Zerina Akers Style: Black-Owned Designers for Fall and Winter

On her official Black Is King portfolio, Akers says she and Beyoncé created more than 70 looks, bringing together renowned designers and Black independent designers. The visual album makes silhouette, adornment and cultural storytelling impossible to separate.

Her credits include Beyoncé's 2016 Formation video and Black Is King, for which she won the 2021 Emmy for Outstanding Costumes for Variety, Nonfiction or Reality Programming. I love how her work moves between theatrical scale and clothes with a point of view.

In PORTER, Akers describes styling as collaborative and says strong silhouettes and color are central to her aesthetic. She has styled Beyoncé, Chloe x Halle and Niecy Nash, and her work on Black Is King included designers such as Loza Maléombho.

She founded Black Owned Everything to support Black-owned businesses, a mission that began with labels and people she knew. This edit draws on Black-owned and founded brands available at Nordstrom, then follows her fashion vocabulary through occasion shapes, layered knits, bags and shoes.

Choose a silhouette with presence, then let texture carry the rest. The Amsale Fluid Satin Draped Neck Dress is a striking starting point for an occasion look. From there, one considered bag or shoe can change the whole direction.