Danielle James
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Danielle James is an entrepreneur, journalist, strategist, and public speaker in beauty and fashion.
09/16/2026
I’ve had a front row seat to LaQuan Smith’s evolution for a decade. 🤎
In 2016, I interviewed LaQuan at his NYFW presentation and asked what advice he had for up-and-coming designers. Since then, I’ve watched the presentations become runway shows, the rooms get bigger and LaQuan become THE LaQuan Smith.
Ten years later, I was back in the front row, taking it all in. The clothes were sexy, of course, but I’m still thinking about the tailoring, the movement and the Bambi print. Yes, deer. 🦌 I’ve been seeing it everywhere lately and I have thoughts…
My favorite part of the night, though, was getting to see LaQuan afterward, give him a hug and congratulate him in person. 🤎
A very full-circle New York Fashion Week moment.
Thank you OLAY and Kayla A. Greaves | Beauty Expert for an incredibly vibey and memorable night!
09/06/2026
Hi 🤎
The world is on fire, the internet is weird, and we still don’t know what happened to Nolan Wells.
Somewhere in the middle of it all, I got to see Mexico from a hot air balloon.
Tell me something good in the comments.
Sitting on this panel felt incredibly special.
Norma Jean Darden was one of the models who helped change fashion history at Versailles ’73. Leonard Davis saw the show as a 19-year-old fashion student. Fashioning the Self in Slavery and Freedom has built a body of work that asks us to look more closely at the labor, history, and Black people behind the clothes we celebrate.
I left wanting to audit one of Jonathan’s classes at Parsons. I also left deeply grateful for the way Norma encouraged me and loved on me.
Thank you to The Billie Holiday Theatre and the Brooklyn (NY) Chapter of The Links, Incorporated for bringing this conversation to Bed-Stuy. And thank you to SNS for asking me to be part of it.
It is one thing to read about fashion history. It is another to sit beside people who lived it.
What part of fashion history do you wish more people knew?
A day spent in community with inspiring women, both in front of the camera and behind the scenes.
Writing the cover story and moderating this conversation for Women to Know and iONE Digital is a reminder of why I love this work.
Talent:
Photographer:
Cover Story & Roundtable Moderator:
Profiles:
SVP of Content:
VP of Content:
VP of Video:
Executive Producer:
Editorial Director:
Senior Editorial Project Manager:
Managing Editor MadameNoire:
Social, HelloBeautiful:
Social, MadameNoire: bytiffanysmith
Photo Assistant:
BTS Video:
Set Design:
Makeup:
Hair:
Stylist:
Assistant Stylist: Liana Vine
Creative Producer:
Production Assistant
Production Company:
The looks I keep thinking about are the ones that went beyond the reference. This year’s Met Gala theme, “Fashion is Art,” was really about the body and the people who understood that stood out immediately.
Everyone watches the Met Gala from the museum steps. New Yorkers know it starts outside The Mark.
It’s the first red carpet of the night. The arrivals before the arrivals!
The Mark Hotel is often considered the unofficial headquarters. It’s where Anna Wintour gets ready.
Outside, you see the arrivals before they’re arrivals. The first red carpet of the night. The energy is different.
Do you know the other three hotels celebrities get ready in?
Tennis icon and Met Gala 2026 co-host leaves right after Anna Wintour for the biggest night in fashion. 😍
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