Jurnee Smollett Pregames the Louis Vuitton Spring 2024 Show with a Beyoncé Playlist & Hot Lemon Water

My zoom opens to actress Jurnee Smollett lounging in a plush white robe, full glam still intact as she spreads blue cheese onto a very appetizing slice of bread. The facade of the Le Bristol hotel in Paris provided the perfect backdrop for the scene, heavy blue silk curtains subtly waving behind her. She’s fresh from the Louis Vuitton Spring ‘24 fashion show, where she sat front row alongside celebrities like Zendaya and Regina King—and donned a very different sort of look.

Dressed head-to-toe in the brand’s lauded designs, Smollett and stylist Alexandra Mandelkorn selected a windbreaker-esque sleeveless jacket complete with a hood, juxtaposed with high-waisted fire-engine-red skinny pants, and topped off with a link-belt of exaggerated proportions across her midriff. “He finds a way within his silhouettes to create such a dance between the energies of the feminine and the masculine,” she muses of the house’s designer, Nicolas Ghesquière, whom she has admired since his time at Balenciaga. They plucked the look from Louis Vuitton’s Pre-Fall 2023 collection, which debuted last April in South Korea then added a few personal touches from Smollett and team—heeled boots in lieu of the moto and a classic LV-monogrammed trunk bag. The beauty component added an extra dose of individuality with “latte”-inspired makeup courtesy of makeup artist Vincent Oquendo and sassy hair flip conjured up in the moment by hair stylist Nai’vasha. “Saoirse Ronan told me at the show that she loved the hair flip, so I think we made a good choice.”

The weekend preceding the show was full of festivities—”a lot of fun.” The night prior included a dinner for the #LVfamily at Caviar Kaspia, with an impromptu added celebration—did we mention her birthday was Sunday? “It was so sweet,” she recounts. “They surprised me with a cake and sang me Happy Birthday.” This all came after three hours of jet-lag-induced sleep post-delays courtesy of New York’s torrential downpour. This is her quick rest period—rest is a liberal term as she was squeezing in a snack whilst logging onto a Zoom interview with a journalist. Soon, she’s off to the afterparty. “All I want to do is just dance,” she says, before cracking into a smile. “How blessed am I?”