The still shot portrays Viola Davis, Thuso Mbedu, Lashana Lynch, Adrienne Warren, and Sheila Atim wearing all black fits with pops of red and gold. Stylist Corey Stokes and photographer Lelanie Foster achieved their creative vision while capturing these beautiful women. ‘The Woman King,’ made its reign on September 16. It is an action-pact film about the Agojie, one of the most feared groups of female warriors committed to protecting their West African kingdom of Dahomey, which is modern-day Benin. General Nanisca, played by Oscar winner Viola Davis, trains the next generation of recruits and prepares them for battle. The film has tremendous character arches, great action, extreme emotional depths, and self-discovery that audiences have gravitated to. Lashana Lynch, who plays Izugi, is featured in the issue wearing Givenchy. Thuso Mbedu, who plays Nawi, was shot wearing Erdem. “The beauty in what we have learned from each other because of our individual lived experiences, and the beauty that we present when we come together, we present what the world has never seen before,” said Adrienne Warren during “Essence Uncovered,” a roundtable discussion with the cast lead by director Gina Prince-Bythewood. Warren, who plays Ode, is featured below wearing Miu Miu. Director Prince-Bythewood was shot wearing AZ Factory and Fear of God. “There’s no words to describe the journey, the sweat, the blood, the war, that it is being a Black artist, that is being a Black female artist,” said Viola Davis during the roundtable discussion. Davis was shot wearing Alexander McQueen for the September issue. What helped her get through tough moments while filming was "remembering that it was bigger than just us as individuals, but then also seeing that visually. Having that represented, I’ve just never seen so many dark-skinned women in the same frame. I’ve just never seen it. All looking the way we looked. Doing what we were doing,” said Sheila Atim during the roundtable discussion. Atim, who plays Amenza, is shown wearing Sergio Hudson.

By Erin Moonyeen Haley Mention disco and the mind is electrified with iridescence in the form of glittery laser beams graphing the dance floor, disco balls dangling like sequined moons and neon silks and satins fitting the body in the shiniest of silhouettes. Rodarte - the American luxe brand run by sisters Kate and Laura Mulleavy - is channeling those carefree and delightfully hedonist vibes with their Spring 2023 collection, stating point blank that the philosophical muse of the collection is “the music and the theatricality of performing on stage." Acid orange, fuchsia, aqua, parakeet-green, and rave-purple create a dizzying lava lamp of colors that summons nothing but vibrant, optimistic vibes for 2023. The Vogue layout emphasizes this buoyancy, with strobe lights creating a vaudevillian backdrop for models frozen in a performance of psychedelic sunbeams and neon gravitas. Chartreuse seems to be the foreshadowed signature shade of 2023, appearing as complimentary wigs that might remind pop culture aficionados of the eccentric hairdos of Manga characters. That shade of green also stuns in the form of lacy negligees and appletini-colored slipdresses topped with pompoms reminiscent of key lime meringue tarts. Tangerine dresses with slits that go straight to the hip have a weight of elegance thanks to cream-colored lace across the breasts and along the thigh. Asymmetrical wraps get an animated nod courtesy of a satiny plum-colored number with a skirt that cuts at a sharp angle and a sash that wraps around like a sari before it dangles as a sweeping scarf, giving the wearer leisurely leading lady vibes. Blue hair and canary-yellow strappy heels do the time warp throughout the 70s, perfectly working with tie-dye prints that swirl in lapis lazuli paisleys and cerulean sunflowers. Butterflies abounded in unexpected bouquets of metallic blue and violet, perfectly matching pastel dresses that offered all the sweetness of pending Spring. All in all, Spring 2023 has a kaleidoscope groove set to defy the winter doldrums and its palette of hazy grays, promising to jolt the fashion world out of a cold slumber just in the nick of time. Photos courtesy of Vogue Runway.

By Erin Moonyeen Haley Fashion maverick Elsa Schiaparelli once said, “in difficult times, fashion is always outrageous.” Under that mantra, there has never been anything remotely restrained about the iconoclast fashionista whose house, (or should we say dynasty?) has always been devoted to pushing boundaries and eradicating conventions. The supposed arch nemesis of Coco Chanel, (it was Chanel who referred to Schiaparelli as “that Italian artist who is making clothes"), Schiaparelli always stood out from her contemporaries, a legacy still infused in her line to this day. Her hallmark designs include the Circus Collection where four handmade buttons were made to look like acrobats leaping across a peony-pink jacket, and the tears dress, a viscose rayon and silk-blend marocain gown that was a collaboration between Schiaparelli and Salvador Dali. Today, Schiaparelli’s artistic director Daniel Roseberry has brought his own brand of quirk to the extravagant label. A Texas native, Roseberry has spent his time resurrecting Schiaparelli’s love of Surrealism, a passion that is clearly evident in the 2023 lineup that thrilled celebrities and fashion mavens like Karlie Kloss, Rita Ora and Kylie Jenner at the Hôtel d’Evreux in Place Vendome. Many of the pieces have a distinctly gilded 1980s motif, one that infuses the ordinary with the extraordinary. The result is the fulfillment of Roseberry's thesis that the purpose of fashion is for the everyday to be injected with the extraordinary; the mundane to have a fever dream of the fancy. This has resulted in a ready-to-wear collection that features iconic statement pieces such as oversized gold belt buckles and gold corsets that give the kind of boss vibes last championed by Madonna in her Jean Paul Gaultier corset. Other looks cater to the professional with a Cleopatra edge, courtesy of crisp white blouses with Egyptian designs that could be mistaken for snakes or sinuous sun rays. Paired with a slim black skirt and gold sunglasses, the mood is both dominant and self-assured. Roseberry also played with the inherent sexiness of the feminine form in a way that was pure meta. Models donned silky azure dresses and high-cut black swimsuits that were in turn plastered with the gold imprint of breasts, belly and thighs, allowing female ownership of the body to be two-fold. Clinched black dresses with gold glitter outlining the female physique also created bold accents that beg a viewer to look closer, while also providing a type of background to flaunt supersized gold necklaces and black bags with gold handprints. With Schiaparelli's memory still alive and well, the mood of fashion is destined to remain accessibly eccentric and gilded from top to bottom, and in all the spaces in between. Images courtesy of Vogue Runway

By Erin Moonyeen Haley From 1996 to 2011, John Galliano helmed Dior as the Creative Director, a gloriously bombastic and flamboyant era that many argue can never be replicated or revived in any truly authentic way. Some of the most memorable looks included his Matrix-infused line for Fall/Winter 1999, where models not so much walked the runway as stalked its length, and the Fall/Winter 2000 Fetish Fashion Show that was about as sexually coy as Madonna’s Girlie Show tour, thanks to its abundance of leather, rubber and piercings. Actor, singer and producer Cynthia Erivo - who stars as the Blue Fairy in Walt Disney's live-action Pinocchio - channeled Galliano’s glamorous eccentricities at the world premiere of the Walt Disney film, the long-awaited live-action retelling of the classic story of wishes gone awry and adventures everywhere you look. Styled by Jason Bolden, the multi-talented thespian stunned in vintage Dior with its chartreuse reptile skin pattern that blended flawlessly into a yellow gold bodice that ruffled into a ruched mermaid's tail. The star wisely ditched a necklace, drawing attention to the gown’s details, instead opting for chunky bangles and rings while also wearing metallic gold platform heels. The premiere might be in honor of a wooden puppet who longs to be a boy, but Erivo was the stunner who stole the show.

By Erin Moonyeen Haley At New York Fashion Week, Bosideng channeled futuristic couture with a variety of looks that ran the gamut of outdoorsy chic to club kid, circa 1999. The Chinese clothing brand has long been known for its down coats that are both sophisticated and lightweight, two features that played heavily into every item. With some models sporting sleek braids or Lagertha-esq hairstyles that were a melange of coils and stray wisps, (braided looks were all over the runways this year), those functional looks were offset with a mix of licorice-black flouncy skirts, knee-length capris and coffee-colored pleats, many paired with corsets with their own puffy peplums. Ribbed inlays of rubber accented waist-length jackets and vests while sweeping silver and caramel coats were matched with minidresses of fish-netted material, ensuring that Bosideng’s reputation of fusing technology with style will endure. Bosideng's looks are below.

By Erin Moonyeen Haley Ever in iconic form, Viola Davis is all chic black-and-white elegance on four separate covers of ELLE Brazil’s September issue. Promoting The Woman King - which opens in September - the actress is nothing less than statuesque poise and old Hollywood glamour in a quartet of looks that cultivate a regal ambiance befitting the actress and the film. Photography and graphic design duo Marcos Florentino and Kelvin Yule of MAR+VIN are quite adept at dovetailing fashion and politics, eschewing Brazilian conservativeness for almost effervescent inclusivity. They succeed brilliantly with Davis’s layout, making it clear that a new queen is alive and well in the Hollywood stratosphere. One cover features Davis in a sculpted hat by Cecilio Leather Designs, set at an almost ninety-degree angle, her eyes luminous as she gazes with aplomb at the viewer. Of her role as Nanisca, a fictionalized warrior and leader of the Agojie, an all-female army in the kingdom of Dahomey in Africa, Davis has said that "We want to take the reins, and this film is a reflection of that, of a desire of mine to see more black women on screen, because I don't see that.” This film not only offers that unique view, it also delivers an unflinching gaze at the origins of the transatlantic slave trade, reminding viewers that Africa has always been a land of kingdoms and wealth, with civilizations that could eclipse any throughout Europe and America. The ELLE looks that Davis wears are at once futuristic with sharp shoulder silhouettes but also playfully Art Deco with topiary headdresses and white sheath dresses with manicured hands framing the physique. Beauty is by Sergio López-Rivera with hair styling by Jamika Wilson for Epiphany Artist Group, INC.

By Erin Moonyeen Haley It’s tempting to say that Valentino’s 2022-2023 Pink PP Collection is Barbiecore-inspired. With Margot Robbie set to prance and preen across the screen with delightful plasticity in Greta Gerwig’s visionary film next year, looks heading into the Fall have been absolutely saturated with every shade of pink, from pure bubblegum, taffy and fuchsia to hues that inspire food-court-style cravings for cotton candy and confectionaries. While the line's debut roughly coincides with the arrival of Gerwig’s movie, Valentino’s Creative Director Pierpaolo Piccioli concocted the monochrome collection in a radical frame of mind. Working in collaboration with the Pantone Color Institute, Piccioli's mantra was to simplify the color selections in order to draw the eye to the clothing’s contouring and architecture. Amidst the bursts of brilliance, it takes little effort to admire the sculpted necklines, crepe couture dresses, oversized blazers, gauzy bodices and pink tulle skirts. (Think Florence Pugh at the Fall/Winter 2022 Haute Couture show in Rome.) Men have hardly been left out, with nylon sweatshirts and Nappa leather low-top sneakers also coming in a color that is as bright as a highlighter. With neutral shades dominating the runways throughout the 2010s, Piccioli’s partnership with Pantone Color Institute reflects the fact that Pink PP has been newly inaugurated in the Pantone color palette. Piccioli has emphasized that he sees pink as a symbolic color, reflecting the fact that a world that is all too often depicted in homogeneous safety can still surprise with bright, unexpected outbursts. He developed this optimistic philosophy while reading about Lucio Fontana, the Argentine-Italian artist known for Spatial Concept, Waiting, a series of canvases that were cut up and known as Tagli (‘cuts’). With the cuts of the canvas, Fontana was able to play around with bright colors for the purpose of arresting attention, an artistic thesis that Piccioli has experimented with in turn, fusing creation with the idea of simplicity. It is in this creative embrace of color that Piccioli has ensured that the coming months will be bright and arresting, pink enough to ward off the gray chills of winter.

By Erin Moonyeen Haley On Wednesday, September 28th, Variety hosted a veritable who’s who of women at the apogee of Hollywood fame and prestige for their Power of Women Event. The event paid homage to titans of both entertainment and politics, (not to mention philanthropy), honoring such luminaries as Ava DuVernay, Oprah Winfrey, Malala, Elizabeth Olsen and Chelsea and Hillary Clinton. Presenters were equally prestigious and included Sandra Oh, Quinta Brunson, Diana Guerrero and Kathryn Hahn. Oprah Winfrey and Ava DuVernay anticipated the dynamics of the event by posing on one of several covers of Variety’s 2022 Power of Women issue, with Winfrey wearing a denim one-piece complete with intricate stitching and DuVernay wearing a lengthy white button-up top with a cinched denim overlay. For the event itself, DuVernay was more than pretty and posh in a pink suit with a tuxedo-esq flare and matching heels whose sharp toes were reminiscent of Winklepickers, circa 1950. Elizabeth Olsen was another attendee, wowing in a lace Rodarte dress with intricate embroidery that negated the need for jewelry and whimsically complimented the raspberry-toned lipstick and loose wisps of hair. Sandra Oh was seen rocking bangs, a chic updo and a white, Grecian-style gown that flaunted her sculpted arms and shoulders. Quinta Brunson, meanwhile, presented a taste of old Hollywood glamour with a hot pink asymmetrical gown complete with a singular long sleeve that was trimmed with the same ruffles of feathers that accented the bottom of a fitted dress that almost gave off flamenco-dancer vibes. Of course, no event that celebrates, (to the point of enraptured adulation), women in power would be complete without Hillary and Chelsea Clinton attending. Chelsea was ultramodern in a merlot-colored one-piece with a slightly plunging V-neck while Hillary donned an oversized but tailored blazer with a hint of an Art Deco blouse underneath. It was Fran Drescher - leading lady of “The Nanny” and president of SAG-AFTR - who described the event perfectly when she declared that it was a “great honor to be included with such an esteemed group of accomplished women, many of whom I’ve admired and looked up to for many years.” She went on to add, “It’s lovely especially right now to acknowledge women of strength and accomplishment and power, and to remind everybody that we’re loud, we’re proud and we’re equal.” And that was the mantra that the ladies carried on their fashionable shoulders long after the night's celebrations were done and the next day's work began anew.

On September 23rd, Telfar will release bags galore online as part of an extension of their Telfar x Rainbow pop-up. That means every bag, every size and every color will be released in the wonderland of cyber shopping, without production wait time. (Regular shipping policies apply.) The shopping event is not part of the Bag Security program. In anticipation of this seismic sale, the black-owned Telfar teamed up with Rainbow on Sunday, September 11th, creating a pop-up location in the midst of fashion week. In a heady shopping extravaganza that was live-streamed on Telfar TV, the eponymous brand essentially brought Brooklyn traffic to a halt as - for the first time in its history - it created a venue where shoppers could physically snatch up the coveted handbags in what was nothing less than an immersive experience. The Telfar Shopping Bag, (frequently referred to as simply the Telfar Bag), has risen to the ranks of an ‘it’ accessory. Designer and founder, Telfar Clemens once asserted to a reporter that the purpose was to be Michael Kors except ‘on purpose’, with the intention of creating genderless fashion that explored “ideas of identity, ubiquity, homogeneity, America, and consumerism.” The ubiquitous bag stands out with his T logo and top handle, and is seen so frequently in Brooklyn that it has been given the sobriquet the “Bushwick Birkin.” In addition to being a sometimes-elusive buy, the bag boasts of being made from vegan leather and sells for anywhere between $150–$257, depending on size. Enhancing its exclusive appeal is the fact that it has a sells-out-in-an-instant claim to fame, a reputation that necessitated the Bag Security Program that permits any shopper to preorder an item within a twenty-four hour window. The company’s slogan ‘not for you - for everyone’ is apropos as shoppers in Sunday's event clutched bags to their chests that covered the entire color spectrum, from chocolate-brown to cyan blue to cotton-candy pink. It wasn’t so much a shopping excursion as it was an event that promises that September 23rd will be equally frenzied.

The crowd, along with celebrities including Serena Williams, Lori Harvey, Anne Hathaway, Vanessa Hudgens, and Dahyun Kim gathered to witness a collection that was giving elegant resort apparel, polished with bold colors like poppy red, sand tan, lime green, and a graceful tropical floral print. “Fringe is sexy, romantic, and fun,” said Michael Kors in an Instagram post describing the key detail featured in his Spring 2023 Ready-to-Wear Collection. The fringe element made garments look alive as models strutted down the runway during Kors' show titled, “Urban Resort.” Other themes of the collection were the sideways one leg skirt designed with either a knot or belt, and of course the designer’s signature tailored jacket draped over the shoulders to give the runway a chill up-tempo beat. The tops featured in Michael Kors collection spoke the language of fashion with their whole chest as they were shown unbuttoned down to the waistline and tucked into skirts and trousers. Kors also gave spectators hints of the 70s’ by incorporating tailored vests, long gold necklaces, and bell bottoms alongside fringe. For his finale look, Kors sent a gorgeous red sequin bodycon halter neck dress shimmering down the runway to close the show. This floor length ‘wow’ worthy gown hugged the model’s body with ease and is a dress that will certainly be snatched by one of the celebrities seated in the audience for a fabulous red-carpet moment.

For her Spring 2023 Ready-to-Wear show, designer Tia Adeola created a confident, elegant, and sexy atmosphere at NYFW. The first look seen gliding down the runway was an all-white fit that was. the. moment. Swirly lace fabric hung from the collar of the top, hit the floor, and dragged behind the model’s Nike sneakers. However, it was the cornrows gathering into a long fierce braid that gave the look unique attitude. The model swung her hair over her wrist like a handbag. The perfect accessory. On the brand's website, Adeola states that the brand was created in her dorm room at The New School during the Summer of 2017, using her art history background and passion for the Renaissance period as inspiration. Her aim is to rewrite history through fashion, particularly for people of color. In this collection, references to the Renaissance period can be seen in the use of ruffles, flared sleeves, French cut necklines, headpieces, and Victorian silhouettes. The show was strikingly powerful, inviting audience members to celebrate the woman's body and curves. Adeola made bold and daring choices in this collection. She pushed boundaries by challenging the status quo and unapologetically embracing femininity. The finale look shown below featured a gorgeous silver body suit pared with a pink feathered jacket that covered the model’s arms before stopping at her wrists and covering her hips. Lastly, to add an additional romantic touch, during the final walk, each model held a single red rose to close the show.

The Brand’s Spring 2023 collection was, “an ode to the Caribbean and a reminder that we have to combat climate change, or we will no longer have the tropics we cherish,” stated the show's designer Ev Bravado when describing the inspiration behind the show via Instagram. Bravado and Tela D'amore, the other half of the brilliance that is Who Decides War, invited spectators to admire the joys and richness of Island life. Key details showcased in the collection titled, “Under Water,” were patchwork that resembled stained glass windows on fabric along with window shaped cut outs for impactful layering, embroidered shapes of continents to highlight climate change as a global issue, and of course an overload of the brand’s signature denim deconstruction. Additionally, the show featured poetic undertones in its mixing of mesh and lace to embrace an effortless mood, the destressing of denim to create heart tugging textures, and the intricate use of shredded words on fabric which gave the crowd biblical chills. The collection's finale look shown below featured a woven black top paired with a skirt layered with large bows draped at an angle covering the model’s left leg. Designer Tela D'amore shared an Instagram post stating that this fit was inspired by Serena Williams’ iconic denim skirt moment from the 2004 US Opening. Who Decides War continues to recreate how denim is worn in fashion. What a powerful and perfectly fitting way to end their show at NYFW.