Work in progress: #Sendnudes

The attentive MENDO visitor might have noticed that MENDO is a bit of a boys club. Although we try to provide products for both men and women, we know that we can get carried away in our manliness sometimes.

So we decided to make a book filled with photos of beautiful women.

It’s not the first book on this subject matter. But this one is not quite the same as the titles you already know. In the last few years nude photography books have made a lot of transitions. From the dusky magazines that can be found on the top shelf at a gas station to the more tasteful artistic nudes from photographers like Frank de Mulder and Marc Lagrange. In recent years, we have stocked books from photographers like Henrik Purienne and Akila Berjaoui that approach nudity from a different vantage point. Rankin has found a great market with his spectacular NSFW-books. And Araki and Ren Hang have created a niche with their experimental art photography that shines at the complete opposite end of the spectrum.

But believe it or not, between all these different styles and approaches on nudity, there is still a gap. Like said, our store is quite manly. So we figured: what if we approach female sensuality from a female perspective?

The answer is #Sendnudes. A MENDO-made book that celebrates the diversity of female beauty and body confidence in the 21st century from a female point of view. #Sendnudes combines the work of more than twenty photographers that show women in their purest form. A collection of photographers from all over the world, both men and women, that showcase sensuality, playfulness and uninhibitance in a diverse way that we hadn’t found in the books that we knew before.

Its title, as you may know, is a witty reference to the #sendnudes meme. A term used to request sexually explicit photographs, typically over text messaging and dating apps. It fits this book, as the agency of sending nudes lies with the women. As it should.

We put the agency of this book in the hands of a woman as well. We asked creative director, photographer, video director and model Iman Whitfield to be the curator of this book. Having stood both in front and behind the camera, she knows about the sensitivities on both sides. She has been the dressed and naked subject for renowned photographers and used her experience and female point of view to select a tasteful and diverse collection of work.

#Sendnudes combines different styles, different perspectives, different cultures and many different beautiful women and photography in a way that we believe hasn’t been done before. With work from big international names as well as young and upcoming talents. All set in a playful yet sensual atmosphere. It shows the universal beauty of women while they are at their most powerful and vulnerable at the same time. Seen through the eye of a woman, with an appeal that transcends all genders.