Issa Wrap! NYFW Has Ended & Here's Who Stole All Of Our Edges
Just when you think New York Fashion Week couldn't possible top itself, a new year comes along to snatch our edges, throw our wigs, and make us secretly live out all of our fashion lives. It doesn't mater if you live in Manhattan, or the depths of Mississippi, NYFW is the time when everyone and everything is high-fashion, and the next hot moment is not too far away. It's actually one of my favorite times of the year, mostly because all those stupid rules are thrown out the window, and the only trend is creating your own rules. Blink too fast and you'll miss the latest and hottest purses, or the most popular colors of the season, or even trends that begin right where they stand.
Most importantly, the week always ends with the highly-anticipated Met Gala, which will be streamed live for the first time ever (and hosted by Keke Palmer and Ilana Glazer), and an after-party hosted by the one and only Bad Gyal, Rihanna.
But because we know you ladies love fashion like we do, we thought it would only be right to serve you up a recap of who (or what) stole our edges while strutting down 5th Avenue.
So, without further adieu...
Junie Shumpert
Teyana Taylor recently expressed on her E! Show with husbae Iman Shumpert, that she encourages her daughter Junie (5) to have a presence on social media, and her business ventures are no different as our mini sis shut NYFW down in the best way possible. Taylor had a Pretty Little Thing collection hit the runway, and she invited her firstborn along for the ride, which sis understood everything about the assignment.
Rocking all red, and a cap that only queens understood, she left no crumbs behind as she ate the entire row of the left side of the cookie package. Taylor loved it, naturally, telling ESSENCE that she is inspired by her, and daughter Rue, at all times.
"They are the greatest form of genuine love. They're my biggest fans. I was always a strong person, but having my babies has made me unstoppable. I get my fearlessness from them."
Yara Shahidi
Our girl Yara Shahidi somehow transitioned into literal art during the NYFW festivities, as she attended The Exhibition Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams while wearing a Dior Haute Couture Fall-Winter 2022 black mohair houndstooth sweater, a flannel skirt with a high waistline, and Dior heeled sandals. She uploaded an absolutely stunning photo of her in the dress captioned,
"Don't touch the art."
We won't touch, but we will certainly admire.
LaQuan Smith
LaQuan Smith has secretly been owning New York fashion for quite sometime, so a little week of showing off what he's working with is nothing. In fact, he topped all of our lives, by presenting his newest pieces at the top of the Empire State Building. Yes, the Empire State Building. He became the first designer to ever host a fashion show at the monument, telling the AP:
"I felt like, if we're going to come back to live shows, where's the best place to do it? It really felt like this was the best place to do it," he says. "This is a time when people need to feel fabulous again. This is a time when we need to continue to find reasons to celebrate, after coming out of such a shitty year."
Additionally, he brought out the star power with starlets such as Ciara, La La Anthony, Winnie Harlow, and Lori Harvey serving up all the goals in the front row.
Gender-Bending fashion
Daniel Zuchnik/Getty Images
Gender-bending has been a hot topic of discussion for much of the past few years, and Russell Westbrook and Kid Cudi decided to up the ante by rocking skirts--erm...kilts--to the festivities. But, the people wanted to know if we all missed the memo because in addition to the fashion risk, they each rocked blue hair to match.
Westbrook showed up to the Thom Brown Spring 2022 show wearing an ankle-length white kilt, off-white cardigan with front pockets and a diamond choker, and Kid Cudi, a floor-length black skirt under a long sleeve Nirvana shirt. Neither men are strangers to taking chances in fashion, but we're here for the bold moves.
Telfar's announcement of...a TV channel?
https://TELFAR.TV— TELFAR (@TELFAR) 1631465644
Telfar has been a game-changer in Black-owned accessories since we all discovered that we have a better chance of winning the powerball than getting a Telfar bag that we didn't prep for. So, when Beyonce was photographed rocking her bag, we collectively sobbed through tears of joy. The brand went on record of saying that although they appreciated the plug, they would never raise their prices and would continue with business as usual.
But now those business moves includes something that none of us saw coming: a TV channel. During a press conference held on the final day of New York Fashion Week, owner/creator Telfar Clemens announced the launch of his label's own television channel, Telfar TV.
The channel will have brand-exclusive content, and viewers will be able to scan QR codes to purchase products, ensuring that anyone who orders the label's famously sold-out bags will get one, without fear of bots purchasing bulk inventory.
It's the innovation for me!
The Gworls
So, it's infamously a no-brainer that Ciara will show up to wherever her little heart desires and shut shit down. NYFW was no different, and she visited numerous shows and gave what was needed to be given. Alongside her adventures was BFF La La Anthony, who always pulls up with big supportive energy, as well as other starlets such as Kehlani, Lori Harvey, or the City Girls.
Some of these ladies happened to link at the LaQuan Smith show and show off why we all love them so. Edges were snatched in the process, but it was seeing them all enjoy each other that we loved the most.
Nicole Ari Parker + Kristin Davis
Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for Dior
OK, call me sappy, but seeing And Just Like That... co-stars take a break from filming the Sex and the City reboot to attend the Christian Dior Designer of Dreams exhibition cocktail party, was what I needed to prep myself for the show premiere. Seeing the two live out loud their show characters was exciting.
Can't wait to see Nicole crush this role!
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Featured image by Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for Dior
Charmin Michelle is a southern native and creative spirit who works as a content marketer and events manager in Chicago. She enjoys traveling, #SummertimeChi, and the journey of mastering womanhood. Connect with her on Instagram @charminmichelle.
'Love Island USA' Star JaNa Craig On The Reality Of Black Women On Dating Shows
Love Island USA just wrapped up its sixth season, and it has been the talk of the town. According to Nielsen, it's the No. 1 show on streaming, proving it's just as entertaining as the UK version. One of the reasons this season has been successful is due to the authentic relationships formed between the islanders in the villa.
You have the sisterhood between Serena Page, JaNa Craig, and Leah Kateb, aka PPG, and the real relationship moments between couples like Serena Page and Kordell Beckham, who were named the winners of this season. The other finalists include Leah Kateb and Miguel Harichi, Nicole Jacky and Kendall Washington, and JaNa Craig and Kenny Rodriguez.
While JaNa made it to the finale with her boo Kenny, her journey in the villa was far from perfect. Viewers saw the Las Vegas native get her heart stomped on a few times after many of her connections didn't work out.
At one point, it even looked like she was getting kicked off the island. While she had a lot of support from people watching the show, it was clear that she was in a position that many Black women on reality dating shows find themselves in: not being desired.
It has been an ongoing conversation among Black women watching reality dating shows as we see time and time again that non-Black women or racially ambiguous-looking women are often chosen over Black women, especially dark-skinned women. In a discussion with Shadow and Act, JaNa opened up about the support she received from viewers.
@cineaxries i love them 🤧 #janacraig #janaandkenny #loveislandusa #foryou #peacock #loveisland #janaloveisland #xybca #kennyloveisland #janaedit #loveislandedit #janaedits #loveislandusaedit #viral #loveislandusaseason6 #foryoupage #peacocktv
"You know what’s so crazy? I’m so grateful, because when I got my phone, the way they’re making us The Princess and The Frog…I felt honored. I will be that beautiful chocolate queen if I need to be. And the comments like 'beautiful chocolate girl,' I’m like, all Black women are beautiful. There’s the whole light skin versus dark skin, which breaks my heart. I just really don’t understand that, but I will take pride and represent us well," she said.
She also candidly discussed her experience as a dark-skinned Black woman on the show. JaNa and Serena had been in the villa since the first episode, and they were the only dark-skinned Black women there. As new men aka bombshells came into the villa, they found themselves not being wanted by many of them.
"Me and Serena literally had a heart-to-heart before Kenny came in and she’s like, I just don’t think it’s fair that the Black girls don’t get enough fair chance.' Every islander that came in, we were not their top pick. And we just [thought], maybe because we’re Black girls, and the dark-skinned Black girls. It sucked," she said.
"I’m like, 'Serena, we know what we bring to the table. We’re great personalities. A guy’s going to come in for us.' That’s when we manifested what we wanted, and that’s when I manifested Kenny."
@ashleyvera__ We love to see it 🥰 #loveislandusa #loveisland #loveisland2024 #janaandkenny #loveislandseason6 #peacock #realitytv #fypage
After many failed connections, Kenny came in and immediately turned JaNa's experience around. America watched the model get the care and attention that she deserved.
"I’m not going to hold you. When I was in the bottom for a quick second, I’m like, ‘There’s no way America doesn’t [ride for us]. I know Black America had to ride for me, but maybe because I’m a dark-skinned … hmm … maybe … you feel me? And you saw the Casa Amor lineup. Beautiful, beautiful light-skinned [women]," she said.
"We looked at each other like, 'Damn, Love Island did their big one with this. And every single Casa Amor girl was like, 'You girls are gorgeous, you guys are stunning.' They expressed love. You guys are beautiful and it felt good."
Although she and Kenny came in third place, JaNa is happy that she got her man in the end. "I think the thing I’m most grateful about is the fact that this is a beautiful love story like you guys complement each other and there’s no hate toward the skin color. It’s all love and support. I love that more than anything," she said.
"That’s why I was like, 'I won,' even though I didn’t win. And the fact that Serena won, we were like, 'Yeah, run that.' Either way, we won. And I love the support from all communities."
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According to Mrs. Savannah James, she would like to be addressed as “wife” — other monikers simply won’t do.
In a recent episode of the Everybody’s Crazy podcast, James and co-host April McDaniel received a call from a listener caught in a love triangle between a man she was dating while entertaining a “sneaky link.”
The hosts went on to advise the call-in guest to pursue singleness as she sorts out her needs, which led to a discussion what the meanings of "sneaky link" and a "side chick," a topic their producer eventually clarified for them.
“A sneaky link is somebody that you know you sneaking with,” their producer decoded. “But your side chick the majority of the time your main girl knows about the side chick.”
Agasted by the definition, McDaniel went on to share her stance on ambiguous relationship statuses. “I don't even want to be the main chick,” she stated.
“I need to be the wife these days. I don't want to be the ‘wifey.’ I don't want to be nothing. I want to be the wife.”
James went on to express her strong dislike for the term "wifey," sharing that she didn’t want to be called a wife until she officially made one by her now husband, NBA star, LeBron James. “When I tell you I hate, loathe ‘wifey’ with my whole entire soul,” said James. “I'm sorry, don't call me your wife and I'm not.”
“I had to politely tell my husband back in the day,” she says. “He used to introduce me, ‘This is my wife.’ I had to pull him to the side like, ‘Excuse me, sir, don't introduce me as that, please. I am not your wife, and I deserve that title when the time is right.’”
She continued, “I don't want you to start to think that it's okay for you to say this and then, you know, means don’t have to go the next step.”
As we age and new terms become popularized, it’s common to not fully know what titles and terms work best for the relationship and dynamic one might navigate. In McDaniel’s case, finding the right titles to introduce the new men who come into her life can be tricky.
“But that has been interesting, recently, when introducing certain individuals, at my age,” she explains. “‘Boyfriend’ sounds crazy, ‘my man’… mhmm… ‘my partner’ sounds like I’m a lesbian.” Conquous to what the best intro would be at the “big, grown stage” James offered “tiers.”
“I feel like it's tiers,” James said. “You have to start at the bottom and then come up.”
“One of these days we have to go live so we can ask people live like, what is the titles? Because I'm very intrigued by knowing what are the titles people go by and what feels ‘premium.’ Because I want the premium title,” McDaniel concluded.
While every relationship is different, placing the proper titles on who you're dating and where you see it going is key to formulating a bond that’s both secure and amicable. After all, it’s not what they call you, it’s what you answer to.
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Featured image by Araya Doheny/Getty Images for Baby2Baby