Bold Proportions & Fearless Fashion: Tracee Ellis Ross Champions Marc Jacobs’ Vision
In a sartorial spectacle that set the tone for New York Fashion Week, Tracee Ellis Ross emerged as the embodiment of Marc Jacobs’ imaginative vision at the designer’s Spring 2025 ready-to-wear showcase. The collection, aptly titled “Courage,” transformed the hallowed halls of the New York Public Library into a playground of proportion and possibility, with Ross leading the charge in a look that married whimsy with architectural precision.
The Pattern Beauty founder and style savant demonstrated her masterful grasp of fashion-forward dressing, selecting a piece from Jacobs’ Fall 2024 collection that played with the designer’s signature exploration of volume and scale. Ross, ever the fashion risk-taker, donned a carefully curated ensemble that read like a love letter to the art of doll-like dressing – albeit with a sophisticated twist that only she could deliver.
The cornerstone of Ross’s look was a statement-making skirt suit that demanded attention: a butter-yellow jacket adorned with oversized buttons marching down its front, complemented by crisp white accents at the collar and cuffs. The accompanying skirt, rendered in a jubilant purple, featured a structured silhouette that kissed the knee with a subtle yet decisive flare – a masterclass in controlled volume that spoke to Jacobs’ current exploration of form.
But it was Ross’s choice of footwear that truly crystallized the moment’s avant-garde spirit. The actress opted for Jacobs’ conversation-starting Krakow pumps, a design that challenges conventional shoe architecture with its dramatically upturned pointed toe and convex back profile. These architectural marvels in noir served as the perfect foundation for an outfit that refused to play by traditional fashion rules.
The styling, executed with surgical precision, saw Ross’s signature curls transformed into a sleek chignon by celebrity hairstylist LaWanda Pierre – a deliberate choice that allowed the clothes to command center stage. Makeup artist Kristy Strate complemented the look with a beauty strategy that balanced drama and refinement: strong, sculptural brows, intensely lined eyes, and a whisper of pink on the lips.
In true Ross fashion, accessories were minimal yet impactful. The actress clutched Marc Jacobs’ Mini Dual Bag in pristine white, allowing it to serve as a punctuation mark to her paper doll-inspired ensemble rather than a competing statement piece.
As New York Fashion Week unfolds, Ross’s appearance at Marc Jacobs’ show serves as both a harbinger of the season’s daring direction and a reminder of fashion’s highest calling: the courage to embrace the unexpected. In a world often bound by conventional aesthetics, Ross and Jacobs prove that true style lies in the boldness to color outside the lines – quite literally, in this case.
