We love a girl who keeps us guessing, and when it comes to red carpet looks, BlacKkKlansman star Laura Harrier always does. In fact, she rivals her Spider-Man: Homecoming co-star Zendaya in switching up her look regularly and sometimes, dramatically; especially as her profile (and promotional appearances) have escalated.
With a sexy, heavy-lidded gaze, high cheekbones, a full pout and mile-long legs, the former model and Louis Vuitton brand ambassador has the type of look that would easily adapt to almost any eraβan asset she and celebrity hairstylist Lacy Redway regularly use to her advantage.
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βLauraβs a chameleon. She can do no wrong!β Redway recently told Vogue, revealing that to honor Harrierβs turn as a young black revolutionary in BlacKkKlansman, theyβve drawn inspiration from a number of famous black beauties to keep Harrierβs looks fresh during the press tour. Redwayβwho also coifs Angela Bassett, Ruth Negga, Jourdan Dunn and Uzo Aduba, among othersβheavily researched β70s style to source ideas for Harrierβs looks, cited Pam Grier, Cicely Tyson, and Diana Ross as inspirations for βdifferent ways to tell a story through hair.β
In fact, the microbraids Harrier debuted at the Hollywood premiere of BlacKkKlansman on August 8 were reportedly inspired by a Poetic Justice-era Janet Jacksonβand are a complete transformation from the super-chic short bob she sports on the cover of Flaunt magazineβs fall fashion issue.
But while Harrier may channel other black women on the red carpet, the biracial actress has no interest in representing black womanhood as a whole, echoing the sentiments of Zendaya when she discusses the narrow margins of black female acceptability in Hollywood with The Daily Beast:
The depictions that weβre now seeing of black women in media and film, itβs a very narrow swath of the black experience. My experience as a black woman is very different than a lot of othersβ. Everyoneβs path is unique. I think itβs really important that weβre representative of all women of color. And, you know, it is disappointing when you look at the actresses of my generation right now. Most of us are light-skinned and biracial and thereβs a lot more people who need to be seen and represented. ... I think most of us are aware of that and can hopefully speak out about it and start to change things as well. ... Iβve been afforded a lot of privileges because of the color of my skin and my background and everything and not everyone has that, so itβs really important to see other people as well.
But while Harrier hopes to speak out about the inequities and colorism still corrupting the Hollywood casting system, the 28-year-old also longs for a day she doesnβt have to.
[Y]ou know, sometimes I donβt want to constantly have to talk about what itβs like to be a black woman. Like, I donβt know, itβs my experience and thatβs my life that I live in and thatβs all that I know so, you know, itβd be nice to reach a point where it wasnβt a groundbreaking thing to be a black woman in America.
But the fact is, we are breaking groundβoften, in spite of America. And whether we are or not, what we know for sure is that itβs a beautiful thing to be a black woman; which is probably why we so enjoy seeing stars on the rise like Harrier play with their beauty in such dynamic and versatile ways.
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