Making Power Moves: Issa Rae Covers ‘Marie Claire’s’ November Issue

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Issa Rae is the quintessential definition of an influential multi-hyphenate. And she does it all while making a style statement and rooting for everybody black.

Issa turned her widely popular YouTube show, The Awkward Black Girl, into a five-season-long HBO phenomenon, Insecure, giving numerous Black creators, actors, and writers opportunities. Then in 2020, she opened HOORAE media with an event planning arm, radio division, and production agency all in one. This summer, she was literally one of the only real-life Black Barbies in the summer blockbuster Barbie. And she’s contributed to her hometown, opening coffee shops and local businesses in Los Angeles.

In other words, at just 38 years old, Issa has already achieved a lot. So it only makes sense that she is the new cover star of Marie Claire’s Power Issue.

Making Power Moves: Issa Slays Marie Claire’s November Cover In Hermes

Exuding both power and style, Issa shines in the November issue and dons several high fashion brands. Designers include Bottega Veneta, Jimmy Choo, Saint Laurent, and Hermes.

Her hair is in natural styles, including a high bun and a long brown braided ponytail. Her outfit choices range from a sophisticated mustard yellow two-piece short suit to a short baby blue halter-style bubble hem mini dress. The images were captured by Chrisean Rose.

While some debate how much time Beyoncé has in the day, we wonder the same for Issa. In addition to the accolades mentioned above, this new cover issue comes amid the release of her second season of Rap Sh!t on Max and the launch of her Prosecco brand, Viarae.

“I started experimenting with cocktails made with prosecco—whiskey and prosecco, then vodka and prosecco—and people started drinking them,” Issa tells journalist Cori Murray. “Then I was like, ‘Well, I’m giving them this one basic version, and if they’re going to try it because of me, I want it to be from me.’ This [brand] is something that is of me that I love; that I have made.”

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Issa, who married husband Louis Dame in 2021, continues sharing her drive to make change in entertainment while unapologetically creating opportunities for others. In the interview, she dishes on pushback from industry executives, her new venture in hair care, and her passions as a storyteller.

Issa says, “I’m a storyteller at the end of the day, and if there is a story bursting out of me, somebody’s going to hear it.”

While driven – and an obvious Black woman powerhouse in the constantly changing industry – Issa has experienced challenges throughout her career. But in true boss babe fashion, she is determined not to let adversity stop her.

Issa told MC, “I only have a foresight of what isn’t going to be. There’s certain things that I want to take advantage of outside of the industry just because I feel like [the industry] doesn’t know what it wants to be, it’s in flux. And there are no innovators anymore…I want to be able to have control of my own destiny.”