Avant Garde! Inside Actor Tessa Thompson’s Yohji, Vivienne, and Comme-Filled Wardrobe

Hello, I am Tessa Thompson

and today I am gonna show you everything

that I might wear in a week.

[upbeat music]

So this, I would think of as a business meeting look

If I'm having a day where I'm talking to folks,

this might be something I'd like to wear.

I am trying to get more into skirts.

Usually this would be a pant, but these are,

this Yoshi skirt that I thrifted.

These are two COMME pieces that I thrifted separately,

but they're very fun and they go together.

What I like about this for business

is it doesn't take itself too seriously.

And I think, particularly if you are someone who's creative,

I think your business look can also be creative.

I am meeting with other creatives.

I own a production company called Viva Maude,

so I'm typically meeting with other producers,

with writers, directors.

I think dressing for a business meeting

with a real sense of personal style

actually allows the person across from you

to get a sense of really who you are.

So I would maybe...like I love a blazer

so I would probably also put a blazer on top.

I like this one because it has so many, you know, fun bows.

Usually on a business meeting day,

I'm out for a long time

so I need a very big bag to put all my things in

and all my secrets in.

So this would be my business look.

[gentle music]

So this I think of as my girls day, friends day out.

These are the most comfortable pair of pants. I love them.

I would maybe put on this if I'm feeling fun.

Probably not 'cause it's too much.

This look I think is really convertible

into today and night if you pop on a jacket.

And then I love these Loewe, also denim, shoes.

So I'm really in a full Canadian tuxedo, which I love.

Kind of feels like I'm on the case, you know.

I kind of feel like a down home detective in this look

in a way that I really like.

And then I would take,

I don't need a lot for the evening, you know.

A lipstick, a credit card.

I would probably grab this little bag.

[gentle music]

So this, I guess, I would call my fashion star look.

It's Vivian Westwood,

who I think a lot of us have been thinking around recently,

who's always been so inspiring to me.

Not just in fashion, but in the way that she lived

and the sort of freedom that she dared us to live with too

and certainly to dress with.

I mean the construction on this corset is really exquisite.

There's something about it I think that makes you feel,

I don't know, otherworldly.

This look makes me feel kind of like a dainty giraffe.

It makes me feel like a...

some sort of pop star to another planet.

Except like slightly worried about breaking an ankle,

but otherwise free.

Okay, I took these off

because these were trying to off me.

Thanks Vogue for not sharing that footage of me eating it.

[gentle music]

So this I like to think of is sort of a classic me,

a classic Tessa, a classic T look if I should be so lucky.

This is a Willy Chavarria suit. I love suits.

They make me feel very comfy, very chic.

And there's also a touch of absurdity, I think,

because of the dimensions.

I really like that.

I really love the idea that fashion is fun.

Fashion can even be funny.

I could get married in this. I could get buried in this.

I could go to my own funeral or someone else's in this.

And what's great about it is if you were to see someone

that you don't wanna talk to, you just do this

and then you can, you know, avoid awkward conversations.

So that's really good.

[gentle music]

Okay, so this look I think is a night out.

I could go, you know, for dinner,

but I think it would be a really fun dancing look.

Just to sort of elevate it

and make it a little more nighttime,

maybe this like tiny, little cute Self-Portrait purse

that I just got the other day.

I really love the idea of like maybe tying in the purse

with this.

I found this vintage necklace at like a weird little place

in New Orleans.

Kind of love like costume jewelry from this period.

And then this Vivian Westwood coat this.

You know, vintage Vivian Westwood,

which I feel like you could almost wear as a dress

on its own.

Well now see this is my, this is what happens to me often

is I really have to reconsider my shoe choices.

So I like these boots, but let me just see what happens

if I'm wearing something a little sexier as they say.

So for me, I, you know, I really love,

that's pretty cute too.

Let me see, okay so.

Hmm, I might go here and ditch the necklace

and rethink the purse.

Oh, wait a minute, hold on.

This is, this is really what happens to me, I'm telling you.

You think it might be the silver shoe with this purse.

It feels like ladies who lunch into dinner,

ladies who linner.

I think this, yes. This is the final look for now.

[gentle music]

So this is a red carpet look.

It's this dress by Wiederhoeft

which I really love that comes with these delightful flowers

as a prop.

And they're not for anything except for beauty.

I mean, look at these guys. I love them so much.

I might even wear this on a red carpet next week.

Who knows? I fell in love with this dress when I saw it.

It's big and playful,

but also I think really simple and classic.

I have so much fun planning for red carpets.

I've been working with my stylists Wayman and Micah

for some years

and I think we've really evolved together a lot.

These bad boys are Naked Wolfe

and I really like Naked Wolfe.

They make really good stacked platforms and boots.

I wear them a lot, both on the red carpet and off it.

I remember once seeing Glenn Close in a red carpet,

like a beautiful gown

and underneath it were these like stacked, serious,

they looked like part clubbing boots,

part like nurse uniform.

I was like, That's what I aim to do is find a shoe

that I could actually live in for some hours.

You know, sometimes it's about finding a great purse

and sometimes it's about finding a great prop.

And when you go for a prop, you can't have a purse.

So one hack that I have found

which is that I just keep my lipstick

in the side of my dress

and then I have it there for touch-ups,

especially when you're wearing a red lip,

and then you just have it handy.

So stuff a little Armani in the side

and then you're good to go.

And then you can take your florals.

[gentle music]

This is I think a very quintessential LA look

in the sense that, well it's me in LA.

LA's really sort of relaxed, low key.

It's often very warm.

This is like me in my ethereal dream of myself.

It's all Issey Miyake,

which I don't really do except in my dreams.

But I also like to think it's very Los Angeles.

Okay, so if I was wearing this, I hop on a plane,

I'm going to New York.

I would make a few adjustments

if I were meeting friends in the evening.

I might, you know, ditch this part, maybe.

Maybe I'll revisit her. Who knows?

I really love fashion moments where you buy it

and you're like, How does it work?

Like to me, then I know that I love it.

I'm like What are you?

Okay, so here I have this harness situation on

and then maybe I would ditch these shoes

and then I maybe would put on this shoe.

I could also pop in this guy.

Yeah, that's maybe better.

Yeah, that's way better. I'm ready.

I'm ready to be a New Yorker now.

I think this is a New York look

because there's something about it that's very easy.

For me, New York, LA, the age old question,

they exist together.

One makes the other even more special.

But New York

[gentle music]

Okay, Vogue, that is everything that I would wear in a week.

Thanks for watching.

[gentle music]