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Surprise! Oprah Matches $1.15 Million in Donations to UNCF
You get a college education, and you get a college education, and you get a college education! Okay, Oprah didn’t say that when she appeared at the United Negro College Fund’s Maya Angelou Women Who Lead Luncheon in Charlotte, N.C. last Saturday—at least, not to the best of our knowledge. But she did say, “We…
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Forever 21 Announces Bankruptcy Filing and Plans to Close Over 100 U.S. Stores
Has “fast-fashion” moved too fast? That’s the question many industry insiders are asking, after millennial and Gen Z fast-fashion favorite Forever 21 filed for bankruptcy late Sunday night, confirming concerns that had been mounting for months about the retailer’s future. As reported by the New York Times, as a result of the Chapter 11 filing,…
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Homecoming: A Powerful Pair of Revivals Prove Chicago a Mecca for Black Theater
There was palpable energy in the theater on the opening night of Drury Lane Theatre’s revival of The Color Purple—and a hallelujah chorus of shouts and co-signs from the audience, no doubt a rarity in the predominantly white suburb of Chicago known as Oakbrook Terrace. But the black theatrical community was out in force to…
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It Runs in the Family: While Meghan Skypes Malawi, Mom Doria Ragland Runs a 5K for Charity—and Inspires a Romance Novel
Clearly, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, gets her humanitarianism from her mama. It’s a fact the royal pointed out in her now-defunct blog The Tig, where she credited her mom, clinical therapist Doria Ragland, with raising her to be “a global citizen, with eyes open to sometimes harsh realities.” That ethos proved true this weekend as…
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Press-Proof? Cardi B Goes Incognito—But as Conspicuous as Ever—During Paris Fashion Week
“Cardi don’t need more press,” Cardi B rapped in her last solo single, aptly named “Press.” But where Cardi goes, the press inevitably follows; so for an impromptu on-the-street appearance in Paris this past weekend, the fashion-loving rapper once again gave them something to talk about. At least, we think it was Cardi B… The…
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The Glow Up Gets…a Touch of Power With Coloured Raine
Editor’s note: No matter how fresh, fly, or uncracked our black, occasionally everyone needs a makeover—or a “refresh,” as it were. For instance, The Glow Up’s weekly “Big Beauty Tuesday” feature, while a fantastic showcase for black-owned and helmed brands, proved a more restrictive format than anticipated—namely, it both forced us into reporting on a designated…
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Optical Illusions: At Balmain and Off-White’s Spring/Summer 2020 Shows, Things Aren’t Always What They Seem
As Fashion Week traveled from New York City to London to Milan to Paris, we’ve been waiting patiently to see what the fashion industry’s top two black designers would be offering for Spring/Summer 2020. And while they presented very different aesthetics, Off-White’s Virgil Abloh and Balmain Creative Director Olivier Rousteing are both taking an illusory…
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Flashback Friday: About That Time Serena Williams Took on NYFW
Editor’s note: While we try to stay on top of everything at all times, sometimes a post gets lost on the way to publishing—which is what happened when we wrote the following coverage of the first New York Fashion Week appearance of Serena Williams’ S by Serena line on Sept. 10. So, in honor of…
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Up Where We Belong: Zendaya’s All-Black Glam Squad Named One of the Top 15 in Hollywood
Black-on-black-on-black….that’s the color scheme on one of the two covers of the Hollywood Reporter’s “Glam Squads” issue, featuring its seventh annual list of the Top 15 most influential hairstylists and makeup artists. And black-on-black-on-black is also the composition of Zendaya’s team, which includes tress-whisperer Ursula Stephen and face-maker Sheika Daley (Zendaya’s all-black squad is led…
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I Dream a World: Mattel Offers Its 1st Nonbinary Fashion Dolls With ‘Creatable World’
The brand Barbie made world-famous is branching out beyond the binary, offering a new world full of options for a society increasingly living beyond labels. On Wednesday, Mattel unveiled Creatable World™, a customizable line of dolls that come with “extensive wardrobe options, accessories and wigs [which] allow kids to style the doll with short or…
