About
Helen Jennings is a London-based wordsmith, consultant and curator whose specialisms include global fashion and visual arts.
She is co-founder and editorial director of Nataal, the media brand celebrating diverse storytelling from Africa and beyond. Its website and award-winning magazine hails the brightest artists via long-form features, films and visual essays. Nataal also hosts photography exhibitions and cultural events worldwide.
Nataal magazine
Discover here
“A journey into the rich visual culture of contemporary Africa”
— Vogue Italia on Nataal
Writing
Contributor to titles including AnOther, Apartamento, ArtNet, Business of Fashion, CNN Style, Dazed, Departures, The Gourmand, Grazia, The Guardian, Harper's Bazaar, IAM, iD, King Kong, Lula, Newsweek, Osman, Oyster, Russh, The Sunday Times, Time Out and Vogue.
Arise magazine
Formerly editor of Arise magazine, a pioneering title which hosted fashion shows in NYC, Paris, London and Lagos. Cover stars included Naomi Campbell, Alek Wek and Kerry Washington and she landed interviews with luminaries such as Franca Sozzani, Idris Elba and Grace Jones.
Books
Helen is author of New African Fashion (Prestel) and has contributed essays to several other books including Fashion: The Whole Story (Thames&Hudson), Fashion Cities Africa (Intellect), Africa Modern (KT Wong Foundation) and Fashion & Postcolonial Critique (Sternberg Press).
Brand consulting & content creation
Draws on her journalistic expertise to help brands communicate their DNA, whether defining the voice of a new endeavour or spearheading engaging content. Clients have included Joseph, Topshop, Epara, Giles Deacon, The Prince’s Foundation, Stella McCartney and Vivienne Westwood.
Teaching, public speaking & curating
Helen has been a guest lecturer at Condé Nast College and University for the Creative Arts and a speaker at the V&A, New York Public Library, Columbia University, SOAS, 1-54 art fair and Flanders Fashion Institute.
Curation has taken on many forms, from shaping the Afromatic show at Tokyo Fashion Week SS23 to selecting works for a photo exhibition with Amsterdam’s Homecoming Gallery.
A judge for awards including Vlisco Fashion Fund, Pew Fellowship for the Arts, Emerge Alara Prize, EIZO Student Award and the Africa MediaWorks Prize.