Over the years since Beauty Shop, I’ve found myself immersed in Latifah’s filmography, from Just Wright (2010) and Last Holiday (2006), two more romantic comedy classics that I recommend everyone watch alongside her supporting role in Brown Sugar (2002). To her masterful singing in musicals such as Chicago (2002) and Hairspray (2007), alongside her heartbreaking performance in crime drama Set It Off (1996), the biopic of Bessie Smith in HBO’s Bessie (2015), as well as her hilarious, longstanding time on hit comedy Living Single (1996), where she starred as Khadijah James. Latifah may not be acknowledged as a chameleonic actor in the same way others are with method performances and physical transformations, but I’d argue she’s long had a vastly diverse character, switching from genre to genre with an ease not often seen today. Not to mention that she was one of the earliest examples of a hip-hop star making the transition from stage to screen via Spike Lee’s Jungle Fever (1991) and was the first hip-hop star to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2006.
I provide this brief rundown of her career to say that Latifah’s long and fruitful time on our screens has provided the internet and most importantly, me, with an array of fashion looks from red carpets to her character’s costuming, to music videos, to maybe some of the best hair styling I’ve ever seen of her honey blonde hair that has reinforced my belief that sometimes your natural hair colour isn’t the one to stick with (ginger in my case). For Kaiya, it’s 90s Queen Latifah that remains the most influential on their own fashion taste. “I think she was able to straddle the rope between masculine and feminine in a way that not many were willing to do in that era, and it had an immense impact on me once I began to explore my gender identity as a young adult. I’ll never forget seeing her look at the Los Angeles Premiere of Interview With A Vampire (1994). The grey bra that glows through her sheer black turtleneck, paired with the delicate gold jewellery and the Blade-esque sunglasses…it’s a perfect take on the Black vampire.”
I’d have to agree re: 90s inspiration. Latifah’s role as Khadijah James, in particular, has found itself on one too many of my personal moodboards in my attempt to rebrand my style in a ‘non-Y2K, non-nostalgia driven but also somewhat the clothes I wish I wore growing up’ way. The use of rings and jewellery to pair with her suits, sports jerseys and my favourite winter get-up: sweaters. She wasn’t shy about colours or patterns so long as they complemented the overall outfit. There was clear care placed by the costuming department on how to style her body in a way that made sense for Latifah and Khadijah. In my early 20s, my thrifting used to stop at jewellery and bags, but I realised that women who look like me, who looked like Latifah, were also the arbiters of style. It shifted my mindset to start hunting down brands and specific clothing items that are ironically more size-inclusive than the fashion of today. Why should I settle for peplum tops and ill-fitting dresses, and why should I have to buy from fast fashion sources like SHEIN or PLT to be on trend? There’s a middle ground, and it’s frustrating to say the least, as much of my time is spent researching rather than buying, but I feel that it’s served me well. With my Queen Latifah inspo boards on hand, and my Vinted / local charity shops ready for the taking. I’ve started buying colourful pullover ¼ zip fleeces to pair with flowy skirts (often patterned). I also buy bangles and rings to adorn myself, alongside bags that I wear until they’re worn out. During my trip to Toronto last month, I spent my time in thrift stores purchasing men’s sweaters and looking for a perfect Tony Soprano-like short-sleeved top (still looking for that). Fashion doesn’t have to be terrifying in the way 2000s TV made it out to be; it’s meant to be fun, and most importantly, it’s meant to resemble what you want to put out into the world. I guess that’s what Queen Latifah has taught me, and I hope it passes on to women like me for generations to come.
