-
‘Mental Health Is Not Fashion’: Gucci Sparked Controversy—Again—as a Model Protested on Its Milan Runway
It’s been a long year for Gucci, as it has both sought to stay on the cutting edge of fashion and convince the world it’s made some major positive changes since the “blackface sweater” controversy that rocked the legendary fashion house this January. But proving that the label still loves to provoke, creative director Alessandro…
-
Behind the Brand: BLK/OPL Is Finally Black—and Female—Owned [Corrected]
We’ve got something major to celebrate this Big Beauty Tuesday (soon to be relaunched as “The Glow Up Gets…”)! It wasn’t widely known until recently, but Black Opal, one of the most established global beauty brands for black women, was never black-owned. While the brand was created in 1994 with women of color in mind—specifically,…
-
On Her 1st Trip to South Africa, Meghan Markle Speaks to Locals 'as a Woman of Color and as Your Sister'
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, is currently making her first visit to South Africa, as part of a royal tour of Africa with husband Prince Harry and son Archie. But as the duchess acknowledged during a speech at the Justice Desk initiative, which focuses on child protection and female empowerment, her bonds to the continent run…
-
O, No! Oprah Reveals a Deadly Health Scare—and Urges Us All to Take Care
As I write this, there seems to be something going around The Root’s virtual newsroom, as both News Editor Monique Judge and I are battling something wicked. Monique, being a much smarter person than I, scurried off to Urgent Care yesterday to address our very similar symptoms (albeit two time zones apart). I, being the…
-
Big Hair, Don’t Care: A 5th-Grader Stands in Defiance of the Policing of Black Hair
“So, yesterday, I went to school, and I wore my hair in an afro like this…and a lot of people had a lot of mean things to say about it,” said Nashville fifth-grader Promise Sawyers, gesturing to her enviable halo of natural hair in a now-viral video on YouTube. “So that made me feel some…
-
Pretty in Pink: Beyoncé Gives Us a Peek Into Blue Ivy’s Rose Gold Birthday Extravaganza
When we grow up, we want to be just like Blue Ivy Carter. Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s firstborn is clearly living the best life we can imagine, and racking up credits on Billboard-charting hits in the process. And when Blue Ivy celebrated her seventh run around the sun this January, she did it in pop princess…
-
When They See Us: Our Stars Were Stunning at the 71st Emmy Awards
There were some significant—and historic—moments to celebrate at this year’s Emmy Awards (we see you, Jharrel, RuPaul and Billy!) There were some major style moments, as well (and a stunning lack of socks on male attendees, but we digress). Several of our leading lights of the small screen turned out in inimitable style for the…
-
Ahead of the Curve: What Every Lingerie Brand Can Learn From Rihanna's Vision for Savage x Fenty
“I’m looking for unique characteristics in people that aren’t usually highlighted in the world of fashion, as it pertains to lingerie and ‘sexy’…what society sees [as] sexy,” says Rihanna within the first minute of her Savage x Fenty Show mini-doc, now streaming on Amazon’s Prime Video. Aside from simply showing the multimedia, music and dance-heavy…
-
Flawless: Beyoncé Finally Gets the Wax Figure She Deserves—and Miss Tina Approves!
Madame Tussauds hasn’t always been on the mark when it comes to paying tribute to perhaps the most famous figure in music. When a figure of Beyoncé was unveiled in 2017, immediate backlash forced the famed wax emporium to “adjust” the poorly rendered likeness before ultimately opting to remove it altogether. It was just that…
-
Will the Savage x Fenty Show Be the Rihanna Musical Extravaganza We've Been Thirsting For?
Pulsating beats. Undulating bodies. Scantily-clad swag under a spectrum of colorful lights. Is it a music video? A concert appearance? Rihanna’s recent text-filled (and highly controversial) trip to see Slave Play on Broadway? No, it’s a trailer for the megastar’s top-secret Savage x Fenty Fall-Winter presentation, staged at Brooklyn’s Barclay Center during New York Fashion…