What is it exactly about tomboys and their “I just woke up like this” appeal that has fashion writers like myself in awe? Is it the fact that most of these fresh-faced gamines look like a million bucks without even trying? That even when these accidental trendsetters attempt to deflect attention away from their outfits, they only gain more?
Take Dope and Transparent actress Kiersey Clemons. I’m talking to the cherub-faced, pixie-cut scene-stealer about her dazzling and impish red carpet style. You’ll remember she joyously flicked off the cameras at the summer premiere of Dope while outfitted in a stunning fire engine–red chinoiserie evening dress. The combination of tongue-in-cheek humor and total glamour quickly garnered the paparazzi’s attention, but Clemons assures me she hardly clamors for the spotlight: “I don’t really like people staring at me, which is a shocking thing to say as an actor, but whenever I put on a lot of makeup or heels, I feel like people are staring at me.”
While the reluctant style star has a real-life penchant for oversize bomber jackets and construction worker–chic overalls, she also makes Prada sequined aquamarine mermaid gowns—like the one she donned at this year’s Cannes Film Festival—seem like a second skin. As she gets into promotion gear for the just-launched second season of Transparent, Clemons turns to her stylist, Toye Adedipe. “We met at a photo shoot last year and he really understood me and didn’t try to keep me locked in with one look. These events make me feel like I’m playing myself in a movie, so instead of telling Toye what I want to wear, I will normally give a setting,” says the actress. “For example, ‘Tonight I want to look like a girl who’s late to a ball because she lost track of time spending all day on the beach with her secret lover!’ Somehow he takes that vague, silly description and nails it!” Her fashion stories have yielded several happily-ever-after endings in the form of looks by Jonathan Simkhai, Miu Miu, and Dior, as well as vintage pieces.
In that same breath, the plucky star counts her pixie hairstyle and smattering of tattoos as the best of accessories—adding to her trademark tomboy approach. Thinking certain outfits might look better if her hair was cropped, Clemons made the big cut, fashioning her natural curls into an abridged Afro and choppy bob. And rather than adorning her wrists with bracelets, she simply etched a bigger piece onto her arm. “I don’t really do bracelets, but my arms were missing something when I would wear short sleeves, so I got some pretty artwork!” she says. “I just do me, honestly.”
Of course, sharing the screen with A$AP Rocky, Zoë Kravitz, and Chanel Iman certainly has proven an inspiration, too. And the feeling, it seems, is mutual: Clemons recounts how rakish rapper and her Dope costar Rocky asked her to help him pick out an ensemble for Cannes. “I was like, ‘Really?! Me?!’ But that’s why he is the way he is about fashion: He loves [to have] other people influence him and help him.” Though Clemons may do all she can to deflect attention away from her style, apparently people can’t help but take notice.
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