The Hollywood Reporter threw an Empowerment in Entertainment event yesterday, celebrating luminaries who’ve created jobs “for people of color, women, members of the LGBTQ community and other emerging voices in the industry.” The first honoree was Oprah, which makes sense. I mean, if you are creating an award of any ilk, Oprah feels like a pretty logical place to look for your first recipient. But she’s given a lot of money to education — the article says $400 million — and she has a network that makes diverse programming, and this is all tied into a young executives fellowship for select high-schoolers in underserved areas. So! To put a broad and reductive point on it, people are doing stuff, and it’s good. They are ALSO wearing stuff. Is it AS good? Let’s find out.
There are a few things we had to embed from Getty:
I don’t have a TON to say about a satin suit — it’s present, it’s opaque, it fits, it will not chafe my soul to a wasted nubbin; it’s fine. It does however bring my gaze right up to her head, WHICH IS GLORIOUS, so that’s a plus.
I am totally on board with Lil Rel’s suit. Ciara also would have looked good in this, frankly. I appreciate a dude who dives full-on into a floral, because it rarely happens.
Next up is Ali Wong:
She looks like she was a bridesmaid at her best friend’s courthouse wedding, and then changed into slippers so they could dance all day and night.
Well, you know I would love to revamp the shoe choice on Gina Torres here, but the day dress is super.
KUMAIL. You stone fox. He is some SOLID A.Skars turtleneck realness here, no?
I am concerned that Logan Browning’s outfit is really just a lab coat that caught something unfortunate.
I have not historically been on board with white boots, and I’m still probably not, but somehow Elaine is pulling them off with this weird fringey knit dress. We might be in a situation where, as we say, every outfit has its context and this one blessedly found its destiny.
