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Eddie Murphy and Lizzo Didn’t Just Bring Big Ratings to SNL; a Few Black Designers Got a Boost, Too
The ratings are in, and Eddie Murphy’s return to hosting Saturday Night Live with music from breakout star Lizzo was a massive success, giving the 44-year-old sketch comedy show its best ratings in two years. But show creator and producer Lorne Michaels wasn’t the only one who got a boost on Saturday night; both Lizzo and…
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Beauty, Brains and Bravery: Remembering Mama Cax
It is with profound sadness that The Glow Up learned today that one of our favorite models and activists, Cacsmy “Mama Cax” Brutus, has died at age 30. Fondly called Cax by her colleagues and clients in the fashion industry, the Haitian American broke new ground as an in-demand model who’d survived cancer as a…
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In the 2020s, We’re Hoping Plantation Weddings Go the Way of the Confederacy—and We May Get Our Wish
On Monday, The Glow Up’s very smart brotha Damon Young made the proposition that perhaps we should just burn down the remaining plantations in America—you know, those sites of the American holocaust that some seem intent on romanticizing as charming and picturesque—hosting tours, reunions and most often, weddings at these problematic venues. And celebrities have…
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Is Streetwear on Its Way Out? Virgil Abloh Says 'Its Time Will Be Up'
Did the man currently considered the king of streetwear just predict its demise? That’s the ironic question hanging in Off-White-style quotes after comments made by the trendsetting label’s founding designer, Virgil Abloh, now also the creative director of menswear for Louis Vuitton. In an interview with Dazed Digital published Tuesday, Abloh reflected on the last…
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This Not a Drill: Could This Be the Blackest Gift of the Season?
If you instantly recognized the insignia above, not only has your so-called “black card” automatically been renewed for another decade, but we’ve found the perfect gift/fashion statement for you. Clearly not content with its ubiquitous purple bag being repurposed and passed down through generations in black households across America, Crown Royal has upped the ante…
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The Glow Up's Guide to Giving: The Brims Have It
There are hats, toppers, lids—and then, there are Brims. Founded in 2016 by Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity brothers Archie Clay III (Tuskegee) and Taj Crutch (Troy University), Brims’ collection of limited-edition fedoras and caps is made in America and made to “inspire confidence in everyday life.” “We wanted to be American-made and focus on finding…
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100% That Knit: Lizzo Is the Latest to Land on a Christmas Sweater
Just when we thought we’d already seen the most outrageous knitwear this holiday season has to offer, here comes one with that “Juice”—well, kinda. At the very least, this series of sweaters comes with a seriously conscious twist. For the third year in a row, U.K.-based socially responsible and environmentally friendly enterprise NotJust Clothing has…
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Look Back At It: Forget the 53 Percent—This Was the Decade of #BlackGirlMagic
Recently, my brethren here at The Root made a healthy argument for how white women have spent the decade between 2010 and 2019 “doing the most” (and the least)—and to a certain extent, they’re right. But as The Root’s editor of all things black woman-related, I’d like to pose a counterargument. Though the storied 53…
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Love, Loss, and Living to Tell the Tale: Lindiwe Is a Celebration of Song Wrapped in a Familiar Story
Perhaps the best way to approach a play like Lindiwe, a Love Story is not to ask it to be a play at all—at least, not in the conventional sense. After all, the script was largely written to reunite legendary music group Ladysmith Black Mambazo with the equally famed Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago; a relationship…
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The Glow Up's Guide to Giving: This Holiday, Do the Right Thing for the Cinephiles in Your Life
It’s hard to believe it’s been 30 years since Spike Lee’s groundbreaking film, Do the Right Thing hit cinemas, but we recently got a reminder that the film many consider Lee’s magnum opus is older than many of our readers (making those of us who saw it in theater feel…well, let’s just say it still…
