a showroom in Downtown LA, and they only do period pieces, so it was perfect,” she said of the vision behind the editorial. “He was able to pull clothes from different eras. The showroom was the perfect place to shoot too because it had this vintage feel to it.”
Hash incorporated bold colors and flowers throughout the shoot to pay homage to the inaugural film. If you remember, in the 1985 Steven Spielberg-directed hit, Celie and Sophia can be seen walking through stunning fields of lavender and sunflowers in different scenes throughout the movie.
Source: Jerome A. Shaw / Jerome A. Shaw
“I brought like $500 worth of flowers, and I just let the flowers create the set design,” Hash revealed. “It was just a blessing. No one did this for money. We did this to keep our spirits lifted and to pay homage to this incredible film.”
Former Love & Hip-Hop: Atlanta star Ariane Davis was also featured in the stunning editorial. Hash worked with the reality TV star during her time as the lead glam coordinator on the VH1 hit series. Davis paid homage to the iconic Shug Avery in the fun shoot — and she nailed the sassy jazz singer’s look from head to toe.
Check out a few photos from the incredible editorial below.
Source: Jerome A. Shaw / Jerome A. Shaw
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