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Posts published in “Fashion”

Serena Williams 1st Black Female Athlete to Solo on Cover of Vogue

By goodblacknews on March 24, 2015
Serena Williams, Vogue
International Tennis Champion Serena Williams (VOGUE/Annie Leibovitz)

Game, set, Vogue!
Serena Williams is the first black female athlete to land a solo cover of Vogue, and the tennis pro looks absolutely breathtaking (she last fronted the magazine for the June 2012 issue alongside Ryan Lochte and Hope Solo). Serena sports long natural curls and a slim-fitting blue sheath dress on the cover, finishing her look with minimal makeup and a simple tennis bracelet (natch). Famed photographer Annie Leibovitz shot the stunning spread, which also features tennis star (not to mention Serena’s best friend and top competitor) Caroline Wozniacki.
The tennis maven joins Lupita Nyong’o, Beyoncé, Rihanna and Michelle Obama as high-powered black women to front Vogue in recent years. (One other black athlete has graced the magazine’s cover: LeBron James shared the April 2008 Shape issue with Gisele Bündchen for what became a much-debated spread.)

Serena Williams, Vogue
(VOGUE/Annie Leibovitz)

In the editorial, Serena lets her enviable figure do the talking in a second skin wine-red gown that hugs her body in all the right places. Beyond looking beautiful in couture, the star athlete opens up about the pressure of being top-ranked on the courts. (It’s no surprise that Anna Wintour tapped her for the annual Shape issue—the Vogue editrix is a self-proclaimed tennis enthusiast).
“It’s hard and lonely at the top,” Williams admits in the interview. “That’s why it’s so fun to have Caroline and my sister, too. You’re a target when you’re number one. Everyone wants to beat you. Everyone talks behind your back, and you get a lot more criticism. God forbid I lose. It’s like ‘Why?’ Well, I am human.”

Serena Williams, Vogue, Instagram
(Photo: Instagram)

Williams announced her Vogue cover in a sexy bikini snapshot on Instagram (why not?), which shows the star athlete kicking back with a copy of the issue. (Really, though, that body!)
Vogue‘s April issue hits newsstands on March 25.
article by Nicole Adlman via eonline.com

Little League Superstar Pitcher Mo’Ne Davis Launches Sneaker Line to Help Girls in Poverty

By goodblacknews on March 20, 2015
(Image: Facebook)
(Image: Facebook)
Mo’Ne Davis just gave us all one more reason to love her. The history-making teen athlete is pairing with M4D3, a social enterprise that collaborates with organizations and personalities to raise funds and help create social change. M4D3, which stands for Make A Difference Everyday, is currently joining forces with Because I Am A Girl, “a global initiative to end gender inequality, promote girls’ rights and lift millions of girls – and everyone around them – out of poverty.”
Through the new partnership, Davis is designing her own line of sneakers to aid girls who are victimized by poverty in developing countries. The limited edition kicks are running for $75 a pair, and 15% of all sales will go to Plan International USA’s Because I am a Girl initiative—a campaign to lift four million girls in the developing world out of poverty.
Mo’Ne Davis by M4D3, the designer’s collection, is quite stylish too. The sneakers are currently available for pre-order in three color options. They are lace-up suede and canvas, and feature symbolic baseball stitching. What’s super cool is each sneaker is marked with a fine “Mo’Ne” signature print on the sides.
“I never thought at the age of 13 I’d be a role model, but having young girls look up to me is pretty cool,” Davis said, according to Clutch. “If I can inspire them to reach their goals, that would be even cooler. Designing shoes with M4D3 is exciting and I wanted them to support Because I am a Girl to help girls and give them a chance at a better future.”
Well, there you have it. Mo’Ne Davis is officially one of our favorite humans on the planet. The sneakers are available in women and kid sizes.
article by Essence Gant via blackenterprise.com

Rihanna Becomes 1st Black Woman to Be Face of Dior

By goodblacknews on March 13, 2015
(Getty Images)

The 27-year-old superstar will star in Dior’s fourth installment of their “Secret Garden” campaign — a series featuring models posing in the palace of Versailles, clad in Dior creations — the fashion house confirmed on Friday. She will be shot by famed photographer Steven Klein, with the film and print versions of the campaign scheduled to run this spring.
But as if being an official Dior girl wasn’t amazing enough, Rihanna’s highly-anticipated campaign also marks the first time a black woman has been chosen to front the French fashion brand. Other celebrity Dior spokeswomen include Jennifer Lawrence, Charlize Theron, Natalie Portman and Marion Cotillard.
The Dior partnership particularly makes a lot of sense given that Rihanna is often a staple at the high-fashion brand’s shows, always flawlessly dressed of course.
Though perhaps Dior should be considered the lucky ones to land Rihanna. Aside from already having fronted a Balmain campaign and often being chosen to be the first to sport a new collection, it’s no secret that the “Four Five Seconds” singer is considered a huge deal in fashion. She was named last year’s Fashion Icon at the Council of Fashion Designers of America awards — where she donned an unforgettable completely sheer Adam Selman dress — and in November, designer Tom Ford gushed about the Barbadian superstar in his very own blog post.
“I was at the CFDA awards as I was receiving a ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ …. and I have to say that Rihanna was for me, that night, one of the most beautiful women that I have ever beheld,” Ford gushed. “As [my husband] Richard said plainly after the evening, ‘If you are as beautiful as Rihanna, you almost owe it to the world to appear in public almost nude’ and I have to say that I wholeheartedly concur.”
article by Antoinette Bueno via aol.com

Fashion Brand Rum + Coke Only Hires Plus-Size Models to Promote Its Clothes

By goodblacknews on January 5, 2015

Rumandcoke
Have you ever wondered why clothing brands only use smaller models to promote clothes? It’s no secret that the fashion industry favors a specific body type over all others, which is why it’s remarkably refreshing to see what Rum + Coke is doing. The fashion brand decided to only hire plus-size models to promote the clothes.
So why did designer Courtney Smith decide to use plus-size models in her photo shoots? She told Refinery 29 the following:
“I put women of color and ‘larger’ women in my photo shoots for many reasons. One, because I believe in the multiplicity of beauty, and two, there are so many women who seldom see women who look like them in advertisements.”
This is more than just a ploy to be different, however. Consider that, as Cosmo reports, most brands choose smaller models – even when advertising plus-size clothing! The pictures from Rum + Coke don’t just work because the clothes are beautiful (they are) or because the models are attractive (also true); it’s because the clothes are shown on the women who would actually wear them in real life.
Smith also told Refinery 29 that she wants women “to be their most beautiful selves.” She’s working to battle all the negative messages that women hear: “You’re not thin enough, you’re not young enough, you’re not light enough.”
Instead of peddling the belief that women “are inadequate unless they change something about themselves or purchase this or that,” Rum + Coke aspires to send a different type of message: “You, woman, are enough. [Women] are beautiful in whatever package they come in.”
Want more good news? The brand offers their clothing in sizes small through 3X. If you want to support Rum + Coke, you can shop the brand’s products here.
article by claire biggs via act.mtv.com

Kanye West Voted GQ’s Most Stylish Man Of The Year

By goodblacknews on December 29, 2014

kanye-west1
Increasingly a fashion icon as much as a musical one, Kanye West has been voted GQ’s Most Stylish Man of the Year, facing off against Idris Elba in the final bracket of a user-based poll for the site.
Earlier this year, West was featured on the magazine’s cover for a feature article about his status in the fashion industry and opened up about previous comments regarding the difficulty he’s encountered breaking in.
“Alexander Wang made sure that I was able to go to a Balenciaga show, and I was never allowed to do that before because I was a celebrity,” he said. “Listen to what I’m saying—me, as Kanye West: I guarantee you, I’m more than 50 percent responsible for every men’s shoe that [Balenciaga] sell. Me, the singular person. More than 50 percent responsible for every Balenciaga shoe they sell. And they would say, ‘You can’t come to the show, because you are a celebrity.’ But all honesty, no ego, I have a level of influence, and I have a level of respect for the designers. And we move product on that Barneys floor.”
While initial plans for West’s collaboration with adidas hinted at a fall drop-date for the next installment of his increasingly coveted Yeezy sneakers, the follow-up has yet to be released and looks to be slated for an early 2015 debut instead. Nonetheless, 2014 saw the last of his collaborations with Nike released in the form of an already legendary all-red color-way of his Yeezy 2’s. The rapper also released two collaborative lines with the high-end French fashion brand A.P.C., the latest of which included a $780 bomber jacket and a $90 plain white tee.
article by Jay Balfour via theurbandaily.com

Michael Sam is One of GQ's Men Of The Year For 2014

By goodblacknews on November 17, 2014

1415727997651_michael-sam-gq-magazine-december-2014-moty-coverMichael Sam might be currently looking for another opportunity to prove he can play in the NFL after being released from the Dallas Cowboys’s practice squad last month. But the 2013 SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Year and former All-American at the University of Missouri has nonetheless nabbed another huge honor: being named one of GQ’s Men of the Year for 2014.
Sam’s interview with the magazine will be rolled out later this week.
Sam, who became the first openly gay player to be drafted by the NFL last spring, graces one of six GQ covers released as part of the Men of the Year rollout. The 24-year-old shares the honor with “Guardians of the Galaxy” hunk Chris Pratt, Ansel Elgort and Shailene Woodley of “The Fault in Our Stars”, comedian Dave Chappelle, and “Foxcatcher” star Steve Carell, among others.
article by Curtis M. Wong via huffingtonpost.com

Pharrell Williams’ New Adidas Campaign Is All About Equality 

By goodblacknews on November 14, 2014
(Getty Images)

Pharrell Williams is spreading positivity everywhere he goes: from his infectious summer anthem “Happy” to encouraging young artists on NBC’s “The Voice”, to helping get recyclables out of the sea with Raw for the Oceans, Pharrell is continuing his upbeat trend with his current collaboration with Adidas.

Skateboard P decided to use his platform for a good cause and created a conceptual campaign on equality. When you first see the branding for it–which shows an equal sign above Pharrell’s name and the Adidas logo next to it–you might think that just means Pharrell is Adidas, and you wouldn’t be too far off. Over the past year, P has been a walking billboard for the retailer wearing it everywhere, including his infamous Grammys outfit.

Lupita Nyong'o Covers Glamour Magazine's Women of the Year 2014 Issue

By goodblacknews on November 3, 2014

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Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o has been on a roll in 2014; in February, the actress won an Oscar for “12 Years a Slave” and has subsequently been popping up on “best dressed” and “most beautiful” lists ever since, in addition to becoming a beauty ambassador for Lancome and landing a role in the upcoming “Star Wars” reboot by JJ Abrams.

Nevertheless, in her interview with Glamour magazine, she tells the magazine the attention she’s received has been overwhelming.  “Right now I’m still adjusting. I guess I feel catapulted into a different place; I have a little whiplash,” she said. “I did have a dream to be an actress, but I didn’t think about being famous. And I haven’t yet figured out how to be a celebrity; that’s something I’m learning, and I wish there were a course on how to handle it.”

She couldn’t even imagine what winning the Oscar would be like, she observed.

“I don’t think I will ever be able to really articulate how bizarre it was to hear my name at the Academy Awards. I’d watched in my pajamas the year before!” she said. “I felt numb — dazed and confused. I remember feeling light — weightless. More like limbo than cloud nine.”

Nyong’o, who was born in Mexico of Kenyan parents, mentions that she didn’t know success on this level would be possible for a woman with darker skin.  For her, Oprah Winfrey wasn’t just a role model but a “reference point,” and seeing Winfrey and Whoopi Goldberg in “The Color Purple” was key to her belief that she could become successful.

She hopes she can have the same effect on people who see her.

“I’ve heard people talk about images in popular culture changing, and that makes me feel great, because it means that the little girl I was, once upon a time, has an image to instill in her that she is beautiful, that she is worthy,” she said. “Until I saw people who looked like me, doing the things I wanted to, I wasn’t so sure it was a possibility.”

The December issue of Glamour will be available on newsstands November 11.

article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (follow @lakinhutcherson)

Halle Berry Teams Up With Scandale Paris to Create Fashionable, Afforable Lingerie

By goodblacknews on November 2, 2014
Halle Berry unveils ’Scandale Paris’ at Laduree Soho in New York City.
(PHOTO CREDIT: KEVIN MAZUR/GETTY IMAGES FOR SCANDALE PARIS)

Interview by Yolanda Sangweni via Essence.com

Halle Berry has been the face for many luxury labels (remember those Versace ads?), but now the actress is branching off into a fashion venture of her own. The lingerie lover is teaming up with 80-year-old French intimates brand Scandale Paris for a 10-piece capsule collection ranging from $7 for underwear to $18 for bras. Tres cheap, no? The best part is that the line is available at Target, or shall we say –– Tarjay. Let Halle, the new Scandale co-owner, tell you herself.

ESSENCE.com: Why Target? It’s very affordable.  It’s for the everyday woman. Why that brand?
HALLE BERRY: That’s why, because I have over the years liked some amazing pieces of lingerie.  They were a small fortune, and most of them given to me because I refuse to pay $200 for a bra, but companies have sent them to me and I’ve enjoyed them.  I thought this is great that somebody sent to me, but can real women really go and spend $200 on one bra?  It never quite made sense.
But I love lingerie, and like I said in the top, I have friends that wear the same $200 bra until it falls apart, and I thought something’s not right here.  If you can partner with Target, and you manufacture with La Perla because he knows how to do it, if he can make a quality product and we can sell it for $16 at Target, and it’s something that’s on the level of any great product, it’s not going to fall apart, that’s quality, and I thought that’s a win for us and it’s a win for the consumer because they can have a collection of bras now.  You don’t have to wear one until it falls apart, you can wear a different one everyday and you haven’t broken your bank.
That for me was really important to offer that to women.
ESSENCE.com: Is this only going to be sold at Target?
BERRY: It’s only going to be sold in Target, it’s just we’re starting sort of small with our signature collection, and then we’re going to roll it out.  We’re starting in some of their bigger stores to launch, and then we’ll go out into all the smaller stores with more.  As we’ll roll into the spring with a whole spring line that’s a different colorway than these colors are.  Then we’ll have a different collection for summer, then a different collection for fall.  Then we’ll go in with different styles then what’s standing, trying to be seasonal at the same time.
ESSENCE.com: Was this lingerie line developed at home?
BERRY: Yes.  Being married to him, honestly, he has held me to a standard because he’s from there (Paris) and so he’s very picky about, you know, if I don’t have on something quite right he’s like, “What’s this?” Okay. It’s that time of the month so I chose some red.  In three days, I’ll be back.  He holds me to it, and that’s nice.  It’s nice to have a man that notices and cares.
ESSENCE.com: And appreciates it.
BERRY: …and appreciates it, yes, and appreciates it.
ESSENCE.com: Will Molly Woods be wearing Scandale next season?

GBN FASHION FIND: Alexander Wang Debuts at H&M on November 6

By goodblacknews on October 31, 2014

Screen Shot 2014-10-31 at 2.41.24 PM
It may be Halloween but there is no trick here… just a serious treat I can get behind — Alexander Wang for H&M.  Yep, that’s right… Alexander Wang is the first American designer to partner with the retail clothing company for its annual designer collaboration.  Only five more days until you can snag some of these pieces on November 6.
This collection has seriously got my head spinning. I flipped when I originally heard he was doing a collection for H&M.  It’s sports-minded and Wang branded… with that cool, urban feel.  I’ll certainly be running in and running around town in these pieces.  I’m sure there will be a mad dash to get these clothes, but you can preview the collection now and strategize!
To see Alexander Wang for H&M – the collection, click here.
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Personally, I’ll be at my computer “adding to cart ” before the brick and mortars are even open.
Alexander’s collection includes thick pullover sweatshirts, leggings, scuba dresses, boots, boxing gloves, skirts, tank tops, a hat and jacket I absolutely have to have… and much, much more.

by Lesa Lakin GBN Fashion Happy Halloween!
by Lesa Lakin (in H&M) Happy Halloween!