Nylon Nights
Dominique Thorne Gets Ready For Tory Burch's Fall 2024 Show
In which the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever star wears her very first red lip.
Actress Dominique Thorne had no plans to make a trip to New York for Fashion Week, but when she was invited to Tory Burch’s Fall 2024 show on Feb. 12, she says everything fell into place: Tory Burch was the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever star’s favorite brand as a teenager, and the designer was hosting a presentation at the New York Public Library, which she used to walk through on the way to school. So as Thorne tells NYLON on the phone, she’d just embarked on a “grounding” trip down memory lane — making her last-minute jaunt to the city she grew up in entirely worth it.
Ahead, Thorne talks “trusting the process” with a new hair and makeup artist, spending a night out at the library, and debuting her inaugural red lip.
Describe your getting-ready process.
It was really fun getting to frantically but energetically put a team of people together. It was my first time working with hairstylist Ikeyia Powell and makeup artist Karina Milan, and I thought they did a phenomenal job. I like to meet these folks blind, especially when I'm a fan of their work, and I love feeling comfortable enough to trust the process.
Do you have a getting-ready playlist?
I do, but in the past month, I haven’t been using a playlist. I'm not afraid of silence at all. I actually enjoy it. So I didn't have a playlist this time around, but that also leads to the potential for really great conversation. What came up was an insane crossing of paths and discovering that Karina and I went to the same high school, just a couple of years apart. That was really cool.
Describe your look for the night.
Hair is an intimate process for me so I sent Ikeyia some general reference photos. I sent three very different images all containing some form of braids, and Ikeyia came in and put her own spin on it using the braids I had. The hairstyle we ended up going with was a nod to Bantu knots but using a cornrow style, and the makeup artist said they were excited to try a red lip on me since they saw no red lips anywhere on my page. So this was my inaugural red lip.
What were your highlights from the show?
I think the New York Public Library turning into a runway is something I'm so glad to have witnessed in my lifetime — especially the Fifth Avenue Library because I used to pass by there frequently when I was in high school because I went to school in Hell's Kitchen. When I didn't want to walk through like Seventh or Eighth Avenue, I would walk up Fifth and cut across, so it was just a call back to a period in my life when I was looking at acting with so much hope and aspiration. The silver floors and chairs and walls just did something so magical. It was heightened and also somehow grounded by being in the library.
What looks caught your eye?
This collection was so inspired. There were these huge, almost metallic fringe coats that I thought were just so beautiful against all the silver. Then there was a minor connection but also contrast to the sheer pieces they had. And then the loafers.
This year Tory Burch is celebrating 20 years of business. What is your earliest memory of the brand?
When I was in middle school, Tory Burch had a chokehold on the world. In my little world in Brooklyn, everybody had the Tory Burch shoes, and the bags were absolutely everywhere. I remember people feeling like it was such an accomplishment when somebody got the Tory Burch sandals. I was a backpack child but then, when I got to high school and wanted to feel grown, I would take my mom’s Tory Burch bag in lieu of my book bag.
How was the rest of your night post-show?
My after-party involved feeding myself. I actually went to one of my favorite spots in the city: The Django in the basement of The Roxy. I had a beautiful little dinner there, but I was very sad to find out that their menu had changed a bit. I went there craving this little chocolate dessert, but it’s now gone — but I did have a glass of non-alcoholic Gewürztraminer. They put it in a little wine glass so you feel fancy. I was thoroughly impressed.
What else are you looking forward to while you’re in New York?
I absolutely must see Bob Marley: One Love in a Dolby Cinema before I leave New York. That’s the next thing on my hit list. Once I do that, I will be satisfied and I will be on my way.
