Tessa Thompson, hairstylist Lacy Redway and makeup artist Alex Babsky break down some of the iconic looks they've brought to the red carpet over the years and how Tessa's beauty style has evolved, from the premiere of 'Creed II' to the Met Gala and more.
00:00We love fashion, so we're like, you know, invested completely through and through.
00:05Like, I was like still making that hat up until she walked out of the car.
00:09Hi, I'm Tessa Thompson.
00:10And I'm Lacey Redway.
00:12And I'm Alex Babsky.
00:13And we are here on the set of our Hollywood Reporter cover shoot.
00:30One of the first times that we worked together was a premiere of Creed II, and I was wearing this really beautiful, huge, green Valentino dress.
00:38Like, something that Lacey really unlocked for me.
00:40I used to be so fussy with, like, just wanting hair in my face.
00:44And now I'm such a, I love just to slick back my hair and really just be like, this is my face.
00:48You know, here's my face.
00:49I think we did a very long braid for that.
00:52By the way, a lot of people were not doing that on the red carpet space.
00:55I do want to add that.
00:57Yeah.
00:57So it was like, it was also the beginning of a trend that evolved, you know, with this, like, very extended, exaggerated braid.
01:06I think we were really interested in bringing just real images of black beauty, you know, and ideas of black beauty to the red carpet space and saying, like, this is gorgeous.
01:16This is beautiful.
01:17This is editorial.
01:19You know, this is us.
01:20And Alex brought this beautiful sketch because he's such an artist and he'll do sketches of you and this rendering of me.
01:27I just felt so moved by it.
01:29I had never worked with an artist that did that before.
01:31That's what's really impressive to me about Alex.
01:33Yeah.
01:34The sketches.
01:35Like, the sketchbook.
01:38No?
01:38No, go on.
01:39Okay.
01:39He's like, go on, go on.
01:40No, no, no.
01:41No, no, seriously.
01:43No, but, like, honestly, like, I've never seen another artist, you know, in the glam space bring that forth.
01:55Chanel at the Oscars.
01:59That's the first Oscars I ever did.
02:02Ever?
02:02Is that right?
02:03Yeah.
02:03Wow.
02:03I didn't know that.
02:04It was.
02:05So thanks for bringing me there.
02:07Yay!
02:07That was my first Oscars, too.
02:09Was it?
02:09Yeah, it was.
02:10Lacey's an old hander, obviously.
02:16I remember, even though it was my first Oscars and I was super excited, I didn't feel it was a moment that I had to do a huge makeup statement or anything.
02:25So I wanted to just keep everything super beautiful, slightly low-key, maybe just with a touch of that gold that's in the dress.
02:36Ooh.
02:38I love this.
02:39This was, like, one of my favorite looks that we've ever done.
02:46I made this ponytail at home with the latex, and then I attached some of your hair and then continued wrapping the latex around.
02:57And something about the way that Alex painted me, too, I felt quite like a doll, you know, I felt like a little kind of S&M, spontaneous, little kinky doll.
03:08Yeah, I mean, you did also have another whip in your other hand, so.
03:12I did.
03:12Oh, I forgot about that.
03:13Yes, there it is.
03:14It's all coming back to me now.
03:16Another time that I went to the Met, Lacey made, which I still have in my house, and it's one of my favorite things that I own.
03:25It's an art piece.
03:26Um, she made a cowboy hat made completely of braids, and it's, like, one of the most beautiful, extraordinary things.
03:36And a testament to Lacey's, like, imagination and skill, it's something that we came up with sort of at the last minute.
03:42And you were up very late making it to get ready for the next day.
03:48But, you know, it's, like, a passion project, you know?
03:50Like, we love to, we love fashion, so we're, like, you know, invested completely through and through.
03:57Like, I was, like, still making that hat up until she walked out of the car to go to the red carpet because it was, like, again, it was, like, such a last-minute idea.
04:06And it really required, like, that level of perfection, making sure that every detail was in place before she got out the car.
04:22Oh, yes.
04:24That was the Vanity Fair party, right?
04:26Corn Rose.
04:27Yeah, Corn Rose.
04:29Yeah.
04:29Which I wish, I, I wish I sort of, like, trademarked that name.
04:33What Tessa is wearing is corn rose, but I added roses at the back of her hair.
04:42I do think it's nice sometimes when beauty and fashion and glam can also be playful, that you can have a sense of, of.
04:49I feel like it should be playful.
04:51It's, like, you know, that's what we do.
04:54We make things, like, people feel beautiful and, like, you know, have fun.
04:57I feel like it should always feel fun.
04:59It shouldn't feel serious and, you know, you should always enjoy what you're doing and what you're wearing.
05:12I love this look.
05:12It was, we don't see it all in that picture, but it was a super colorful outfit.
05:16So, really, the outfit said it all.
05:18I just wanted to make Tessa look gorgeous.
05:20I didn't need to add a lip, smoky eye, nothing.
05:22I just wanted to do beautiful makeup that was her, really, because the outfit was everything.
05:28Something she pulled back is, yeah, we do that a lot.
05:31Definitely a slick is a signature, I would say.
05:33Yes, it has become a signature.
05:35It's become.
05:35Since we've unlocked it, it has become.
05:38It's definitely become a signature, I would say.
05:39Something that has definitely evolved for me is also that sometimes it's just simple.
05:45Yeah, exactly that.
05:46You know?
05:46Exactly that.
05:47Sometimes.
05:47Which we've been doing a lot lately.
05:49Yeah, I think that's definitely been, I think that's been an evolution.
05:53And also, I feel like I used to, the red carpet used to be like this place where you're kind of,
05:57and I've heard people talk about this, like it's kind of armor.
06:00And I think in general now it's sort of like there's, it doesn't need to be any armor, you know?
06:05You can be like unadorned and just kind of show up and really just be exactly who you are.
06:13And you have the pressure of doing a string.
06:15Yeah, you don't have to like always do with, do a thing.
Be the first to comment