In an August 22 Access Hollywood interview, Orange is the New Black actress Laverne Cox teased an upcoming collab between herself and Beyoncé (who she met for the first time at the 2017 Grammys). On Wednesday, the outspoken transgender rights activist and pop star/godsend let it be known: Cox is the face of Ivy Park’s Fall 2017 “Strong Beyond Measure” campaign.
Also featured in the ads are 60-year-old dancer/choreographer Karen McDonald and models Grace Bol and Ralph Souffrant. Beyoncé told People (via a statement provided by Ivy Park) that the new campaign is about celebrating everyone’s uniqueness. “True beauty and power are born out of strength of character and defined from the inside out. There is no one standard of beauty,” Bey affirmed. (Note: this is the second time this week that Beyoncé has blessed us with a photo series celebrating black excellence.)
Cox and Souffrant for Ivy Park Fall 2017; Image: Ivy Park
Cox, a Beyoncé superfan (obv), was caught off-guard — but elated — when the Ivy Park team contacted her publicist about the opportunity. People reports that Cox took a quick one-day break from her Orange is the New Black press tour last summer to fly to Los Angeles and pose for her very first(!) fashion campaign.
The trailblazing actress told Glamour she feels “humbled” to appear in the strength-celebrating ads. “I have to practice what I preach. It’s humbling because it’s a little bit of pressure to live up to it, and it’s such an honor to be chosen by Beyoncé—to be chosen by the queen is incredible,” said Cox. “It’s indescribable, really. Beyoncé means so much to me. Throughout my transition, Beyoncé has been there as a style icon, an example of excellence, of beauty, of vulnerability. She’s shown us and given us so much over the years. She’s shared so much of herself, and it’s inspiring. It’s like, you can do that, and it’s OK—you can be political, you can be a feminist, you can speak out against police brutality and then be protested by police. That is strength beyond measure, when you have the courage of your convictions, and it’s not always popular with everyone, but you stand up and fight anyway. To be aligned with a brand like that feels very, very special. Certainly I’ve stood up in my life and spoken out, but it’s still scary and it’s still hard, especially in this political environment.” Cox, her co-stars and Ivy Park join the considerable list of models and brands who’ve helped make the Fall 2017 ad season the most inclusive in history.
Scroll down to take in the Instagram roll-out, then head over to Ivy Park’s website to see the full line.
Laverne Cox
Souffrant Ralph
A post shared by IVY PARK (@weareivypark) on
Karen McDonald
Grace Bol
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[ via Cosmopolitan ]
