Lauryn Hill, the famously reclusive singer and rapper, has returned to the public eye for the 25th anniversary of her album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, and a reunion tour with the Fugees. But while Hill may tend to stay out of sight, she’s returning to the stage in full force, with a series of jubilant performance looks that remind us that she really is one of the greatest voices of our time, with a sense of style to match.
Hill’s buoyant stage wear, styled by Raheem Robinson, expertly mixes masculine suiting with feminine ruffles. In her most recent performance in Toronto, she wore a sweeping Molly Goddard dress in a vibrant fuchsia tulle. Over the poufy pink dress, Hill added a black puffer with a furry hood. Later on in the show, she added a ruched black jacket with a black netted shirt over her pink turtleneck. She contrasted her black, futuristic glasses with her more feminine—though no less dramatic—styling, adorning her hair with jewels and silver floral beads, as styled by Nigella Miller. Hill’s makeup was done by Alana Palau.
In other performances, Hill has mixed ruffles, gems, and bows with structured suiting. In New York, she wore a black overcoat with a strong, sharp shoulder paired with white trousers and—in a more glamorous touch—a glittering crystal headpiece that draped over her covered head. During the same show she aded a white double breasted coat by Cheney Chan with a bow on the back so large and voluminous that they could’ve doubled as angel wings.
Earlier this summer, Hill showed a fondness for one of today s buzziest designers, Schiaparelli’s Daniel Roseberry. Her menswear-inspired suit featured a trompe l’oeil design of a woman s figure in gold. Celebrating Hip Hop s 50th Anniversary at Yankee Stadium earlier this year, she wore perhaps her most juxtaposed look yet: she layered a neon pink suit with a pink ruffled tulle overskirt over a black hoodie, which she paired with black platform heels and white socks, as well as a New York Yankees cap.
It should come as no surprise that a masterful singer and rapper like Hill has no trouble balancing two opposing aesthetics, finding sartorial harmony even in the extremes. After all, this is the woman who gave us range from the diss track “Lost Ones,” and the tender-hearted “To Zion.” We shouldn’t expect any less from her.
