Right after crushing the fashion game at London Fashion Week, Billy Porter celebrated his 50th birthday — and new Drink Marvelously campaign with Ketel One — in style on September 18 in West Hollywood and it was obviously a super-lavish occasion.
There were a host of celebrity guests, like Laverne Cox, Tan France and Padama Lakshmi — just to name a few. The Emmy-nominated actor obviously dressed in his birthday best, donning a one-shoulder floor-length green dress decorated with flowers. He opted for a bright-red eyeshadow look, super-high pumps and a blinged-out choker with the bracelet to match.
But amid all of the celebratory shenanigans (like a three-tier cake with a disco ball on top) we had the chance to pull the gender-breaking celebrity aside to talk all things fashion: including his style inspiration, what it feels like to be a role model and share some secrets about his upcoming Emmys look.
Porter calls being a role model a responsibility. “There were people who came before me who paved the way so that I could be here,” he explained. “And I could be here in this dress and these pumps and this wig. And all of the things that you see happening, I stand on the shoulders of giants who came before me, so I don’t see it as a pressure. I see it as the point: my life’s work, my life’s purpose. I grew up in the church, dare I say, my ministry. That’s what it is. So I step into the fullness of that, and I don’t have any complaints about it.”
One of the hot topics of London Fashion Week was that Porter took inspiration from Meghan Markle by wearing an array of unique hairpieces, similar to the royal’s trend-setting fascinators. The Broadway actor told Us that he loves the royal’s style because “it’s personal.” He continued, “It comes from a cultural place that the monarchy isn’t used to. Which I think is a good thing because it shakes it up a little bit.”
Even though the two haven’t met just yet, he values how Markle seamlessly ties her fashion preferences into the world of, well, royalty. “To bring together her style with also what’s required inside of the space that she’s now living. How do you not lose yourself while simultaneously giving the people what they need? You know, she’s the f–king royal, I just love how she’s navigating it”
And finally, Porter gave us some insight into what he’s going to be wearing at the 2019 Emmy’s. “We just want it to be glamorous —we want to go old school glamour,” he explained. “We also wanted to, you know, have some flash. There’s sparkle ’cause it’s Hollywood and television and Emmy’, but I also have to turn it on its ear.”
How can we wait patiently for the Emmys knowing that Porter’s bound to sparkle like never before?
Reporting by Taylor Ferber
