Issue 37 BLACK is hitting the shelf. The idea came in spring when blooms of colours became too much. WE craved something dark, something with an attitude. Hence black – the colour symbolic of so many things, representing so much across cultures.

So be Black with WE. Philippe Pourhashemi talks to fashion designer Iris van Herpen, who finds black feels safe and similar, and the legendary black icon Diane Pernet. See the visual diary of a black widow captured by photographer Kah Poon and Martin Waitt. Dark beauty invades the big apple in Takahiro Ogawa’s photography; but that of the black women is no less charismatic. Then meet our cover girl Tyra Banks, photographed by photographer Udo Spreitzenbarth and stylist Ty-Ron Mayes brings us into the depth of her world, followed by the two hall-of-fame Albino black models Diandra Forrest and Shaun Ross. Explore the Lagosian way of Civilisation, before the spirit of blackness captured by photographer ND Chow and stylist Hidero Nakagane blows your mind away.

Whilst the Chinese proverb says bitterness is good, Y-ho says black medicine is good. The Chinese affection with black further extends to the art of ink, as narrated by Ren Wan; before photographer Hironobu Sato and art director Tetsuya Chihara take the expression to visual levels. Take blackness to higher grounds as Michael Cheung and Vanessa Hu explore black and white photography, followed by a breathtaking showcase of our favourite surrealist artist Ali Mahdavi. The art of black tattoo at its extremity is seen on Zombie Boy. Insightful Taiwanese photographer Guo Ying Sheng captures how time changes Dihua Street in Taipei. Richie Rich and Andrej Pejic rock our editorials. Be informed about the latest happenings across art, fashion, design and the world and read our Chinese Yellow Calendar.

Enjoy the rest of the season with the beauty of black.