The Photographers’ Gallery celebrates the self-expression of radically fashionable black men in Made You Look: Dandyism and Black Masculinity. In a world where black men are sexually fetishised whilst being disproportionately vulnerable to incarceration or police violence, this collection champions the importance of self-representation.

We love how stereotypical ideas of black masculinity collapse immediately with a single glance at Jeffrey Henson-Scales photograph Young Man in Plaid. Defying expectations, the model wears a flamboyant hat and tight plaid trousers defiantly, almost daring the world to celebrate his impeccable sartorial choices. A collection of street photographs by Jeffrey Henson Scales (New York), Liz Johnson Artur (Sofia) and Colin Jones (UK) capture the extravagant everyday wear of the young dandies in their respective cities. All three photographers focus on a creative masculinity, where freedom of expression and fashion are the order of the day.

Hassan Hajjaj’s vibrantly coloured pictures mix mediums as he inlays the frames with bright mackerel tins or a brand of match boxes decorated with butterflies. The frames contrast with the exuberant colours of the photographs themselves. Hajjaj’s subjects wear suits in electric patterns, often in front of a hot pink background like in Afrikan Boy (2012). The stunning colours add to the allure of Hajjaj’s work as he places these unapologetically fabulous men in the spotlight.

There are political statements at play in the exhibition too. Malick Sidibé photographs Malian men after the country achieved independence from France. Stills from Isaac Julien’s Looking for Langston (1989) chronicles black gay desire in the Harlem Renaissance, simply portraying it as another facet of masculinity. A corner room also displays books by Franz Fanon, Margo Jefferson and other black political writers as well as a series of vinyls. The reminder is clear, any assertion of identity by black men is automatically a political act.

Yet the overwhelming tone of the exhibition suggests that the radicalness doesn’t have to come from books or theory, it’s also all about clothes and self-expression. Made You Look is a unique celebration of identity and black masculinity without any of the usual stereotypes.

Made You Look: Dandyism and Black Masculinity is at The Photographers’ Gallery, 15th July - 25th September.