Singer-songwriter Janelle Monae pays tribute to legendary Black female entertainers in Ralph Lauren's fashion film for its Spring 2021 collection.
The 20-minute Casablanca-inspired movie, which premiered last week on the fashion brand's website, features the song Dorothy Dandridge Eyes.
"Dorothy Dandridge, Josephine Baker, Ella Fitzgerald – we love you," Monae says mid-song. "Sarah Vaughan, Lady Day – we love you."
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The film was shot in the Ralph Lauren flagship on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, California.
It opens with Monae, in voiceover, saying: "Once upon a time, we gathered. We got dressed up. We were free. We were liberated. We were fun. We were time travelers. We danced. We loved hard. We told jokes. We laughed."
Dressed in a sharp tuxedo, Monae kicked off her set with Anything Or Nothing At All. She closed the performance with Tightrope.
Solidifying support
Off-White founder and creative director Virgil Abloh has teamed up with activist Trinice McNally for the new "I Support Black Women" social media campaign.
The initiative raises money to establish physical space and/or a summer camp in Washington D.C. for the Black Women Radicals' School For Black Feminist Politics.
It features portraits of nine Black women leaders of all identities, including McNally, Jaimee Swift, Juju Bae, Aja Taylor, Keri Gray, OnRae LaTeal, Brianna Gibson, Toni-Michelle Williams, Paris Hatcher and Tiara Gendy.
The women will also participate in educational lectures and seminars.
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"I founded Off-White to be a platform for amplifying diverse voices and talent and to help combat the systemic oppression of Black people," Abloh said in a statement.
"I'm proud that Off-White has been able to create 'I Support Black Women' with Trinice McNally. She and the nine other women in our community who we will feature in our Activists Campaign this quarter show enormous determination in their support of Black women each and every day.
"It is an inspiration to honor them in our quarterly program to offset oppression Black women and men face, by amplifying Black and other under-represented voices." – Reuters/Marc Malkin
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