Jodie Turner-Smith Embraces Her Queen Status in Christopher John Rogers
It’s something of a rite of passage for a breakout American designer to land a Target collab. And as of this last month, just like Proenza Schouler and Rodarte before him, Christopher John Rogers is quickly becoming a household name. That’s also thanks to fans like Jodie Turner-Smith, who attended this week’s virtual press day for the new three-part series Anne Boleyn, in which she stars as the titular queen consort and second wife of King Henry VIII in the run-up to Boleyn’s execution by beheading for treason.
Turner-Smith opted for a floral take on one of Rogers’s signature voluminous, highly saturated red carpet mainstays, a fittingly regal “strawberry” silhouette. The look is already a fan favorite: RuPaul’s Drag Race star Symone and blogger Tamu McPherson both modeled it for Rogers’s “#AtHome” series, and Hamilton’s Jasmine Cephas Jones wore it while promoting Blindspotting just last week. But Turner-Smith and her stylist, Solange Franklin, are the first to let the puffball skirt shine on its own, pairing it with a plunging bright red top instead of a matching floral bustier. Hairstylist Ursula Stephen topped off the look with a towering beehive.
Turner-Smith is just one of Rogers’s many celebrity fans. Most recently among the Black American designers that Vice President Kamala Harris highlighted in the run-up to her inauguration, the designer has long been a favorite of stars ranging from Michelle Obama to Lady Gaga to Zendaya. (Lizzo has praised the lime green dress—which he actually made in just three days, in his living room—she wore to the GLAAD Awards as her favorite fashion moment ever.) Still, Turner-Smith hasn’t let her love for Rogers get in the way of her love for Gucci. She also promoted Anne Boleyn, in a pale pink baby-doll dress, remaining committed to the house after sporting a puffer from its North Face collab three times in one week. No matter who she goes with, though, rest assured another red carpet hit is in store for July’s Cannes Film Festival, which will premiere her film After Yang with Colin Farrell.
