The New School students aren’t your typical college kids. They’re bright, determined, and armed with just the skills needed to revolutionize our world. Through fashion, music, art, writing, social research and more, these future leaders are ready to leave their mark and shake up the rules. This is especially true with New Schooler Tiffany Curtis. She’s fun, fashionable and fearless! She’s also ready to show the beauty industry who’s boss. With something as simple as a tube of black lipstick, Tiffany hopes to redefine mainstream beauty and spread a message of acceptance and inclusion of all. HC: So Tiffany, give the readers a little background about yourself.
TC: I’m Tiffany Lashai Curtis. I’ll have a super exciting intro someday, but it’s a work in progress. I’m from Philadelphia, born and raised (cue the Fresh Prince theme). I lived there before making the move to Manhattan to join the MA Fashion Studies and Gender and Sexuality programs at Parsons School of Design. I majored in English and Communications at Rosemont College in Pennsylvania, which basically means I have a degree in writing papers and reading books.
HC: Can you explain what The Black Lipstick Movement is?
TC: First, I love that you called it a movement! I hope that it will be someday, but for now it’s The Black Lipstick Project. It’s a digital initiative that seeks to offer a creative space that accepts, celebrates and inspires those who have been excluded from the mainstream beauty narrative.
HC: What inspired you to start the Black Lipstick Project and what message do you hope the project delivers?
TC: About two years ago, I realized my love for daring makeup and bold lipstick — black lipstick in particular. When I started wearing the shade, I would get compliments from friends and people on the street, but they’d claim they could never pull off such a look. This lack of confidence inspired me to ponder our preconception of beauty.
I started with the internet. I Googled “black lipstick” but only a handful of the images were of women of color. Rihanna and Lupita Nyong’o were among them. I then thought about festivals like AfroPunk. AfroPunk offered a space for alternative blackness and celebrated all people, regardless of size, age, or appearance. Unlike my internet search, this encouraged me and helped me realize that the platform was there. It existed, but it needed to be expanded so that underrepresented individuals had that extra motivation to feel like their most courageous selves. So I came up with the idea of shooting a series of unapologetic photographs that featured men and women wearing black lipstick and embracing who they are. The message is this: I want people of color, people of any size, any sexual orientation, any age, and any circumstance to know they have a right to feel extraordinary, and I believe that makeup and art are more powerful catalysts than we think.
HC: What is your vision for the project?
TC: My ultimate vision for the project is to have a digital platform that shares personal stories of women and men about self-acceptance and individuality, along with creative projects that feature everyday people slaying! Just because society wants us to believe we don’t have the right to feel beautiful because of our natural hair or because we’re not a size two or any other imagined reason doesn’t mean it’s true. I want young women and men to have a site to visit and resonate with on an emotional level.
I would love to brand this message across project merchandise and maybe even host pop-up shops or workshops that feature tips on self-care, mental health and expose people to art and businesses created by people of color in the process. I want there to be presentations at conferences and colleges, and to see more women and men unapolegetically embrace inner and outer beauty.HC: What do you want readers and followers to take away from the project?
TC: I remember wearing bright lipstick when I first got into makeup. One of my own family members would tell me she didn’t think dark women should wear red lipstick. At first I wanted to defend myself and my right to break the mold, but I realized that so much of the one-sided beauty narrative stems from a history of being told that to be different is to be bad. I concluded that the best way to combat the stigma was to be exactly who I was in the most unapologetic way possible.
If I had to give three words to readers and my followers, they would be: Accept, Celebrate, Inspire. I want to remind the girl who’s been told she couldn’t or shouldn’t rock a black or purple lip that she has autonomy over how she chooses to be bold. You can’t silence your greatness because of other people’s fear or even your own. If you have dark brown skin and want to wear bright red, go for it! If you are pale and want to rock a dark lip, do it! If you don’t have abs and want to don a crop top, then nothing should stop you.HC: Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers?
TC: Follow me on Instagram @sometlc. No, I’m kidding (only sort of!). As a fashion student, I realize how much we celebrate and invest in big name designers and companies who don’t have the best ethics, yet we don’t offer the same commitment to the business ideas or aspirations that those close to us may have. I would encourage readers to support ideas that are new or unfamiliar to them and to stand by what they truly believe in, not what they’ve been told to believe.
Time for a speed round to get to know a little more about the girl behind the Black Lipstick!
Favorite Food: Carbs. I never knew how much I loved bread, and if there is cheese on it, it’s even better.
Favorite Show: Sex and the City. Cliché for a New Yorker, but true.
Favorite Book: The Harry Potter series, of course!
Place I Want to Visit: I’m determined to visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park in Orlando. I’ve never been on a plane before, but when I do, that would be my first stop. Maybe after graduation.
My Superpower would be: The ability to be happy all the time, no matter what. Would that count as a superpower?
Fun Fact: I sometimes dabble in spoken word poetry and actually wrote a poem called “Black Lipstick” that inspired the project.
Want to follow Tiffany and her Black Lipstick Project? Connect with her here:
Instagram: @sometlc, @theblacklipstickproject
Facebook: Tiffany Curtis
Email: theblacklipstickproject@gmail.com
Blavity Article: http://blavity.com/3-reasons-wear-black-lipstick/
Portfolio: tiffanylashaicurtis.com