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Remember the 'Haute Omelette' Moment Rihanna Gave Us at the 2015 Met Gala? She Almost Chickened Out!
It was a moment instantly cemented in fashion history—and one of many that reaffirmed that Rihanna is a bonafide fashion icon. At the 2015 Met Gala, the bad gal ascended the red-carpeted steps of the Met in a couture fur-trimmed and embroidered canary-colored velvet cape—with an epic train—by Chinese designer Guo Pei. It was a…
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Artists' Retreat: Looking for a Safe, Socially Distanced Activity This Weekend? Make It Museum-Worthy! [Updated]
We know, we know—summer’s half-over, and you are over being indoors. So are we—but safety first, Kids. That said, with the future of education being a contentious issue at present, a little arts education might be safer than you think. While there aren’t many public activities we feel comfortable recommending as COVID-19 numbers continue to…
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A Swift Solution? Taylor Swiftly Rebrands Her Folklore Merch After a Black Business Owner Calls Foul
Does nobody Google anymore? Is a basic trademark or incorporation search too tedious to endure? Or do big stars’ teams just figure they can easily eclipse small independent entities, so due diligence is simply drudgery? We’re asking this in all seriousness because only weeks after the unfortunately named country vocal group Lady Antebellum bulldozed and…
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Big Beauty Tuesday: When It Comes to Magazine Covers, What's the Line Between Art and Insult?
By now, you’ve likely seen them, heard about them, and maybe even participated in the conversation about two of August’s most striking—and controversial—magazine covers: Simone Biles photographed by Annie Leibovitz for the cover of Vogue and Viola Davis atop Vanity Fair, photographed by Dario Calmese—remarkably the first Black photographer to shoot a cover for the…
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It's Not Too Late! BIPOC Designers Encouraged to Apply for Awards From the ICON 360 Fund
There is $1 million in award money currently available to 20 talented designers of color right now—but you can’t win if you don’t apply. On Friday, Harlem’s Fashion Row (HFR) announced it is re-opening its applications for Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) designers interested in applying for the ICON 360 Fund, a $1 million…
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Angela Davis, Angelica Ross, Cynthia Bailey and More to Appear at Black Women's Health Imperative Anniversary Week
‘Tis the season to be enlightened: we’re now months into perhaps the most challenging crises of our lifetimes (plural), and we’re being called upon to go deep in our analysis, understanding, activism, and ability to adapt to new realities. Here at The Root, we’ll be doing our part with our inaugural monthlong Root Institute this…
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Exclusive: A Powerful New Video From the Human Rights Campaign and Billy Porter Reminds Us Our Votes Do Matter
There has been so much trauma, violence, inhumanity and depraved indifference splashed across our screens in recent months, it’s often difficult to process it all—let alone the brutality we’ve become almost inured to over the past decade and those prior. But what we have been witnessing as of late is not only not new, it…
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Beauty Guru Jackie Aina Is Dropping Her 1st Product Line—and It's for the Homies
At this point, we have no shame in admitting we’d purchase pretty much anything Beau-Tuber Jackie Aina puts her well-heeled stamp on—and in several cases, already have. But while she already has plenty of stellar collabs under her belt, the beauty advocate and 2019 Root 100 honoree’s first independent product offering is likely not what…
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'I Knew I Was a Token': Beverly Johnson Revisits the Trauma of #ModelingWhileBlack—Including That Time They Drained the Pool
In case you forgot, supermodel Beverly Johnson is a g—one of the originals, in fact. And the woman who walked so Naomi can strut is far from finished wielding her decades-long influence on fashion, as evidenced by her recent revelations about her groundbreaking career, which included being the first Black model to land the cover…
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'We Ran Strong and That Was a Revelation': Remembering Civil Rights Activist and Political Pioneer Emma Sanders
In light of the recent losses of civil rights icons Rep. John Lewis and Rev. C.T. Vivian, America, now in the throes of what is widely recognized as a revived civil rights movement, has had ample cause to reflect on some of the movement’s pioneering personalities and changemakers. And as we celebrate those legacies, there…