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3rd Time’s the Charm: Designer Brandon Maxwell Believes in #BlackGirlMagic
How about three delicious scoops of #BlackGirlMagic to sweeten your day? Designer Brandon Maxwell’s newly launched Spring/Summer 2018 advertising campaign, starring British model Jourdan Dunn and her surprise date, is a follow-up to his two previous and equally stunning campaign videos featuring models Riley Montana and Joan Smalls. Gorgeous clothes, perfect bodies and pretty faces…
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Fighting in Style: Fashion Helps Us Do the Right Thing
Fashion has always been a frontline method of communication for me; it’s one of the ways I telegraph my mood, my power and my place in the world. And fashion was one of the many weapons used by women during the 2018 Women’s March, where marchers were clad in everything from baby booties to jackboots.…
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Missing in Action: Black Designers
Here comes New York Fashion Week, again. Everything is about to change—or so it seems—as designers present fashion shows featuring clothes generally intended to break the rules. But one thing rarely, if ever, seems to change, and that’s the absence of black designers occupying top spots in the fashion industry. Freelance designer and journalist Kibwe…
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Black Gold: Stars Auction Their Golden Globes Gowns for #TimesUp
Everyone’s betting on black in the fight against sexual harassment. On Tuesday morning, Conde Nast Publications—home to Vogue and Vanity Fair—announced that it will partner with eBay to auction off some of the gowns and tuxedos the stars wore to the 2018 Golden Globes. This year’s ceremony will go down in history for the celebrities who…
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Still in the Spirit: The Legendary Susan Taylor Wants Us to Love Ourselves Enough to Save Ourselves
Susan Taylor is legend. But the term “legend” is nowhere near adequate enough for this woman, whose tenure as editor-in-chief of Essence magazine transformed both of their names into global powerhouse brands followed by 8 million readers. Living in the now, at 71-fighting-years strong, Taylor founded the nonprofit National Cares Mentoring Movement in 2005; to…
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The House of Versace: Long May It Reign
The trailer for Ryan Murphy’s The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, debuting on FX on Wednesday, ironically sparked a flood of gorgeous memories for me about working with Versace. This, despite the fact that the Versace family has issued a press release calling the series—based on Vanity Fair correspondent Maureen Orth’s book Vulgar Favors—“a…
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Making Proud Mary: Stylist Tym Wallace Shares His Behind-the-Scenes Secrets for Taraji’s Killer Hair
How dope would your hair look if you had a $10,000 wig budget? And how about an über-talented hairdresser like Tym Wallace scrutinizing your every move via a super-closeup iPhone app for moviemakers? You would be flawless, that’s what. Don’t take my word for it, though; see for yourself when Proud Mary, Taraji P. Henson’s latest…
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It’s All Love! We’re in Love With Serena Williams’ Slamming February Vogue Cover (With Beautiful Baby Alexis Olympia!)
Power. For me, that word defines Serena Williams. I love her body—it’s invincible. I also love that none of her seemingly superhuman attributes were given to her or easily attained. Everything she has, she earned, one drop of sweat at a time. She and big sister Venus were their own mini-civil-rights movement as they fought…
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Teamwork Makes the Dream Work: What’s Better Than 1 Black Entrepreneur? 2!
Put your hands together for two black entrepreneurs putting their heads together to cross-promote their newly patented personal-care devices! Inventors Ceata Lash and Joshua Esnard are both trying to take the struggle out of hair care while black: Lash’s PuffCuff—a hair clip specifically designed to be nondamaging to curly and textured hair—helps to create and…
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How to Face-Tune Like a Red-Carpet Regular, Part 2: Before Plastic Surgery, Live the Laser-and-Peel Life
My Glow Up goddesses! You asked, and I got the answers on the best chemical peels and lasers for darker skin tones. During last week’s “snow bomb cyclone,” I checked in with Dr. Michelle Henry, a Harvard-trained New York City dermatologist, to talk about the latest offerings in her practice. As a black woman herself,…