Photographer and director Renell Medrano used to collect copies of Players magazine. The softcore magazine, which launched in 1973, blended the sensuous with the literary, featuring both erotic images and interviews with the creative shaping culture.
Though its erotic photographs of Black women were playful and memorable, they were catered towards a male gaze. That was part of Medrano’s inspiration to create ICE magazine, a print and digital magazine (produced in partnership with WePresent) that carries on Players’s legacy of depicting “beautiful, natural women,” but now with a revamped perspective that reflects the desires and agency of its subjects.
Medrano and her creative community, Ice Studios, posted a casting call in New York City. They expected 50 women to show up, but 500 ended up coming. “That day made me realize that this was bigger than me,” Medrano tells PAPER. “I brought so many women together in a place that felt safe to be yourself without judgment.” Alongside the selected models, Medrano and her team embarked on a journey of world-building. In the final product, each subject jumps off the page with style and individuality.
The magazine is yet another creative leap for Medrano, who has spent years honing her vibrant, cinematic aesthetic through her work the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Bad Bunny and Solange Knowles, as well as with brands like New Balance, Tiffany & Co. and Louis Vuitton.
Coming right off the heels of her solo retrospective exhibition LAMBÓN in WSA New York City, ICE magazine is both a distillation and expansion of the world the Bronx-raised artist has been building since her career began.
PAPER chatted with Medrano about ICE, world-building and reframing the legacy of Players magazine.
It’s quite the feat to create a print magazine in 2024. Tell me about the process of putting ICE Magazine together?
It’s truly a feat, but when you have an amazing team it’s so much easier and fun. We didn’t really have a process. It just started with wanting to create something that I was inspired by. We took it step by step.
ICE magazine is inspired by Players magazine. What's your history with Players? What about it sparked your creativity?
I grew up seeing magazines like Players, JET, Ebony and many more. I always loved how they highlighted all types of women. I wanted to bring that back in a publication. I wanted to be able to shoot the type of girls I grew up admiring.
I read you thought that 50 women would show up to the ICE casting call, but closer to 500 ended up coming. What was that day like for you?
That day made me realize that this was bigger than me. I brought so many women together in a place that felt safe to be yourself without judgment. A lot of the girls made new friends. A lot of the girls shared memories together.
Each portrait is so distinct and playful. I’m curious to hear about the process of world building with your subjects?
The process was just us having fun on set with my team. We were all on the same page. We had two days of shooting and we were just building as we went.
It’s such an exciting world you’ve built here with ICE. What do you see as the future of it?
Building a community for women, a safe place to just be ourselves. We’re not looking elsewhere to feel wanted and represented by. We have ICE magazine to do whatever we want now and be whoever we want.
ICE magazine is available for download, exclusively on WeTransfer here.
Photography: Renell Madrano
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