Dazed & Confused September 2012 : Azealia Banks by Sharif Hamza

[hexagon sun]

Dazed & Confused September issue: Azealia Banks Blows Up

The mermaid-haired, sexually outspoken rap provocateur stars on Dazed's new collections issue

Azealia Banks gets reactions. Since she bopped her way through viral hit '212' in a Mickey Mouse sweatshirt, dropping the c-word bomb with careless intent, she quickly became a 2012 point of fixation. Rapper, fashionista (she's played at Karl Lagerfeld's house and fronts the A/W12 T by Alexander Wang campaign) and hard-balling Harlem pop provocateur, Karley Sciortino spoke to Banks for this issue, photographed by Sharif Hamza and styled by Karen Langley with this season's must-have accessory: an inflated raspberry-coloured condom.

"I really enjoyed interviewing her. She's an extremely smart and driven person," says Sciortino. "The intensity of her ambition is almost scary. You get the sense that there are no laws or limits to what she will do to get where she wants to be. She's really funny, blunt and flips her hair a lot – like the classic 'b*tch from a teen movie' hair flip. It's a good move. My interview with her inspired me to flip my hair more."

Elsewhere in the issue, 11 of the world's most exciting young female musicians including Jessie Ware, Laurel Halo and Njena Reddd Foxxx wear classic Chanel jackets their way, a Dazed take on Karl Lagerfeld and Carine Roitfeld's Little Black Jacket project. Another Magazine fashion director Katie Shillingford even took a trip to Tokyo to board the Chanel A/W12 haute couture plane, sitting down with Karl and Carine for a head-to-head conversation.

Over 50 pages of the most inspiring A/W12 collections make up our seasonal fashion special, photographed by Sean and Seng, Andrea Spotorno, Marlene Marino and Julia Hetta and styled by Karen Langley, Robbie Spencer, Katie Shillingford, Tony Irvine and Hannes Hetta.

Ukrainian feminists protesters Femen discuss their rise to notoriety with a series of topless Euro 2012 and Olympic demonstrations and, as we wait for the fate of Russian punks ***** Riot, Dazed highlights how the protestors are facing years in jail for storming a Moscow cathedral to play an anti-Putin "punk prayer".

Plus: William Gibson, Jon Savage and Johan Kugelberg talk punk's coming-of-age, Jeff Mills celebrates 20 years of Axis, Cat Power, and Pucci's Peter Dundas, all in an issue of anarchy and excess.

Photography Sharif Hamza
Styling Karen Langley
Hair Brianna Shehee
Make-Up Lisa Houghton at Tim Howard Management
Nails Honey at Exposure NY using Chanel
Set Design Jill Nicholls at The Magnet Agency
Photographic Assistants Matthew Hawkes, Myles Blankenship
Styling Assistants Emma Wyman, Jessica Bobince
Production Ashley Herson
Production Assistant Marcus Chang
Retouching by Blank (Post)

dazeddigital

 

[mikel]

It's incredibly tacky, I would've preferred something a little bit more subtle.
I like the bedroom setting of the shoot.

 

[aglamourgirl]

Oh I love it! Only Azealia could ever pull something like this off. So happy and will be heading to the news stand to buy.

 

[stereo]

Banks looks gorgeous, I love everything about this cover, but THIS is what got banned in 7 countries?
I don't want to live on this planet anymore...

 

[ChristyLeReveur]

tacky, indeed.

 

[ForChicSake]

some people will do anything for publicity and attention, funny they pick that picture for the cover you'd think the ed would have more "daring" photos but it's just plain and dull. it just shows how much they want to get a reaction... next.

 

[stereo]

some people will do anything for publicity and attention, funny they pick that picture for the cover you'd think the ed would have more "daring" photos but it's just plain and dull. it just shows how much they want to get a reaction... next.

well, this is how this business works, isn't it? stars need publicity, magazines need publicity. it doesn't really bother me, we've all seen much worse attempts.

what bothers me though is how on earth this could be considered controversial enough to get banned. I mean, what's so shocking about it? much ado about nothing.

I don't like the rest of the ed that much, although they're not bad. it's just I'm a bit surprised that Hamza shot it as usually his style is a bit more sophisticated (on the other hand, usually he shoots for VOGUEs etc.). the 3rd pic would make a good cover but I hate the pic with lollipop, it's just terrible.

 

[ad041715]

I was excited when I heard about the banned cover and when the content of said cover was revealed I got an amazing image in my head.

The outcome is not what I expected. The colors are too much, that bedroom wall adds to the the cluttery feeling of the photo, and Azealia looks too posy. The editorial doesn't do her any favors either- to me it just looks like she's standing in front of a teen's bedroom wall & she doesn't sell it to me. I love AB in motion but in print she loses that oomph makes her special.

 

[stereo]

the more I look at it the more I notice how drag she looks on the first and the last pic of the ed. AWFUL.

 

[ForChicSake]

well, this is how this business works, isn't it? stars need publicity, magazines need publicity. it doesn't really bother me, we've all seen much worse attempts.

what bothers me though is how on earth this could be considered controversial enough to get banned. I mean, what's so shocking about it? much ado about nothing.

I don't like the rest of the ed that much, although they're not bad. it's just I'm a bit surprised that Hamza shot it as usually his style is a bit more sophisticated (on the other hand, usually he shoots for VOGUEs etc.). the 3rd pic would make a good cover but I hate the pic with lollipop, it's just terrible.

There is nothing shocking about it (no matter how tacky/tasteless/imho pathetic it is), surely a cover with a woman blowing up a condom isn't something you want young impressionable girls/boys to see on the newsstands of their local newsagents or shopping centres. There are standards some people would like to maintain in terms of what is exposed to the public in the name of fashion/publicity, I understand the ban.

 

[Bertrando3]

some people will do anything for publicity and attention, funny they pick that picture for the cover you'd think the ed would have more "daring" photos but it's just plain and dull. it just shows how much they want to get a reaction... next.

Indeed it's sad to arrive to see a woman with a condom in her mouth and tryin' to brainwash people to make them think it's ok and cool it's frikin' stupid and tasteless.

There is nothing shocking about it (no matter how tacky/tasteless/imho pathetic it is), surely a cover with a woman blowing up a condom isn't something you want young impressionable girls/boys to see on the newsstands of their local newsagents or shopping centres. There are standards some people would like to maintain in terms of what is exposed to the public in the name of fashion/publicity, I understand the ban.

Totally agree, wouldn't have said it better myself.

 

[hautechild]

Ugh. Tacky is right. I'm rolling my eyes right alongside ForChicSake

 

[xPedro]

She is e oly one who can pull this off, I love it, cheap and faboulous!

 

[Shelton123]

There is nothing shocking about it (no matter how tacky/tasteless/imho pathetic it is), surely a cover with a woman blowing up a condom isn't something you want young impressionable girls/boys to see on the newsstands of their local newsagents or shopping centres. There are standards some people would like to maintain in terms of what is exposed to the public in the name of fashion/publicity, I understand the ban.

"Young impressionable girls/boys" probably don't even know what a condom is, and it's really not like newsstands are everywhere and it's not like this photo will be plastered everywhere so chances are no one will even notice it if you're not trying to look for it.

The sl*t shaming on this thread is just horrible too but I won't go into that. I really don't understand how it's tacky for a woman to blow up a condom honestly.

 

[nightclubbing]

Her hairline is the only thing that upsets me about this, honestly. I don't understand how people live for this chick when it looks like her wig is never on straight or tight enough. Good music and nice pictures though.

 

[MON]

This has got to be their worst cover to date!

 

[versustito]

I love it!

 

[SugarMe]

This is the banned cover? This? It's not even as though she's feigning fellatio or being overtly vulgar. She's blowing up/smoking a condom. Considering her music, I expected something a lot more racy. I'm almost disappointed. Heaven forbid poor, impressionable, defenceless children know what a prophylactic looks like.

 

[YourMonster]

Tasteless, Poorly thought out and Poorly executed. I'm not surprised

 

[justaguy]

Was really looking forward to seeing this issue's cover sensation, but what a let down. Nothing sensational about this, just another desperate attempt to grab attention. Azealia does actually look really good here (I wouldn't have mind seeing the last photo as the cover) but this cover tactic just turned out tacky and not hype worthy.