It was a star-studded affair in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia as celebrities and leading fashion connoisseurs celebrated Lebanese designer Elie Saab’s 45th anniversary. While the brand spared no expense with a collection of 300 signature sequined designs and a roster of star-studded performances along, the most viral moment of the night was Halle Berry’s surprise cameo on the catwalk.
Wearing her iconic Elie Saab look from the 2002 Oscars as she became the first Black woman to win Best Actress for her role in Monster’s Ball, she revived the gown with zero alterations.
The burgundy gown featuring a mesh torso embroidered with embellished florals and a draped silk-taffeta skirt is one of the greatest moments in red carpet history. “There are some moments in life that just happen and they change our lives forever! Winning an Academy Award in my Elie Saab gown was one of those moments for me,” Berry wrote on Instagram. “Thank you Mr. Saab for being a part of the tapestry of my life as we have been inextricably connected for 22 years now! It was my honor to celebrate you and your 1001 seasons.”
Along with her history-making win, the dress has also been a monumental moment for Black women shattering glass ceilings in Hollywood on one of the biggest Oscar moments to date.
It’s no secret that Black actresses have been excluded from being styled by high-end designer brands and denied clothing throughout the years. When Beyoncé received the Fashion Icon Award at the 2016 CFDA Awards, she revealed high-end labels refused to dress Destiny's Child during their career because they "didn’t really want to dress four Black, country, curvy girls." Law Roach, best known for styling Hollywood’s elite, shared how difficult it's been to dress Black clients in top fashion houses.
During a discussion on The Cutting Room Floor podcast, he expressed these frustrations early on in Zendaya’s career. “I would write the big five,” said Roach, as reported by Variety. “I would write Saint Laurent, Chanel, Gucci, Valentino, Dior, and they would all say, ‘No, try again next year. She’s too green. She’s not on our calendar.”
He continued, “She still has never worn Dior on a carpet. She still has never worn Chanel on a carpet…still never worn Gucci on a carpet — any press, any appearance, never. Never,” explained the 45-year-old. “The first time she wore Valentino in public was when she had a contract…When I said, ‘If you say no, it’ll be a no forever,’ that rang true for a long, long time.”
While red carpet fashion has been an uphill battle for Black Hollywood and their stylists, there have been countless times when Black women have been the moment encapsulating beauty and glamour each award season:
Steve Granitz/WireImage
Who: Halle Berry
Where: 2002 Oscars
Designer: Elie Saab
Aaliyah at the 2000 MTV VMAs.
KMazur/WireImage
Who: Aaliyah
Where: 2000 MTV Video Music Awards
Designer: Robert Cavalli
Frank Trapper/Corbis via Getty Images
Who: Whitney Houston
Where: 1994 Oscars
George Pimentel/WireImage
Who: Beyoncé
Where: 2015 Met Gala
Designer: Givenchy
Gregg DeGuire/WireImage
Who: Lupita Nyong’o
Where: 2014 Academy Awards
Designer: Prada
Kayla Oaddams/WireImage
Who: Angela Bassett
Where: 2023 Oscars
Designer: Moschino
Kevin Mazur/WireImage
Who: Lupita Nyong’o
Where: Oscars 2015
Designer: Calvin Klein
Who: Zoë Kravitz
Where: 2022 London Batman Premiere
Designer: Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello
John Shearer/WireImage
Who: Yara Shahidi
Where: 2023 Met Gala
Designer: Jean Paul Gaultier
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Featured image by Steve Granitz/WireImage
RELATED
So, we handpicked one hundred It Girls who embody that palpable It Factor moving through us as young Black women, the kind of motion lighting up the world both IRL and across the internet.
It Girl 100 became xoNecole’s most successful program, with the hashtag organically reaching more than forty million impressions on Instagram in just twenty-four hours. Yes, it caught on like wildfire because we celebrated some of the most brilliant and influential GenZennial women of color setting trends and shaping culture. But more than that, it resonated because the women we celebrated felt seen.
Many were already known in their industries for keeping this generation fly and lit, but rarely received recognition or flowers. It Girl 100 became a safe space to be uplifted, and for us as Black women to bask in what felt like an era of our brilliance, beauty, and boundless influence on full display.
And then, almost overnight, it was as if the rug was pulled from under us as Black women, as the It Girls of the world.
Our much-needed, much-deserved season of ease and soft living quickly metamorphosed into a time of self-preservation and survival. Our motion and economic progression seemed strategically slowed, our light under siege.
The air feels heavier now. The headlines colder. Our Black girl magic is being picked apart and politicized for simply existing.
With that climate shift, as we prepare to launch our second annual It Girl 100 honoree list, our team has had to dig deep on the purpose and intention behind this year’s list. Knowing the spirit of It Girl 100 is about motion, sauce, strides, and progression, how do we celebrate amid uncertainty and collective grief when the juice feels like it is being squeezed out of us?
As we wrestled with that question, we were reminded that this tension isn’t new. Black women have always had to find joy in the midst of struggle, to create light even in the darkest corners. We have carried the weight of scrutiny for generations, expected to be strong, to serve, to smile through the sting. But this moment feels different. It feels deeply personal.
We are living at the intersection of liberation and backlash. We are learning to take off our capes, to say no when we are tired, to embrace softness without apology.
And somehow, the world has found new ways to punish us for it.
In lifestyle, women like Kayla Nicole and Ayesha Curry have been ridiculed for daring to choose themselves. Tracee Ellis Ross was labeled bitter for speaking her truth about love. Meghan Markle, still, cannot breathe without critique.
In politics, Kamala Harris, Letitia James, and Jasmine Crockett are dragged through the mud for standing tall in rooms not built for them.
In sports, Angel Reese, Coco Gauff, and Taylor Townsend have been reminded that even excellence will not shield you from racism or judgment.
In business, visionaries like Diarrha N’Diaye-Mbaye and Melissa Butler are fighting to keep their dreams alive in an economy that too often forgets us first.
Even our icons, Beyoncé, Serena, and SZA, have faced criticism simply for evolving beyond the boxes society tried to keep them in.
From everyday women to cultural phenoms, the pattern is the same. Our light is being tested.
And yet, somehow, through it all, we are still showing up as that girl, and that deserves to be celebrated.
Because while the world debates our worth, we keep raising our value. And that proof is all around us.
This year alone, Naomi Osaka returned from motherhood and mental health challenges to reach the semifinals of the US Open. A’ja Wilson claimed another MVP, reminding us that beauty and dominance can coexist. Brandy and Monica are snatching our edges on tour. Kahlana Barfield Brown sold out her new line in the face of a retailer that had been canceled. And Melissa Butler’s company, The Lip Bar, is projecting a forty percent surge in sales.
We are no longer defining strength by how much pain we can endure. We are defining it by the unbreakable light we continue to radiate.
We are the women walking our daily steps and also continuing to run solid businesses. We are growing in love, taking solo trips, laughing until it hurts, raising babies and ideas, drinking our green juice, and praying our peace back into existence.
We are rediscovering the joy of rest and realizing that softness is not weakness, it is strategy.
And through it all, we continue to lift one another. Emma Grede is creating seats at the table. Valeisha Butterfield has started a fund for jobless Black women. Arian Simone is leading in media with fearless conviction. We are pouring into each other in ways the world rarely sees but always feels.
So yes, we are in the midst of societal warfare. Yes, we are being tested. Yes, we are facing economic strain, political targeting, and public scrutiny. But even war cannot dim a light that is divinely ours.
And we are still shining.
And we are still softening.
And we are still creating.
And we are still It.
That is the quiet magic of Black womanhood, our ability to hold both truth and triumph in the same breath, to say yes, and to life’s contradictions.
It is no coincidence that this year, as SheaMoisture embraces the message “Yes, And,” they stand beside us as partners in celebrating this class of It Girls. Because that phrase, those two simple words, capture the very essence of this moment.
Yes, we are tired. And we are still rising.
Yes, we are questioned. And we are the answer.
Yes, we are bruised. And we are still beautiful.
This year’s It Girl 100 is more than a list. It is a love letter to every Black woman who dares to live out loud in a world that would rather she whisper. This year’s class is living proof of “Yes, And,” women who are finding ways to thrive and to heal, to build and to rest, to lead and to love, all at once.
It is proof that our joy is not naive, our success not accidental. It is the reminder that our light has never needed permission.
So without further ado, we celebrate the It Girl 100 Class of 2025–2026.
We celebrate the millions of us who keep doing it with grace, grit, and glory.
Because despite it all, we still shine.
Because we are still her.
Because we are still IT, girl.
Meet all 100 women shaping culture in the It Girl 100 Class of 2025. View the complete list of honorees here.
Featured image by xoStaff
"They asked for body products and we wanted to make sure we listened. But also layering fragrance begins with the body routine." The body wash is $33, and the body lotion is $35. Keep reading below to hear more about Tabitha and Chance's new collection, their body rituals, and what makes their partnership successful.
Fridays with Tab and Chance body collection
Marcus Owens
xoNecole: How did you come up with the scents for the collection?
Tabitha Brown: We love warm scents that make you feel sexy and loved. [We’re] both fans of gourmand [scents], including bergamot, vanilla, tonka and chocolate.
xoN: If you could describe your working relationship in one word, what would it be and why?
Tabitha: It's our first time building a product line together and our first time working with fragrance. So having patience with the process and each other has been the best way to build.
xoN: What is your body care ritual?
Tabitha: Exfoliate with a scrub a few times a week, but using a moisturizing body wash daily. After a shower, I spray a body mist that compliments what scent I am choosing for the day. Most times vanilla mist wins because it’s a perfect base for layering. I then hydrate [my] skin with lotion. Then, once dressed, I layer my favorite fragrance, Her Business, first and then His Business on top.
Chance: [I’m] way more simple. Just body wash and lotion and then my cologne and I’m good to go.
xoN: We enjoy watching you two together online, whose idea was it to start 'Fridays with Tab & Chance'?
Tabitha: It actually happened by accident. Back in 2018, my fans had just been asking about how we met, so we did a video answering questions one Friday and people in the comments [asked], will y’all do it again next Friday? And so we did and the next thing you know Fridays with Tab & Chance was born.
xoN: In what other ways do you plan to expand Fridays? Restart the podcast? TV show?
Tabitha: We are working on a lifestyle content show vs the traditional Fridays podcast. More to come soon.
xoN: You do many things together, but what would you say is your favorite quality time activity and why?
Tabitha: We are really simple. We love watching movies or TV series together on the couch or in bed. It’s really one of our favorite things to do together.
xoN: What is your favorite thing about the other person?
Tabitha: I love that he makes me feel safe and how hard he works to be an amazing father.
Chance: I love that she is crazy enough to pursue her wildest dreams.
xoN: What is the key to a successful partnership in business and personal?
Tabitha: The key is knowing that you both are going to change, and giving each other grace, patience, and understanding during those changes.
See more on tabandchance.com.
Feature image Marcus Owens