Styling Kerry Washington, a TIME Woman of the Year

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Hey Tribe!

On Tuesday night, TIME Magazine threw this little gala in LA for International Women’s Day. They invited all the girls they’d picked for the magazine’s 2022 Women of the Year issue, which was 12 different covers featuring 12 women who are fighting for a better and more equal world. Kerry Washington was one of the honorees, so of course she was planning to go the dinner.

And she needed something to wear!

Since that’s my area of expertise, I picked something out for her from one of my favorite designers, Peter Do. It’s this really cool open-backed, wide-legged take on a jumpsuit that tied at the front with this cord belt and accessorized with some Tiffany jewelry.

I think it’s super chic! I was one of the first people to pull from Peter back when he was still considered an “emerging” designer, before he was a destination at NYFW. He’s definitely emerged by now! But back then, I think I saw his clothes on IG and DM’d him like, “Who handles your sample requests!?” I was in love!

I put Z in his clothes all the time. He used to design under Derek Lam and Phoebe Philo, and it shows. He does this elevated everyday elegance but in an artful way, with androgynous tailoring and utilitarian construction. Everything’s really feminine and sophisticated. It’s sensitive power dressing, but it’s still playful. And I think this look was perfect for the occasion!

But anyway, I’m getting away from myself. What I was getting to was that the TIME gala coincided with their Women of the Year issue, and I styled Kerry for one of the 12 covers! It was shot by Daria Kobayashi Ritch…

What do you think, Tribe? I think Kerry Washington is one of the most stylish girls out there, and I’m not just saying that because I style her all of the time. She has such great taste! And she has a way of bringing elegance to everything she puts on.

What was fun about this whole process is that obviously this wasn’t a cover shoot that was supposed to be too fashiony, not too style-heavy. This isn’t streetstyle for the walk from the car to the runway show, and it’s not evening wear for the movie premiere or couture for the Oscars. This is an outfit for the cover of a magazine where Kerry is talking about politics and activism.

She needed to look elegant and stately, but not stuffy. Stylish and fresh, but effortlessly. What we decided on was this really gorgeous look we had custom made by Cong Tri, who’s a Vietnamese designer. It’s a beige, pleated mock neck top with taffeta sleeves, and the wavy design is supposed to be like music notes! The look was simple but elevated, just like the glam was.

The second look I put her in is this cotton jumpsuit with a draped off-the-shoulder neckline from Paris Georgia, a New Zealand-based brand that’s really big on clean minimalist silhouettes and neutral tones.

I didn’t want to put Kerry in some crazy Lanvin look that I just pulled off a runway in Paris, because it needed to be more subdued than that. You don’t want the clothes to be too distracting or loud for something like this. Clothes convey something about who you are and what you’re trying to say, and I wanted to keep things simple. The gold jewelry and the hair really bring it together, I think…

I really love dressing Kerry. We’ve been working together so much over the last few weeks! There are those two TIME looks. There’s the Peter Do for the dinner. There’s that yellow Celia Kritharioti gown I had her wear at the SAG Awards…

The pink Zuhair Murad dress she wore to the NAACP Image Awards…

The casual Bella Freud suit with the Aurate jewelry…

What do y’all think? What’s your favorite look? How do you feel about the covers? SAY SOMETHING in the comments!

Until next time,

Law x