This past weekend BET Networks’ Centric hosted a “Single Ladies Sip & Share: A Beyond Brunch Experience” along with singer and actress LeToya Luckett at the W Hotel Midtown in Atlanta. The private affair unveiled what viewers can expect from the new season of “Single Ladies,” and the haute fashions featured on the show. The romantic comedy series is set in the world of Atlanta’s fashion and music scene, so it was only right to have the show’s wardrobe stylist, Anthony Williams, give style tips and the inside scoop on how the fashion-forward looks are selected for the cast members.
The event kicked off with chocolate-covered strawberries and mimosas while the ladies mingled before they were served a classic Southern chicken and waffles breakfast. The food presentation was spectacular but the Q-and-A session hosted by V-103 radio personality Ramona DeBreaux brought even more excitement to the room. With Luckett’s transparency about her similarity to her character and Williams’ unfiltered opinion on style, there was never a dull moment in the room.
Check out the highlights from the Q-and-A below and make sure to tune in for season four of “Single Ladies” premiering on Centric on Wednesday, March 18 at 10 EST.
–lauren martinez
What do you and your character, Felicia, have in common?
LeToya Luckett: The character and I have a lot of things in common. Felicia is her own boss who has run her own company for several years. She is very confident and has to continuously find balance so within that she is coldhearted sometimes. She isn’t the friendliest boss, but at the same time she is a woman of power. The world can’t wrap their heads around a woman in a position of power. My character demands respect from her employees and people in general. She doesn’t take excuses from anyone. She is also trying to get her love life together while dealing with her career. As far as myself, I did have my own business with my mother. That took a lot of work while juggling music and an acting career. Trying to balance just like Felicia can be a little complicated, but we made it work as women always do. We always seem to make it work. I think my character does a great job at that.
How does your character Felicia rebound and trust again after dealing with divorce and betrayal in her past relationship? What can you spill about her love life this season?
LL: Felicia always lands on her feet. She is more open and she exposes her truth. People always wonder why is she always so cold and hard. They have to realize she is a human being going through things that women are dealing with every day. She is going through a divorce while trying to run a business and show up for work without having bags under her eyes from crying the night before. I love the writers for giving her layers this season and exposing her truth. This season really shows who she is and I’m not talking about the physical aspect of her. This season shows who she is on the inside and focuses on her strength.
On the show the ladies have a sisterhood between them, so what does sisterhood mean to you in regard to your personal life?
LL: Sisterhood is everything to me! I don’t think women realize how important it is to lift each other up and inspire each other. We should be giving women encouraging words instead of talking about them behind their backs. We as women go through so many different things in life and you never know what she may be going though in that moment. Why not lift other women up and give compliments about their shoes or hair? I don’t know how I would even be here on this stage had it not been for some very powerful women in my life. When I going through it they would say, “Baby … dust yourself off as long as God continues to wake you up every morning you have another opportunity to be great.” I think we should get on the phone more and call our mothers and best friends. We should let them know how much we appreciate them and let them know we are there for them and really mean it. We should not take each other’s man. I am speaking truthfully and being real. I feel like we need more of that instead of people fighting on TV. I don’t want to see people fighting on TV, and especially Black women. We have our own inner battles that we are going through, which is already enough. Let’s just be more positive. That is one thing I can say I love about the show is that it shows women helping each other. I want to encourage people to watch Centric, because we finally have a network that is designed for women of color and celebrates the women God designed us to be. The network celebrates our beauty, boldness and strength. We finally have somebody that isn’t trying to expose all of our negatives. Please support this network because we need each other. We need more networks like this [to] support Black women.
Do you ever get the opportunity to pick your own outfit?
LL: No! Not with Anthony in charge of wardrobe. Anthony is my favorite person on set because he is so honest. It doesn’t matter what kind of day you are having, he will make sure he puts a smile on your face. I love the fact that I can trust him because sometimes you go in to fittings and you don’t like any of the looks. With Anthony I know at the end of the day the look is going to be great. He did allow me to have a little bit of input this season but that was it. You can see with all the seasons of “Single Ladies” the amazing job he has done creating looks and incorporating the character’s personality.
What three words would you use to describe the fashion this season?
Anthony Williams: The fashion on season four represents sophistication and is dramatic and fresh.
What is your style philosophy?
AW: It is the fit that makes the fashion! I believe that women must wear proper undergarments. People say they want to be comfortable but I don’t think that being comfortable means you just throw on anything when you are going somewhere. For so long my style philosophy was, “show up,” but I truly believe that in this day and age that it is not enough to just show up and appear but to make sure you deliver. Being stylish doesn’t mean you have to spend all of your money. Black women taught me how to dress women. They not only taught me how to dress Black women, they taught me how to dress women in general. So many times on television there is a formula for dressing Black women, which consists of a stretch dress and a big necklace. When I was growing up Black women taught me style and how to celebrate your curves. There was a word in everybody’s household called a girdle and now we have Spanx. I just want to continue to see what I grew up seeing. I also hear so many women say I am too dark or too pale to wear a certain color. What do you mean? Hearing these things is crazy to me. Women need to love the skin they are in.
