Teyana Taylor Gives a Masterclass in How to Style a Naked Dress

Seemingly everyone in Hollywood wants to have a sheer dress moment on the red carpet this year. Yet, too often, it seems like their stylists will put them in some black mesh fabric and call it a day. Where’s the fashion fantasy? The personal style? The elements that elevate it beyond just a looky-loo moment? Well, last night in Atlanta, actress, musician, and creative director Teyana Taylor proved just how to do all of that with a dramatic sheer dressing moment for the books.

Taylor was in attendance at Quality Control CEO Pierre "P" Thomas’s 3rd Annual Birthday Ball in Georgia and pulled a full-length black-knit gown adorned with sequins for the event. The dress was designed by Coperni, the hot (both in buzz and aesthetic) French brand.

The dress might have been enough for some, but Taylor turned the glamour up with hair by Trjko da Lace Surgeon that artfully layered over the top half of her gown. For the face, she went for dramatic eye makeup that some of her Instagram commenters compared to Aaliyah’s vampiric looks from Queen of the Damned. To top it off, she added a gold chin cuff, which has become something of a Teyana signature as of late.

While originally coming to prominence as a musician and dancer, Taylor is in the midst of a full creative renaissance. Not only has she reportedly been working as a creative director for other musicians (including Latto and Summer Walker), she’s also fresh off receiving critical acclaim for her role in the Sundance hit A Thousand and One. Starring as a single mother on the run after kidnapping her son from the foster system, The New Yorker called her performance “awe-inspiring,” adding she “endows even seemingly ordinary interactions with the overwhelming heat of fiercely principled and protective energy.”

“It’s what I prayed for, honestly,’ Taylor told W earlier this year. “I prayed to just have that moment where people could finally really see me and see what I could do. I knew that this would be challenging, but I was on to take that challenge.”