I Am Iman

This book I first read at my local library and fell in love with it. Not only does it have beautiful, colorful pics, it also somewhat empowers African American women in the fashion industry. Over the recent years the fashion shows and some of the fashion designers have made a "comfortable seat" casting white models. This book is a refreshing to read and look at the fashion industry through Iman eyes. My favorite part of this book is a photo spread of all the popular African American models togther. Good read and beautiful photos!

I loved this book! Of course, I knew Iman's picture from seeing her in magazines all my life. But I never knew her story. I was moved and impressed by her intelligence, her wit, her moxie. I especially liked that she brought other voices into her memoir -- especially bell hooks. She constantly challenges stereotype and status quo, just in the way she approaches life. She seems to grow in beauty and in depth as she gets older. She IS an inspiration and a positive role model for women of all colors and all ages.

I Am Iman is a wonderful book. That it is wonderful to look at won't come as a surprise to anyone. What is a suprise, visually, though, are many of the photographs, all chosen by Iman: of course there are plenty of traditional beauty and fashion images testifying to Iman's career as a singular catwalk and photographic model. (These images make up a fascinating archive for anyone interested in photography, fashion, social history, studio 54, sex, gender, high fashion and race). Much more remarkable, however, are the riskier choices of images. This is not a book which wastes any time at the alter of traditional beauty. Iman shows herself every which way: nude, pregnant, dressed up, and naked, fleshy and lovely. The book is worth getting for the iconic photograph by Annie Leibovitz of two generations of black models all sitting together. But do not miss the amazing collaboration between Sandra Bernhard and Iman: this shows Iman as a performer unconstrained by vanity (although,it turns out that she looks great dressed up like a drag queen), and it is this Iman - unabashed, unashamed and upfront that is presented again and again throughout this book, both in its images and in its writing. Yes, the essays by David Bowie, Ingrid Sischey and Bell Hooks are great, but the riveting writing comes from Iman herself. She is an honest and unpretentious writer and she certainly has a lot to say and many stories to tell. She does not put a gloss on any thing that she encountereed or did over her remarkable career, and though the book is not a tell all (thank god), Iman is not shy about sharing regrets, mistakes and ambivalent feelings.This is not a series of puff pieces about a celebrity. Far from it! Iman's voice comes across as both proud and self-deprecating and most of all, as someone with a wonderful sense of the absurd. The book is an amazing design - I read that Jonathan Barnbrook also designed Damien Hirst's catalogues, and that would make sense, because the book is risky. There is not one single lazy page in the whole volumne. Iman once again has not gone for the banal. This book is a MUST for any library, but better than that, you'll want to keep it on your bedside table.

For those who are fans of Iman and the fashion-system which created the myth of her, this book will be a delicious read. From her first beginnings and exile from Somalia, her native country, and her subsequent "discovery" by the great modeling agency Wilhemina in New York City, the book takes us through the entire gamut of just what set Iman apart from other models of the day and succeeds in capturing the magic of her runway and print style. Especially for those of us who are "fashionistas of the 80's", Iman's book will bring back a few heartwarming memories of the era, in spite of the initial racism and ugly side of the industry most models of color inevitably seem to experience. The myth of Iman is dissected, the real truth of her rise to stardom is disclosed, and the woman and mother she has become today is acclamated. The book read like a real life fairytale.

A stunning visual poem; an intellectual consideration on the impact of race on standards of beauty; a fantastic homage to one of the world's enduring beauties; a must-have for the Iman fan, or the appreciator of the beauty of black women.