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In a magnificently preserved brownstone in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, a portrait of Soull and Dynasty Ogun’s mother, Elthire Josephine, sits above a fireplace. The twins—who use the brownstone as the showroom, atelier, and gallery for their lifestyle brand, L’Enchanteur—have lovingly recreated this image of their mother, who died four years ago, in their jewelry. “It was taken when she was getting her immunization forms when she became a US citizen,” Soull says with a smile.
Such seemingly minor biographical details are what animate L’Enchanteur, which was born in 2012 after Soull and Dynasty merged their independent labels—Alkhemi9 and BRZÉ, respectively. Since then, the identical twins have steadily become a force in artistic and fashion circles. The artist Mickalene Thomas is a longtime friend and collaborator of theirs, as is Lena Waithe. Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu, and Lenny Kravitz have all worn pieces by L’Enchanteur. Last year the brand was awarded the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund, and this year L’Enchanteur will contribute to The Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute’s spring exhibition, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.” “Journeying through their work allows you to unapologetically and authentically become the fairy-tale version of yourself,” Thomas has said, “which, in our complex world, is enlightened.”
Their mythical aesthetic—where ancient-looking symbols and talismans merge with the Black immigrant culture of Brooklyn in unexpected or surprising ways—was evident on a recent afternoon visit to the brownstone, whose walls and ceilings have been hand-painted by a friend of the owner (the Ogun sisters rent the home from a retired police officer), and where they have surrounded themselves with Nigerian antiques and totems (their father is Yoruba, their mother from Dominica); Mesoamerican artifacts; artworks by friends; and furniture, textiles, and objects of their own design.
On a nearby wall hung a silver-flecked textile made by Dynasty, inspired by a childhood accident in which she burned her skin in a bathtub of scalding water. Soull had displayed a series of jewelry pieces she calls astral beings: sculptures made with mother-of-pearl and black onyx checkerboards. Next to them were two of her crowns, or gold headpieces. One was composed of gold nameplates of famous Brooklynites, from Barbra Streisand to Lil’ Kim; the other was made to look like a roller set from a beauty parlor.
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