Legendary photographer Jamel Shabazz turns his lens onto a bevy of models on the streets of his native Brooklyn for the latest issue of W Magazine.

With a career spanning 40 years, Shabazz is best known for his engaging and often intimate street portraits that served as a window into his world as a black man in New York City. One of the standout works in his collection is the photograph “A Time of Innocence,” taken in 1981 in Brooklyn, New York. The images shows a scene where black children children are engrossed in play and riding in a shopping cart along a vibrant street.

Shabazz undertook the photo shoot in close proximity to the Brooklyn Museum, just two weeks after the conclusion of a retrospective of his work there. The central theme he pursued was encapsulated in the phrase “tougher than leather,” symbolizing an undisturbed confidence often referred to as “cool.” Shabazz, who admits that he always wanted to be a stylist, emphasized bold accessories to transform the models into “urban warriors.”

Styled by Ola Ebiti, the models sport a seemingly endless list of top designers, including Gucci, Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, Prada, and much more. Each look is rounded out with har by Matt Benns and makeup by Kanako Takas.

“It’s not often that I get to shoot fashion for a publication,” he says of the pictures you see here. “Really, it’s a dream,” Shabazz tells W. “My objective was to create an image of diversity,” he says. “To portray a sorority of women giving each other strength.”

More at W Magazine.