Bonjour Paris! It’s currently Paris Fashion Week, and we’re getting a bts, front-row peak into all the glamour. For yesterday’s Fall/Winter 2023 show, ESSENCE got to tag along with actress, budding fashion it girl, and our September 2022 cover star, Thuso Mbedu, as she got all glammed up for the Dior ready-to-wear show.
The breakout star stole our hearts as Nawi in last year’s The Woman King, and since then, has been a mainstay on our moodboards, saved folder on Instagram, and Pinterest boards, for all her killer outfits. Mbedu has become quite the red carpet fixture and fashion cool girl. With her signature lowcut or natural hairstyles, together with her stylists Wayman + Micah, they’ve crafted a formula that just brings out Mbedu’s organic finesse. As we know, fashion can be used as a powerful tool of expression and change, and according to Mbedu, “fashion has allowed me to explore and express myself without having to use my voice or emotions. It can be as loud or as quiet as I want it to be. It can be transformative and impactful.”
We got to see the magic in progress, from glam (courtesy of Dior Beauty, of course) to a mini photo hotel shoot, to front row at the show and backstage with mademoiselle Maria Grazia — Let’s take a peek into her day ahead of the Fall/Winter 23 Dior runway show.
“You’re never fully dressed without a smile.”
When Do You Feel You’re Most Confident?
When I’m breaking the ceiling of my own limitations. That can be in any space: on set, on a carpet, behind the wheel, trying something new for the first time. It gets very uncomfortable as you near the precipice of your comfort zone, but when you push through, there’s a new confidence that comes with being introduced to a you you didn’t know existed. I hope that makes sense. And again, when my hair and makeup and clothes come together: that’s an entirely different and confident me.
The Reinterpretation Of floral Fabrics.
S/O To Dior Beauty!
Talk To Me Nice!
Classy. Beautiful. Empowered. Confident- like there’s nothing I can’t do.
These moments of connection bring it all together.
Thuso With Dior Creative Director Maria Grazia Chiuri.
Sitting Front Row With Bella Ramsey.
Images by: Austin Malema