Photographer Nadine Ijewere has stepped into a new chapter of her life. She unveiled Anthesis, her first solo exhibition in London – a culmination of her standout work as a testament to her journey, with its narrative-rich pieces that weave together culture, diversity, and beauty. Since her meteoric rise, her lens has celebrated beauty in all its forms, capturing the far-flung corners of the world with an undeniable vibrancy. Born in London of Nigerian-Jamaican heritage, Ijewere has carved a name for herself as a vanguard photographer in fashion portraiture, shooting top models like Iman, Paloma Elsesser, Mona Tougaard, and Anok Yai on the regular. With a background that saw her balancing expected A-level science and mathematics courses against the possibility of the unknown with photography, Ijewere’s love for the camera led her to attend the London College of Fashion. It was there, amid the glossy and often homogenous world of fashion imagery, that her concern for portraying non-Western cultures blossomed into a revolutionary drive.

Making history at the tender age of 26, Ijewere shattered the glass ceiling as the first woman of color to shoot a Vogue cover, bringing a long-due inclusive vision for fashion’s future to the forefront. Since then, she’s laid the groundwork for a reputation as one of the leading names in photography, collaborating with fashion powerhouses like Vogue, i-D, Another, and WSJ. With her personal touch in casting and her passion for representing the underrepresented, she infuses each project with a more profound message: diversity isn’t just beautiful, it’s essential. Her monograph, Our Own Selves, further immortalized her commitment to redefining beauty standards and empowering the visibility of all identities within the global tapestry of fashion. With all that grand work in hand, it’s a wonder how she could equally pull off the fashion wedding of the season this summer. Shot by Kloss Films, Models.com spoke to Ijewere about her new exhibition, focusing on the technicality of her profession and redefining the visual language of fashion and identity.