WestFortyTwo

Spring 2025 W42 Photoshoot:

Direction for this photoshoot is centered around W42’s commitment to strength, expression, and freedom to be. Lipstick typically isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when you think of strength. W42 seeks to change that.

With recent cultural shifts throughout the US, a growing  community of lipstick-wearers are showing solidarity and embracing their power through a bold, red lip. While a red lip can be seen as classic, it can also be seen as an act of rebellion against those who wish to silence and stifle women, BIPOC, the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, and other marginalized groups. W42 was created as tools for self-expression, for all. This photoshoot is the first of a series that will provoke thought and prompt the viewer to question the status-quo and open dialogue for suppressed modes of expression. W42’s tagline ‘How will you wear it?’ prompts users to try something new each day with their beauty perceptions, their mindset, and their actions.

This photoshoot’s main takeaway:

Strength doesn’t always have to be pretty, and certainly not conventional. Sometimes strength is messy, and it doesn’t ‘color inside the lines’.