Billie Holiday was a natural singer from the start, beginning with her days in Harlem clubs to touring the nation with dance bands. With no formal training and a unique tone, she's popularly credited as a member of history's top jazz singers. She obviously knew how to work a gown, too, taking the stage in silk dresses, statement necklaces, and flowery hairdos that would make a queen green with envy.
Detroit-born singer and actress Diana Ross was a leading lady of '60s Motown, singing with girl-group The Supremes that would establish themselves among the world's top best-selling trios of all time. From mile-high hair to sequined-and-feathered dressses that outshone the rest, there "Ain't No Mountian High Enough" for the Ross-Bob Mackie duo.
It didn't take much for Zendaya to break free from the "Disney Channel kid" mold into fashion icon. With the guidance of celebrity stylist Law Roach and her own amazing taste, the actress lights up each and every red carpet event she attends. From the Moschino Butterfly Dress at the permiere of The Greatest Showman to the natural poof of her 2017 Met Gala look, you never have to read the Best Dressed lists to know that she's made it.
Has Rihanna ever made a fashion faux pas? Like, when is she not serving looks? With the number of red-carpet hits she's sported over the years, it's not ridiculous to think she's some sort of style goddess. There's been the 2015 Grammy's Giambattista Valli loofah dress... the internet-breaking 2014 CDFA Adam Selman sheer Swarovski crystal dress and headpiece that inspired Kim K, Beyoncé, and JLo to trend toward birthday-suit territory for the 2015 Met Gala... and we almost forgot! Rihanna's own clothing line , Savage x Fenty, makes her exceptional taste accessible to the many style-challenged among us.
Dorothy Dandrige made history many times over during her illustrious career as an actress, dancer, and singer, including securing the spot as first African-American actress to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress in '55. Known for her sequined mermaid dresses during her nighclub ciruit in New York and later turning to the life of a glamorous Hollywood actress sporting jewels and gowns, Dandridge is routinely credited for her influence on the classic film industry by modern performers.
Beyoncé solifies her place in the fashion game with every looks she serves. The singer-songwriter, with an acclaimed resume as leading member of Destiny's Child, never fails to make herself seen by the larger fashion community. Remember when her heartwrenching album Lemonade released and nobody could get enough of her yellow "Don't mess with me 'cause I'm swinging a baseball bat through the streets" revenge ensemble in "Hold Up?" We couldn't count the number of dupes that dropped for the dress if we tried.
The bold looks of Jamaican-born Grace Jones has obviously seeped into mainstream fashion. This model, singer, actress, and producer attracted cameras with a unique mix of headpieces, bright makeup, and shoulder pads that contributed to her androgynous persona. If your parents ever criticize your oversized jackets or outlandish accessories, point back to Grace Jones as evidence of your fashion prowess.
Michelle Obama: Writer. Attorney. Former FLOTUS. Activist. Style icon! If you caught President Biden's inauguration, Obama's plum powersuit makes up the tail end of the looks she's graced us with during the past decade alone. Her go-to styles are the epitome of grace, power, and unparalleled taste that prove to young women that it's entirely possible to be successful, look good, and be taken seriously as a working professional.
Try and name something Eartha Kitt didn't accomplish during her life. The singer, songwriter, dancer, comedian, actress, and author's perfomormance of "Santa Baby" has inspired Christmas shenanigans since the 1950s. She turned herself from Broadway performer into Hollywood's OG material girl, launching animal print clothing, silk turbans, and feather-clad robes into fashion fads.
American supermodel Donyale Luna rose to fame in '60s Europe with the help of British Vogue when she garnered the titles as the "first black supermodel" and covergirl. She appeared in various films throughout her life and made friends with top musicians, but her modeling career was entirely her own. If you think you're rocking a new style, Luna probably did it first.
French-American entertainer Josephine Barker focused her career in the European center of fashion and film, but her influence expanded throughout the West. As the first black woman to star in a major motion picture, she used her platform to promote social justice during the Civil Rights movement and for the French Resistance.
The darling of gargantuan fashion houses, Iman was a superstar in her own right despite her marriage to rock icon David Bowie. The model broke into the high-fashion scene in the '70s, strutting the runway in Versace, Calvin Klein, and Saint Laurent, but she solidified her CFDA Fashion Icon Award in 2010 because of her street style. She schooled us in various fashion lessons, including that chokers are valid jewelry and there can never be enough sequins.
Another among the first black models to dominate the industry, New York-native Pat Cleveland dreamed of becoming a world-renown fashion designer in the '50s and '60s. Her elite fashion sense attracted the eye of Vogue assistant-to-the-editor and launched her career as a covergirl. Cleveland was no stranger to racism in the industry, divulging that she was rejected by Eileen Ford based on her race. The blow didn't set her back an inch, fortunately, as she walked legendary runways and grounded herself in the Studio 54 scene alongside Grace Jones and Andy Warhol in the '70s.
American actress Pam Grier, with an impressive resume of roles in '70s action and blaxploitation films, is known for more than just her roles as Foxy Brown and Coffy. Characterized by crop tops, flared denim, and platform shoes, Grier was the fashion icon of her time. Her confidence to show a little skin and flash bold accessories inspires today's raging trends as the world turns back to decade fashion.
Donna Summer's style is as bright as her name, all to match her persona as a counter-cultural psychedelic rocker. This singer-songwriter struck gold as the "Queen of Disco," and dressed like '70s royalty. From fringe dresses to fur and hip-hugging bodysuits, Summer might as well have been an staple of 2021 given how mush she's inspired today's top trends.
Live actor, singer, performer, and comedian Sammy Davis, Jr., was dubbed "Mister Show Business" after various stints on Broadway —sharing the stage's first interracial kiss in the '64 production of Golden Boy — and Las Vegas. For a man who won the Grammy Lifetime Achievement award, it's only natural to assume his style of dress was award-worthy as well. King of the nonchalant tux, Davis wore his self-tied bow ties and pleated plants loosely to give him room to make big impressions.
Bethann Hardison's legacy reaches far past her clothes (which were beautiful). This American model doubles as a social justice activist for the fashion industry. So you see, she changed the fashion game from the inside out. Hardison garnered supermodel status after walking the '73 Battle of Versailles fashion show, eventually foudnign her titular modeling agency focused on diversity. As stated on her website BethannHardison.com, "she has helped guide the careers of some of the most prominent models in recent times and through her decades of advocacy work has challenged and helped change common notions of beauty by consistently championing diversity in the fashion industry."
Everyone should know Angela Davis for her extraordinary social justice work during the Civil Rights movement of the '60s. She promoted empowering slogans like "Black is Beautiful" that challeged eurocentric beauty standards and celebrated the natural hair, skin, and features of black people. Sporting her own natural afro, Davis took powerful stances for equality in courtrooms and classrooms for feminism, class equality, race, and prison reform.
From soul to rock 'n' roll, Tina Turner strut the stage in everything from leather dresses to sparkly jumpsuits. Her hair, whether purposely dischevled or perfectly coiffed, was sometimes bolder than her iconic costumes. Before setting stages ablaze as the solo "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll," Turner was the frontwoman of Ike & Tina Turner, the duo that produced hits including the cover "Proud Mary" and "A Fool in Love."
RuPaul's Drag Race is the only tip of the iceberg for how RuPaul Charles has influenced international fashion. Younger readers may not remember the OG RuPaul Show in the '90s, but it's obvious foreshadowing to the cult following of his current show. The show's promotion of drag culture was anything but mainstream for the time, especially for it's content that worked to dismantly eurocentric beauty standards, misogyny, and conventional values.
Do we even need to explain the ways Prince influenced the fashion world? His androgynous style paired with virtuoistic gifts for singing, dancing, songwriting, and guitar ensured his place as one of the most uniquely talented performers of his generation. He won countless awards for records such as Purple Rain and Sign o' the Times, even operating under stage name "the Arist" with his infamous "Love Symbol" to represent him. But his fashion pushed as many boundaries as his music, from rampant eclecticism to ruffled ensembles that the common musicisan never could've pulled off.
Modern musical sensation Lizzo works the stage, the sound booth, and the red carpet with as much precision as the flute. Leader of the body positivity movement and three-time Grammy winner, she's not afraid to show her truth, no matter how much it annoys others. Arkansas-born designer Mark Monroe partnered with the singer to deliver iconic styles like the infamous tiny purse at the 2019 AMAs. No doubt there's countless more moments to come!
A top supermodel of the '90s, Naomi Campbell was lumped in with catwalk icons like Kate Moss, Cindy Crawford, and Tyra Banks. But she shouldn't be overlooked! The British model has been featured on runways to ad to the big screen., but confessed that she never cashed out on her success like her white collegues. During a 1991 interview with Time, she revealed, "I may be considered one of the top models in the world, but in no way do I make the same money as any of [the white models]. There is prejudice." Nearly a decade later, she teamed up with Iman and Bethann Hardison to form the "Diversity Coalition" to call out racism in the fashion industry.
Before she gave makeovers to amateur models and critiqued their runway walks on America's Next Top Model, Tyra Banks experienced the supermodel life firsthand in the '90s. Glamorous photoshoots were obviously part of her repertoire, but she's more popularly known for wrapping herself in grunge denim and plaid tops. Her most recent business venture "Modelland" in Santa Monica, California, is marketed on the website as "a fantasy version of the modeling world with state-of-the-art interactive entertainment where beauty, fashion, tech, theatre, retail and an eating extravaganza collide."
Look out, another musical legend coming through! Michael Jackson had his start as a member of his family's group The Jackson 5, but eventually broke out on his own to become "The Kind of Pop." Routinely compared to the top performing artists of his day, Jackson's flashy cotumes and bold jackets set him apart from the rest as he coined dance moves like the moonwalk and the robot.
Lupita Nyong'o, the star of 12 Years a Slave, Black Panther, and Us, blew red carpet fashion out of the water at her very first Oscars appearance. Sporting a flowing pleated gown in Cinderella blue and glittery headband to match, this Kenyan-Mexican actress proved that her fashion sense is as good as her acting, scoring spots on everyone's Best Dressed list and the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress!
Billy Porter is the kind of red carpet chic, and no one can say otherwise. It's literally impossible to form the words that he's not the best dressed man you've ever seen. If he's ever ended up on the worst dressed list, he didn't deserve it. From Broadway to Pose, this Carnegie Mellon grad schools us all on street, stage, and screen fashion with each barrier-breaking piece.
Winnter of eight Grammys, an MTV Video Music award, the ASCAP Vanguard Award, and oodles of other honors, Janelle Monáe could probably secure the award of keeping the fashion world upright if such a thing existed. As an openly queer black woman, Monáe inspires fans one tuxedo at a time. And when she opts for dresses, they're never simple. From everything intergalactic to Picasso inspired, she doesn't just wear a gown. She transforms into art herself.
Orange Is the New Black introduced Laverne Cox to Hollywood as a gritty actress, LBTQ+ advocate, and — you guessed it — fashion icon. In 2014, she explained to Time why her nomination for the "Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series" Emmy award was so important: “I was told many times that I wouldn’t be able to have a mainstream career as an actor because I’m trans, because I’m black, and here I am." In 2019, Cox sported a specially designed rainbow handbag to raise awareness to Supreme Court hearings on anti-LGBTQ employment discrimination. Her stylist Christina Pcelli commented to Vogue, "Laverne took the opportunity to shine a light on its importance with her Emmys fashion.”
The Knowles family must have some innate style, because Solange has made the list. A successful musician in her own right, Solange does cower in the shadow of older sister Queen Bey. Just take a gander at her fashion! A staple model of Iris Van Herpen couture pieces at red carpets and galas, she's the type to undergo multiple outfit changes in a night that scream "fashionista!" Plus, an all-white clad wedding party? That's truly the epitome of confidence.
