ROYALTY
Daisy Ridley reprises her breakout role as Rey in premiering December 2017
This is the new generation of muses: arresting in their allure, skilled at their craft, and esteemed in their ancestry. This royal combination is what dreams are made of for most, but for these stylish, influential women, it’s a reality. Dakota Johnson already knew a thing or two about star factor before starting her acting career. From her Oscar-nominated mother Melanie Griffith, Golden Globe-winning father Don Johnson, and grandmother Tippi Hedren, Dakota not only inherited talent, but also the type of beauty that amplifies film star glory. This brand of magnetism is not plain ol’ Hollywood, but recalibrated and off-kilter sexuality. Take the metamorphosis of Dakota—from bubbly to bookish, and then to a sexually charged Anastasia Steele—as an example. It’s a powerful allure, on- and off-screen. A red lip seen on Dakota is not just a cosmetic embellishment but a stroke of sexual power.
This transformative quality is equally obvious in Léa Seydoux. Trailing behind the sensuous Madeleine in Spectre is Léa as Emma in Blue Is the Warmest Colour— blue-haired, salacious, and utterly exposed. Contrast that again with the wide-eyed girl with bangs in the short film by Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola for the Prada Candy L’eau campaign. Léa turned from French acting ingénue to fashion house darling, captivating with a wide scope of styles—seductive Bond girl, eccentric enigma, flirtatious youth.
Emilia Clarke and Daisy Ridley also regularly dance between the lines of girls-next-door and dominant, fantastical protagonists. And then, there’s the teenage starlets, emanating the flair formed from a lifetime in the spotlight. Willow Smith, Chanel’s latest ambassadress, rejoices in widening the perceptions of beauty. She was unabashedly herself at Chanel’s most recent Paris Fashion Week show—even though it was her first fashion show ever—with bright blue eyeliner, multi-dimensional hair, and a septum ring.
Women of all ages in Hollywood are proving that there are no boundaries in the realm of beauty. It’s time we take a cue from them. And that, is a royal decree.