If this awards season has proven anything, it is that Teyana Taylor has a clear and very deliberate point of view when it comes to dressing for a moment. She knows exactly who she is on a red carpet, and she knows exactly which fashion house speaks her language. At the TIME Women of the Year Gala, Taylor arrived in another Schiaparelli look, and once again reminded everyone why this particular celebrity and designer combination feels so magnetic right now.
The piece came directly from Schiaparelli’s Fall 2026 The Sphynx collection, shown just four days before the gala. It is the kind of timing that signals intention rather than coincidence, a deliberate alignment between Taylor and a house that shares her appetite for drama and artistry.
Teyana and the look itself
The ensemble opens with a high neck bustier that immediately commands attention, its sculpted silhouette doing the heavy lifting before the eye even travels downward. The corseted structure flows into an intricately embellished bag element built directly into the garment, the kind of unexpected design choice that is pure Schiaparelli and yet somehow makes complete sense on Taylor.
Below the waist, a black velvet skirt takes over, embroidered with ostrich feathers, micro sequins and delicate beadwork that catch the light in the most understated way. A sheer stripe of tulle running across the hips adds a flash of transparency that keeps the whole look from feeling too composed. It is a lot, in the best possible way, and Taylor carries it as though she had it custom built for her own body and her own energy.
A season built on bold choices
This moment did not arrive in isolation. Throughout awards season Taylor has moved through fashion with the kind of confidence that suggests she is not looking to play it safe or seek approval. She has worn Do Long at the BAFTA Tea Party, Tom Ford at the Grammys, Ashi Studio Couture at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival and Thom Browne at the Actor Awards. Each appearance has leaned into silhouette, craftsmanship and designers who are unbothered by theatricality.
Schiaparelli, with its deep roots in surrealism and its ongoing commitment to couture that challenges the eye, fits naturally into that lineup. The house has carved out a very specific lane in contemporary fashion and Taylor has been one of its most compelling advocates this cycle.
Why this pairing works
What makes the Taylor and Schiaparelli dynamic so watchable is not just the clothes. It is the energy Taylor brings to them. She does not wear the garments so much as she inhabits them, adding a charge of personality and stage presence that elevates the design beyond what it would be on a hanger or even on another body.
Her appreciation for the house’s avant garde sensibility feels genuine rather than calculated, and each new appearance reads like a continuation of an ongoing conversation between the two rather than a one off collaboration. At the TIME Women of the Year Gala, that conversation reached another high point. It was, without question, unmistakably Teyana.
