Danielle Brooks Fashion Feature- Essence

Julee Wilson May, 07, 2018

Danielle Brooks isn’t your typical fashion girl—and that’s part of her magic. The Orange Is the New Black actress is redefining beauty standards every time she hits the red carpet and works the runway—like she did at the Christian Siriano Fall 2018 show. And—when she’s not shooting her films—Brooks is taking her sartorial status a step further by creating a capsule collection for Universal Standard. Known for its fashion-forward designs in sizes 10 to 28, the New York City–based company tapped Brooks to add some of her flair with a signature line. “You get exhausted asking people to design for you, regardless [of whether] it’s a red-carpet look or just a pair of jeans,” Brooks says. “So I was like, I want to work with people who are allowing me the opportunity to wear what I want to wear and design what I want to design.” But it isn’t all about the 28-year-old star. Brooks, who describes her style as “comfortable and sexy,” understands the power of her position and image: “It’s truly for that next girl to rise up and feel confident about herself and see people who are expressing themselves the way she hopes to, if she’s not there already. And loving themselves in a way she hopes to, if she’s not already.”