Billy Porter Does It Again: The Pose Star Wears Upcycled, Gender Fluid Glamour to the 2019 Peabody Awards

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Billy Porter attends the 78th Annual Peabody Awards Ceremony Sponsored By Mercedes-Benz on May 18, 2019 in New York City.
Billy Porter attends the 78th Annual Peabody Awards Ceremony Sponsored By Mercedes-Benz on May 18, 2019 in New York City.
Photo: Astrid Stawiarz (Getty Images for Peabody)

If you’re anything like me, you are counting down the days until Pose returns for its second season on FX. But until that happy day arrives, the cast has been giving us no shortage of red carpet drama (see: the Met Gala), most recently at Saturday night’s 78th annual Peabody Awards.

We’ve become well-accustomed to Billy Porter lighting up the red carpet with show-stopping, gender-fluid looks. For the Peabodys, he took it a step further, donning a dramatic, naturally textured wig, a navy blue lip, and a romantic, ruffle-trimmed tulle gown with train. It was a look that would’ve done Lola, Porter’s Tony award-winning character in Kinky Boots, proud. (Fun fact: his Kinky Boots makeup artist, La Sonya Gunter, was once again on hand for the transformation.)

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With the help of go-to stylist Sam Ratelle, Porter chose a gown by Mexican-American design house Celestino Couture, which has also recently dressed fellow Pose castmember Indya Moore. The label prides itself on producing “upcycled, LGBTQ, environmentally and socially conscious” eveningwear exclusively in the U.S., including Porter’s embroidered and embellished fuchsia gown. And as reported by Vogue, designer Sergio “Celestino” Guadarrama also donates 10 percent of Celestino Couture’s profits to organizations combatting human trafficking.

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But Porter wasn’t the only Pose castmember winning on the Peabodys’ red carpet on Saturday night (where notably, the groundbreaking show also took home an entertainment award). The ladies of Pose were also gorgeously turned out; Janet Mock was dressed by stylist Jason Bolden in an embroidered green evening skirt and canary organza tuxedo shirt by Carolina Herrera; Indya Moore was fierce and fearless in a sheer beaded sheath by LaQuan Smith; Mj Rodriguez was gorgeous in one-shouldered and draped Altuzarra; and Dominique Jackson was glam as ever in emerald green Angel Ayala Couture.

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(l-r) Janet Mock, Indya Moore, Mj Rodriquez, and Dominique Jackson
(l-r) Janet Mock, Indya Moore, Mj Rodriquez, and Dominique Jackson
Photo: Astrid Stawiarz (Getty Images for Peabody)

Thankfully, we have less than a month to go until we get a weekly dose of ballroom-ready glamour from this team when Pose returns on Tuesday, June 11 on FX, perfectly timed to celebrate Pride Month and the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots. The category is: Equality.

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Correction: 5/21/19, 12:45 a.m., ET: An earlier version of this article incorrectly attributed Indya Moore’s dress to Louis Vuitton; Moore is wearing LaQuan Smith, and the article has been amended to reflect this.