Tracee Ellis Ross is a modern-day style icon—and now she has an award to prove it.
The Black-ish actress received the Style Ambassador Award at the 2018 ACE Awards, presented to her by longtime friend and Vanity Fair Executive Fashion Director, Samira Nasr, Monday night.
The actress, who was dripping in colorful Lynn Bann jewels and a sheer, sparkly number by Germanier, credited another style icon, her mother, Diana Ross, as her role model—not because she was glamorous, but because had the confidence to tap into said glamour and really define herself.
"I think truthfully from an external point of view, it's very easy to see the way she's influenced my ability to be myself and not shy away from glamour and choices that I love, no matter if anyone else loves them or not," Tracee told E! News. "But what I saw as a child was a woman that is living in her own glory that took glamour and her own agency and let them become part of her own persona because of the clothes she wore. I wanted that in the same way and in my own way. I just thought, ‘Oh, this is what it looks like to be a grown-up: It's you get to live in your glory and in your agency.'"
Basically: Do you, boo.
In her red-carpet ensembles, Tracee has always tried push the boundaries, wearing bold colors, vintage-inspired silhouettes and motifs and pairing these looks with statement beauty and hair. She's worked the step-and-repeat in Carolina Herrera, Michael Kors and Prada—but she's always one to bring attention to new and upcoming designers. In fact, Tracee is one of the first celebrities to support Germanier, the designer behind her ACE Awards dress, which the actress' stylist Karla Welch found via Instagram.
"Only myself and Bjork have worn this designer, and I'm obsessed. It's so beautiful. It's like wearable art in my opinion. I love that it's a new designer. I love supporting creative expression of all kinds," Tracee shared.
"[Fashion] can be an industry that feels exclusionary and elitist, but the truth is it's an opportunity to be a connective force and an inclusive force," she added.
See that? That's a style ambassador at work.