@thecut

It’s rare that an actress gets to be a surrogate mother twice in her career, or even once with any lasting impact, but television history will remember Moesha’s Dee Mitchell and Abbott Elementary’s Barbara Howard, two matriarchs portrayed by actress, singer, and Hollywood icon Sheryl Lee Ralph. On the former, we saw Ralph as the stepmother of the Mitchell clan, keeping her eye on a rebellious Brandy Norwood. On the latter, we see Ralph act as a guardian — hopeful, hilarious, kind, and cynical all at once — to her students at an underprivileged Philadelphia elementary school. The latter role has earned Ralph an Emmy nomination this season. When asked where she'll display it in her LA home, she answers with certainty: “That’s going right next to my bed,” she says, laughing but not joking. “If I’m so blessed, I want to open my eyes the next morning and know that it was all real. It all happened, and it was all worth it.” Ralph is nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. Despite a four-decade career in television, this is her first Emmy nomination. “This happened in God’s time,” she says. “And it was perfect because I’m in the perfect show in the perfect role and the perfect time with a bunch of people.” Read her full interview with @irathethird at the link in bio. Photography by @erik_carter Styling By @itsrobertojohnson Hair By @fingazbeauty Makeup By @juanice.mua Tailoring By Susie Kourinian

A missing $10,000 Hermès bag. Dirty underwear discovered in a recently-ordered parka. Striped shorts styled as an off-the-shoulder top?! It's getting weird at TheRealReal. According to several former employees, the online luxury consignment platform always had growing pains typical to a start-up, but things got messier after its IPO in 2019. “Once they went public, it very much became about what looks good for investors,” says one former luxury manager. “It was more about quantity of product, rather than the value of the product." @emiliapetrarca investigates the story (and her own complicated relationship with the site) at the link in bio.

And now… [checks notes]: a "Dimes Square Reality Show." Because of course. 'The Come Up,' which premieres in September on Freeform, is not so much The Real Housewives of Dimes Square as it is an upbeat “unscripted” docuseries about six Gen-Z New Yorkers with their hustle on. Light on sex and partying but filled with dreamy proclamations about life in the city — “I came when I was 17, and that changed everything, darling!” — and romantic street shots, particularly of the area outside Clandestino, the show attempts to capture what it’s like to be a limitlessly ambitious young person who wants it all (love, money, status). The cast features model-performer Fernando Casablancas, fashion designer Taofeek Abijako, photographer Sophia Wilson, nightlife personality Ebon Gore, and actors Claude Shwartz and Ben Hard. Hard, a strawberry blond with freckles, is the new kid, just in from San Antonio, working as a bartender, and eager to try new things, like stand-up comedy, hot dogs off the street, and boys. Get all the deets you never knew you needed on the new show at the link in bio 📸: @marietomanova

Tommy Dorfman has always been hungry for more. Born in Atlanta, she began her rise to fame as one of the breakout stars of the high-school-suicide series '13 Reasons Why,' playing Ryan Shaver. It was just the kind of role — a secondary gay on a controversial Netflix series — that could, and did, boost her into the mainstream. Since the second season dropped in 2018, she picked up roles in 'Jane the Virgin,' the Lifetime series 'American Princess,' and an episode of 'Love, Victor' and she made her stage debut in Jeremy O. Harris’s Off Broadway play 'Daddy.' The pandemic's lockdown gave her the space to become herself at last: the “It” girl, whom everyone is talking about, or something close to it. The paparazzi have tracked her movements with BFF Kaia Gerber, and caught her cuddling up with Jacob Elordi and holding hands with Lucas Hedges. She also served as a bridesmaid in Lena Dunham’s wedding, right next to Taylor Swift. And now she has a shoe collaboration, too. "I get to sort of Build-A-Bear my life, and that’s really fab,” she says. Find her whole conversation with @bcolyar at the link in bio 💗 📸: @alec_vierra Styling By @vivianchuangstudio Hair By @karla_julianna Makeup By @shaynagold

“Me and everything in my room have a relationship,” says Marisa, 21. The walls of her room are plastered with love letters from her boyfriend, her mom’s handwritten piecrust recipe, and plastic animal masks from her hometown of Guadalajara, Mexico. A foot-long shelf is mobbed with trinkets and a pink Hello Kitty tin, a character she was “obsessed” with as a child. There is an unopened box of pastels she got on a family trip to Japan nine years ago and her fuzzy blue Neopets CD case — the digital pets were popular in the aughts — that she recently found on eBay. This is ✨Cluttercore✨ a handy, TikTok-searchable catchall for an aesthetic that demands every available surface be covered with the type of tchotchkes and doodads the rest of us would shove in a box or simply throw away. Marisa first heard the term a few months ago and immediately embraced it. “Maximalism sounds very adult,” she says, though she uses the hashtag. “Cluttercore is very childish, and it doesn’t take itself too seriously.” This version of “more is more” has a focus on sentimental or nostalgic objects: Sanrio plushies, fairy lights, pages torn from Rookie. “It instantly reminded me of when I was a kid in the early 2000s,” says interior designer Hugh Long. “The look is very Lisa Frank meets Tony Duquette.” Head to the link in bio for an in-depth look at the cute and chaotic trend. 📸: @maggiehshannon

Okay, sure, celebrity airport style is nothing new. But these #VeniceFilmFestival arrival fits?!?!? Unparalleled. The Met Gala of airports. I'm speechless. Images: Getty

Writer Kara Brown recently went down a sartorial spiral: "After another frustrating experience of trying to get dressed in a semi-post-pandemic world — What did I used to wear to dinner with girlfriends? Do I look good in strapless tops? Didn’t I have more bags than this? — I reached into my closet and tossed about 40 percent of my clothing. Obviously, I hadn’t thought this decision through and very suddenly had a lot fewer clothing options. Sure, I was rid of those uncomfortable sandals that I truly was never going to wear. But there’s attacking a problem and then there’s actually fixing it." Luckily, as Kara puts it, "fate stepped in and a fashion fairy godmother appeared to me in the form of Amy Smilovic." Read about how @amysmilovic and her cult brand @tibi helped turned @kararbrown's breakdown into a breakthrough at the link in bio. Illustration by @wylesol_

As creative director of Loewe, a willingness to shake things up has served Jonathan Anderson well. LVMH, which owns the $1 billion-a-year fashion brand, struggled for years to make the Spanish brand feel new and exciting instead of traditional and dull. The challenge defeated three designers over 16 years, each valiantly trying to come up with a fresh way to cut a pencil skirt or blazer in leather and suede. The first person who thought of Anderson for Loewe was Anderson. That’s how Pierre-Yves Roussel, then the head of the Fashion Group at LVMH, remembers the meeting in 2013. Roussel first met Anderson shortly after the designer had launched his brand, just shy of turning 24. “His work was interesting, but even more interesting was Jonathan,” Roussel recalled. “He was not just talking about the clothes, which is how most designers talk, but he was discussing story, brand space. He had references outside the pure fashion world — to architecture, art, and crafts.” One day, a few years later, Roussel mentioned he was looking for a new designer for Loewe — which, in terms of a league chart, was near the bottom of LVMH’s fashion brands. Did Anderson know of anyone? “And he looked at me and said, ‘I would love to do it.’” The rest is history. Head to the link in bio for a look inside the world of the ambitious designer. 📸: @romainlaprade

Megan 🤝 Meghan! Our two cover stars—Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, on the cover of the Cut’s Fall Fashion Issue and Megan Thee Stallion on the cover of New York’s Fall Preview Issue—have officially arrived. Read Allison P. Davis's interview with the Duchess (in her first solo cover since leaving the royal family!) and Ashley C. Ford's profile of the Grammy-winning rapper at the links in bio. Covers 📸: @campbelladdy

At this stage in her life, post-royal, there’s no need for Meghan to hold back. Enter Archetypes, the new podcast she hosts. With it, she has taken a cue from other millennial women whose feminism was forged in the girlboss era and turned a hardship into content. And though it wasn’t her planned first project, Meghan is happy for the podcast to be her reintroduction. “It’s so real,” she says. “I feel different. I feel clearer. It’s like I’m finding — not finding my voice. I’ve had my voice for a long time, but being able to use it.” For our Fall Fashion issue cover story, The Duchess sat down with Allison P. Davis to talk about her new Montecito life. At the link in bio, she opens up about Archetypes, the ways in which women are unfairly labeled, and how she and Harry designed the exact job they wanted to have as royals but were denied. Photography by @campbelladdy Styling by @jessswill Hair by @HosHounkpatin Makeup by @loftjet Set design by Din Morris Tailoring by @hasmik_scdinc Production by Dana Brockman at @viewfindersnyla

After a season of loss, pain, and personal evolution, Megan @theestallion is no longer hiding behind alter egos. “My alter egos have been people that I had to be at those times to be like my armor, like my shield. I had to be Hot-Girl Meg at that time. I had to be Tina Snow at that time. I had to be Megan Thee Stallion at that time,” she says. “I love this album because I feel like it’s just me talking. It’s just Megan.” At the link in bio, the Grammy winner speaks to Ashley C. Ford about new album Traumazine, what it’s like to stay on top, and shouldering the weight of heightened visibility and even higher expectations. Photography by @campbelladdy Styling by @jessswill Makeup by @lorvida Hair by @kellonderyck Nails by @cocamichelle Set Design by @ibbynjoya Tailoring by Irina Tshartaryan Production by Dana Brockman at @viewfindersnyla

“I’m like, so excited to talk,” Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex tells The Cut. For our Fall Fashion issue, The Duchess sat down with Allison P. Davis to talk about her new Montecito life: She’s left the Firm behind; Harry’s found a polo team in Santa Barbara; Archie and Lilibet are doing great. And with her new podcast Archetypes, Meghan is ready for her own next act. “When the media has shaped the story around you, it’s really nice to be able to tell your own story,” she says. Read the full cover story at the link in bio. Photography by @campbelladdy Styling by @jessswill Hair by @HosHounkpatin Makeup by @loftjet Set design by Din Morris Tailoring by @hasmik_scdinc Production by Dana Brockman at @viewfindersnyla