Black in style: Have you met ‘The First Lady of Texas Football,’ Loreal Sarkisian?
This week in Black style, Amsale announces a new location, Pharrell Williams’ Louis Vuitton debut hits stores, and Lizzo launches a new Yitty collection.
College football may still be days away from wrapping its postseason games, but the winner of this season may have long been declared.
Loreal Sarkisian, wife of Texas Longhorns Coach Steve Sarkisian, has become known for turning heads off the field. Since the season kicked off in August, students, fans of college football, and style lovers alike have been clamoring online about Sarkisian’s sideline style.
“The First Lady of Texas Football,” as she’s been dubbed online and by local outlets, is largely lauded for how she incorporates team spirit into her looks without sacrificing personal style. Sarkisian’s looks often involve fringe, chic shades, and pops of the University of Texas’ team color, burnt orange. Recently, she paired a leather fringe jacket with a tulle skirt and black boots, gaining almost as much attention as Matthew McConaughey and his family, who attended the same game.
What does Sarkisian have to say about all of this? As she told Tribeza magazine in a recent interview, “I get up, and I just get dressed!”
However, she’s also a wardrobe stylist who travels the world to attend fashion shows. For as many videos as there are from fans praising Sarkisian’s style on TikTok, there are just as many of her working with local brands to style looks for Game Day and more.
Before the current season began, Sarkisian sat down with Texas Monthly to reflect on her style, during which she shared how her mother is among her influences.
“[My mother] was a strong believer that you wore what looked good on you, what enhanced you, not necessarily what was trendy or popular. I live by that to this day,” she said.
The second annual Black Carpet Awards date announced
The return of Fashion Weeks worldwide in February also means the return of fashion-related events and awards, such as the second annual Black Carpet Awards. According to Women’s Wear Daily, this year, the Italian-based award ceremony will take place during Milan Fashion Week on Feb. 25 at the Palazzo Reale.
The Black Carpet Awards were launched last year by the Italian Afro Fashion Association with the aim of recognizing underrepresented communities working in fashion and other creative fields, including film, music, and design. In determining this year’s honorees, 25 finalists will be shortlisted, and ultimately, 10 prizes across five categories will be awarded.
Lizzo says, “new year, new me” with new Yitty ‘Uplift’ collection
As you launch into your new year’s fitness resolutions, Lizzo’s brand Yitty has released a collection designed to help you instantly achieve that snatched waist. The Uplift collection is the brand’s newest addition to its family of innovative shapewear pieces. Featuring the “UltraLift BootySculpt Legging” and “Ultralift square neck bra,” the new line uses sculpting technology to enhance every curve while offering medium compression.
Lizzo took to Instagram to model the collection and show “the snatch in real-time.”
“This motherf—ing technology that snatches and lifts,” she said in a video as she showed off the collection’s three colorways (burgundy, black and navy blue). “It looks like we went to the gym, but we didn’t go to the gym.”
Like all Yitty pieces, the Ultralift collection is inclusive, with sizes ranging from XS to 6X. Shop the collection now at yitty.fabletics.com.
“We’re putting ourselves first this year, you guys. You don’t have to wait to feel like the best version of yourself,” said Lizzo at the end of the video. “New year, new me in my YITTY.”
New year, new location for bridal brand Amsale
After nearly 30 years, the bridal brand Amsale, founded by the late Amsale Aberra, has found a new home.
At the top of the new year, the brand, which called Madison Avenue home since 1996, opened its doors in SoHo at 150 Wooster Street. According to Aberra’s husband, Neil Brown, who currently runs the brand with their daughter Rachel as the director of arts and legacy, the move signals a change in the luxury label’s customer base.
“We really felt that SoHo would be the ideal space because that would be where the customer that connected with our aesthetic would likely be shopping. We felt that they probably migrated from Madison Avenue from the days when we started back then. We saw this space in April, and it immediately struck us as perfect,” Brown told Women’s Wear Daily.
He added that the new location is “Really the culmination of a vision that’s been forming, that certainly was part of Amsale’s vision before she passed, and that we felt an obligation to bring to life, which you can imagine was no picnic both after losing her and in the process of rebuilding, having dealt with the pandemic, which shut our industry down for close to two years.”
Recommended Stories
Pharrell Williams’ debut Louis Vuitton collection launches in stores
This week, Louis Vuitton announced the in-store release of its new menswear creative director Pharell Williams’ spring 2024 collection. To honor the release of Williams’ first collection with the brand, the luxury retailer is launching unique store concepts and pop-up window installations in 50 global locations. In addition to the collection-inspired activations, Louis Vuitton plans to offer DJ residencies and food in-store to reflect the brand’s cultural reach.
“It’s a different vibe, and just sort of an opportunity to let people know that our job and our partnership and working together is about leveling up and not just a few steps, but floors up,” said Williams about his work with Louis Vuitton, per WWD.
As previously reported by theGrio, Williams joined Louis Vuitton in February 2023 and has since been very intentional about creatively pushing the envelope. Most recently, Williams reimagined the brand’s classic “Speedy” bag. Using bold colors and the classic LV motif, the brand tapped LeBron James to model the “Speedy P9” campaign.
Never miss a beat: Get our daily stories straight to your inbox with theGrio’s newsletter.
