Franklin L. Hendricks, the hidden reference of Wales Bonner

Franklin L. Hendricks, the American portrait painter, is subtly honoured during the unveiling of the newest adidas Originals and Wales Bonner collaboration.

Wales Bonner’s references

The British designer Wales Bonner is not shy about drawing inspiration from her background. Her collections, whether solo or in partnership with adidas Originals, combine elements of luxury fashion with sportswear, South London, and her father’s Jamaican heritage.

In Wales Bonner’s latest partnership with adidas Originals, the brand draws inspiration from vintage adidas archive silhouettes, with a strong football theme. Nonetheless, he has decided to conceal Franklin L. Hendricks, an American portrait painter, as one of his references when showcasing the collaboration.

Who is Franklin L. Hendricks, the Wales Bonner Reference

One of the most significant American artists of the 20th century, Hendricks is credited with establishing a precedent for the representation of African Americans in large-scale works by emphasising African Americans, many of whom are anonymous, in addition to his overtly postmodern aesthetic.

After visiting Europe in the 1960s to view the paintings of Rembrandt and Velázquez, Hendricks made the decision to take this action. He returned from that trip not only with the notion of creating large portraits but also with the suggestion that blackness, which had been virtually nonexistent throughout his travels throughout Europe, be represented in his artwork. Hendricks did not turn to landscapes until the 1980s, and he did so in Jamaica, a frequent source of inspiration for Wales Bonner.

In the 1960s, Hendricks defied popular opinion by adopting a portraiture style reminiscent of the classical European masters. When abstract painting was all the rage in the 1970s, Hendricks turned to one of his most trusted tools: photography. Hendricks used it from the beginning as a basis for his paintings, as an object of inspiration, but also to depict an era, because he considered himself a photographer. His photographs were both sketches (he referred to his camera as a “mechanical sketchbook”) and finished works that depicted an era, the birth of hip hop, his passions (jazz, basketball), or fetishes (women’s shoes).

Barkley’s camera led him to pose alongside Herbie Hancock, Dizzy Gillispie, and Adderley Cannonball, but the main characters in his paintings and photos are anonymous people who were occasionally just his friends. Blurred backgrounds highlight the sculptural poses and well-groomed attire, which fall somewhere between dandyism and the portraits of classical Dutch painters.

The basis of the adidas Originals and Wales Bonner campaign lies in those backgrounds that disappear to give importance to the anonymous protagonists, a snap that takes us from the Jamaica of their portraits to the portraits of blackness, brought to the forefront for the first time by Hendricks. Here models mingle with street people and skateboarder Na-Kel Smith in a young and fresh cast that unveils an enveloping beauty.

The adidas Originals x Wales Bonner collaboration is now available at FOOTDISTRICT.