TheGrio Style Guide: Step into John Legend and Chrissy Teigen’s home, Gap x Ciara, and Drake dons Tupac’s ring
This week in style, Legend and Teigen's home tour, Byron Lars revisits Black Barbie, Saucy Santana joins thread beauty, Pat McGrath Labs joins Ulta, and more.
Chrissy Teigen and John Legend opened the doors of their home to Architectural Digest, and it is “magical.” As the cover stars for the magazine’s September style issue, the couple shared a glimpse of their Beverly Hills estate.
“Every house we’ve ever had reflects the moment we were in our lives, like chapters in a book,” said Teigen, per AD.
“Our last house was darker and more cloistered, like a sanctuary,” Legend explained. “We were attracted to this place because of its lightness and airiness. We love how open it feels and how it’s so connected to the outdoors. We wanted to create something magical, especially for the kids.”
Designed by AD100 designer Jake Arnold, the home features a balance of bright colors and neutral tones with abundant personal touches. From Legend’s glamorous music room to the children’s personalized “dreamworlds,” the home is “kid-proof” without sacrificing aesthetics and style.
With a backyard featuring a water slide and infinity pool, cozy couches and an outdoor grilling and dining area just as grand as the home’s interior, it’s no surprise the Teigen-Legend home is the place to be for their friends and family.
“That’s the way we like it,” Teigen told AD. “It’s always open house here.”
Watch the full house tour here for a deeper look into the couple’s home.
Ciara and kids star in Gap x LoveShackFancy’s campaign
Ciara is the face of the limited-edition Gap x LoveShackFancy collaboration. In the campaign for the multi-category capsule collection of women’s, men’s, kids’ and baby apparel and accessories, the “Level Up” singer models with her 9-year-old son, Future, and 6-year-old daughter, Sienna, while showing off her own “tomboy” aesthetic.
“What I love about it is that it intersects the culture of romanticism and merges Gap’s iconic styles with LoveShackFancy’s vintage-inspired florals and feminine silhouette,” Ciara told People magazine.
Combining classic denim, pastels, neutrals tones, floral prints and more, the 76-piece collection was designed for every generation, according to a press release. The collection is available on gap.com, with prices ranging from $13 to $248.
Drake owns hip-hop’s most expensive artifact
Tupac Shakur’s diamond-encrusted gold crown ring, which sold last week for an unexpected $1M during a Sotheby’s auction honoring the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, reportedly sold to none other than Drake.
Last week, while promoting his feature on Travis Scott’s album in an Instagram story, the rapper was first seen wearing the historic ring. After much speculation, multiple news reports, including the Smithsonian, confirmed the Certified Lover Boy now owns the most valuable piece of hip-hop history.
According to Rolling Stone magazine, the ring was initially set to bid somewhere between $200,000 and $300,000, but ultimately upsold for more than $1 million. Per Rolling Stone, the ring was co-designed by Shakur and New York jewelers shortly after the rapper-actor was released from prison and freshly signed to Death Row Records. Shakur famously wore the ring to the MTV Video Music Awards in 1996, just days before his death.
Thread Beauty’s first-ever celebrity face is Saucy Santana!
Calling all material girls!
Thread Beauty, the new affordable, Gen-Z-focused offshoot of The Lip Bar, just announced its first-ever celebrity partnership with none other than rapper and LGBTQ+ advocate Saucy Santana.
According to a press release, Santana was selected for the honor because of his background as a celebrity makeup artist for the City Girls and his self-expressive approach.
“It’s one thing to be the first celebrity face of thread beauty, but to also be the first celebrity face as a Black, feminine, gay man will mean so much to my community, especially for boys like me,” Santana said in the release.
“Within the community, boys that are considered bigger, dark-[skinned], plus-sized and feminine don’t get a lot of opportunities. So it means a lot to me and speaks volumes to who Thread Beauty is as a brand that they chose me.”
CFDA teases New York Fashion Week schedule
The fashion streets are buzzing again as The Council of Fashion Designers of America has released an official preliminary schedule for New York Fashion Week. This year, NYFW’s Spring-Summer ‘24 collections will be presented from Sept. 8 to Sept. 13, with Helmut Lang kicking it off with its spring collection. With over 71 confirmed designers, Black-led labels LaQuan Smith, Sergio Hudson, Bed on Water, Agbobly and others will return to the runway this fall.
“New York Fashion Week is an integral part of New York City’s vibrant culture and sense of constant evolution and discovery,” Steven Kolb, chief executive officer of the CFDA, told Women’s Wear Daily.
“This season’s official New York Fashion Week schedule plays to this sentiment and will once again showcase the best of American fashion, both emerging and established. We’re excited to see the return of Ralph Lauren, Jonathan Cohen and 3.1 Phillip Lim to the New York runway, adding to the week’s energy.”
For more details on NYFW’s schedule, visit cfda.com
Yara Shahidi brings divine energy to Gaultier’s new fragrance
Actress, activist, Harvard graduate and fashion goddess Yara Shahidi joins Jean Paul Gaultier as the face of the brand’s upcoming women’s fragrance, “Gaultier Divine.”
“I have been a fan of Gaultier’s house for a while […] What I love about how they built out the campaign is that everyone involved not only has a presence in the fashion world but has a presence socially, in carving out spaces for people to feel more authentically themselves,” Shahidi told WWD.
With notes of white flowers, lily, meringue and a salty sea breeze, “Gaultier Divine” is described as a floral, gourmand, marine scent. Loyal Gaultier consumers will receive exclusive access to the new fragrance beginning Aug. 9, which will be available to all other markets in September.
Doja Cat will headline Victoria’s Secret’s upcoming ‘World Tour’
Just a week after Doja Cat insulted her fans for liking her music, the singer has been announced as the headlining act for Victoria’s Secret’s upcoming “World Tour.”
The lingerie brand made the announcement on social media in a series of posts, including a video of the “Planet Her” singer. “We’re thrilled to reveal @dojacat—the global phenom and Grammy winner—as the featured performer in our highly anticipated special,” the brand wrote in a caption.
Victoria’s Secret announced earlier in the year that it would be throwing its annual fashion show out of the window, instead reinventing the event as a “World Tour” documentary special that spans several countries. The feature is due out on Amazon Prime on Sept. 26.
While VS is excited to host Doja Cat, fans are divided; with her latest antics, many are questioning the decision to have Doja as the event’s main act, especially considering its goal to usher in a new era at Victoria’s Secret. Whether the embattled brand will bow to fans and consumer complaints for working with Doja remains to be seen.
When the tour was announced, Raul Martinez, head creative director of Victoria’s Secret, said, “There’s no need to explain ourselves anymore.”
He added, “We’ve evolved, and we’ve moved on, but it’s not that we’re leaving anything behind. We’re touching both the storytelling, which is about our advocacy and celebrating female voices, but also that full-on, fashion entertainment [experience], because that is something that was quite iconic.”
Pat McGrath Labs is now at Ulta Beauty
Pat McGrath Labs is now gracing the aisles of Ulta Beauty. As reported by WWD, the brand’s bestselling products arrived at select Ulta retailers at the end of July. Meanwhile, a full assortment of the luxury makeup brand will launch online in Sept.
Since its launch, Pat McGrath Labs has stamped itself as an innovative Black-owned luxury makeup brand appearing on the faces of stars like Naomi Campbell, Nicki Minaj, Teyana Taylor, Lil Nas X, Cardi B, and more. With distribution in retailers like Sephora and Bluemercury, the billion-dollar brand is reportedly experiencing exponential growth.
Of Pat McGrath Labs’ newest retail home, global managing director Thierry Maman told WWD: “We are launching in [Ulta Beauty’s] luxury concept, 200 doors, which is aligned with our brand positioning. … It also allows us to target a new profile of customers, which are largely Gen Z and suburban.”
Sofia Richie Grainge is working on a clothing line
From her dewy makeup routine to becoming an MVP of the “quiet luxury trend” to her stately French wedding, Sofia Richie Grainge has entered the chat as fashion’s next It girl. Now, Lionel Richie’s youngest daughter is also gearing up to launch her first clothing line.
The budding fashionista takes fans behind the scenes of her life for 24 hours in a video with Vogue, during which she spills the beans about her upcoming “top secret-ish” line. While attending a mid-morning meeting, Richie Grainge examines color and fabric swatches with her team.
“We are creating this beautiful clothing line that brings out how I feel the most comfortable dressing,” she said in the video.
She reveals the line currently has 80 pieces and, while in development for months, has moved quickly. Beyond that, Richie Grainge doesn’t divulge much, although the swatches are heavy on the cashmere.
“I feel like we killed it. I’m so excited about this,” she added.
Storm Reid x New Balance
Award-winning actress and producer Storm Reid is partnering with New Balance to launch her own signature shoe. Having worked as a brand ambassador for the brand in 2021, the “New Balance x Storm Reid CT302” sneaker marks the “Euphoria” star’s first sneaker launch. In celebration of her hometown Atlanta, the campaign is an ode to the city in the early aughts and her coming-of-age story.
“My first collaboration with New Balance is not only exciting but incredibly meaningful. This campaign is reminiscent of my childhood growing up in Atlanta,” Reid said in a statement. “I am so grateful to the team at New Balance for their collaboration every step of the way in designing this shoe together and for being on board to create a campaign that is representative of my roots and the culture of my hometown.”
The New Balance x Storm Reid CT302 sneaker debuted on Aug. 4 on NewBalance.com, retailing for $100.
Did you know you can still score Byron Lars’ collectible Barbies?
While Barbie is synonymous with the color pink, historically, her style has far more range.
In fact, hundreds of collectible Barbies have been dressed and designed by some of fashion’s biggest names, including Oscar de la Renta, Yves Saint Laurent, Givenchy, Tommy Hilfiger, Donna Karan, Dior, Nicole Miller and pioneering Black designer Byron Lars.
According to WWD, Lars was first inspired to create a doll of his own in the late ‘90s following the release of Miller’s doll. All in all, he would eventually create 15 collectible Barbies for Mattel, many of which are still up for grabs on eBay in the $200-$300 range. Pushing the boundaries on Barbie’s skin tone and hair texture, Lars is responsible for introducing the first Alek Wek-complexioned Barbie with truly kinky hair, not to mention styling the dolls in his late-‘90s to early-aughts haute couture designs. However, he had to break through quite a few barriers in order to do so.
“There was a lot of the old guard at Barbie who had probably some outmoded ideas about who she was and what she did and what she could do and who she could be,” the designer told WWD in an interview ahead of the release of “Barbie” the movie.
Lars managed to prevail despite running into hurdles. His “Treasures of Africa” collection included three dolls named Moja, Mbili, and Tatu (the words for “one,” “two,” and “three” in Swahili). Mbili became a trailblazer for Black Barbies.
In the end, he said the collection was “really successful.” Since then, Mattel has added many dolls to its main collection with that same skin tone.
“That’s probably the thing that I’m most proud about is shattering that glass of the skin tones,” Lars said.
TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku, and Android TV. TheGrio’s Black Podcast Network is free too. Download theGrio mobile apps today! Listen to ‘Writing Black’ with Maiysha Kai.
