Seated in a noisy booth at Cafe Paulette in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, Alexander-Julian Gibbson—travel editor, stylist, and self-proclaimed “master of enjoyment”—shows me his latest project. In a photographic series called “The Land of Milk and Honey,” he has documented the daily life of 11 multicultural families in some 100 images; connecting fashion to a diverse range of immigrant communities throughout America. 

From Miami’s Little Haiti to Daly City, California, Gibbson—a Houston native of Nigerian descent—met, styled, and dressed families in designers from similar cultural backgrounds, showcasing the multiplicity of American life through the lens of high style. The task was no small feat—pairing people with photographers and designers required a lot of planning and research—yet in the end, the matches that he made felt authentic. “This was my way of showing different faces, to shed light on [the cultural divide] in America,” explains Gibbson. “I did this project in search of hope.”

Navigating wardrobe requests

As a stylist, Gibbson has always established strong relationships with brands, designers, and creators alike, which came in handy for the project. “I try to speak with the designers directly. I felt that the only way I could garnish support for this project was to make sure it wasn’t just my dream, but their dream, too,” he says. “I wanted to work with designers who are in touch with their culture, and that’s a part of their story. I wanted to make sure I tapped into people who felt the same way about telling these sorts of stories.”

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