Jodie Turner-Smith Wants to Create Space for "Different Kinds of Voices" in Fashion

Jodie Turner-Smith is easily one of the most exciting dressers of our time. Not only is she a chameleon on film — she's taken on roles ranging from Anne Boleyn to a defense attorney on the run in Queen & Slim — her red carpet looks are iconic transformations that blur the lines between fashion and art. What's more, she never serves us the same look twice. One might assume a celebrity so fearless when it comes to fashion might operate 24/7 at a high-octane rush, but on the phone, Turner-Smith is all thoughtful mellowness.

She doesn't pull any punches when discussing the fashion industry's need for diversity, an issue close to Turner-Smith's heart and one she hopes to further in her new role as a CFDA mentor for underrepresented designers. "As creative[s] of color, we've been shown a world that only includes certain types of voices," she tells InStyle. "And I think we're all quite exhausted of that. We all want to see what happens when we let more people come to the table, have a seat at the table, and bring their visions into the world."

Announced this summer, the CFDA and Genesis House AAPI Design + Innovation Grant is a program that provides education, mentorship, and financial resources to up-and-coming Asian American and Pacific Islander fashion designers. Joining the program as a mentor alongside Prabal Gurung was a no-brainer for Turner-Smith. "As a person who is Black and a woman, I think it's important that we create space for all different kinds of voices. Anything we can do to do that, it's important to be a part of."  

While recipients of the five-month grant program will receive $40,000 to work on a bespoke collection, Turner-Smith points out that the fashion industry as a whole will benefit as much as the designers themselves. "One approach to these things is, 'Oh, look at the way in which we're going to change this person's life,' but what excites me more is [how] people already in the business will be exposed to all this new talent and new ideas. We are all gaining so much more than the person receiving the grant, by being exposed to their gift."

It's not surprising to hear Turner-Smith describe fashion as a gift, but her uniquely reverent point of view predates her acting career. "My mother was very fashionable, and I grew up looking at her and her attitudes about costume and expression of self through wardrobe," she shares. "As I've said many times, I feel that clothing is costume, but I think that it moves in both directions. On the one hand, the energy that I have inspires the clothes that I wear, and sometimes the clothes that I wear inspire the energy that I have."

Turner-Smith is also quick to acknowledge the role that privilege plays in access to fashion. "Honestly, I couldn't actually afford to just buy all of these clothes," she says of her powerhouse red carpet record. "Do you know what I mean? I'm not a billionaire. Doing what I do gives me privilege and opportunity."

Even so, the actor doesn't believe that self-expression through fashion is only for A-listers with teams of stylists and calendars full of red carpet premieres. "There is definitely a barrier to entry in terms of how much some of these things cost, but even when I couldn't really afford clothes, I was always going to vintage shops and looking for things that were secondhand at flea markets," she says. Turner-Smith still enjoys secondhand shopping, adding that " it's definitely much more eco-friendly to shop vintage and wear previously loved clothing."

Regardless of privilege, Turner-Smith believes the power and future of fashion should be accessed and informed by everyone. "Not to sound glib or banal," she says, "but our differences are what add nuance to our vision. Art, design, and innovation would only be enhanced by being multifaceted and by allowing people to bring their differences to the table."