Halle Bailey turned up the volume for her latest red carpet appearance.
Bailey’s structured black blazer dress was inspired by Janet Jackson, she told PEOPLE on the red carpet at an event in New York City on Wednesday night to celebrate jewellery brand Pandora’s unveiling of a Diamond District pop-up installation on Astor Place. Jackson is “always my inspiration,” The Little Mermaid star, 23, said.
“So that was the vibe tonight, and I thought it was going to be a lot colder in New York, but it’s not, it’s hot,” Bailey said with a laugh as she fanned her face.
She is more about dressing for function than fashion, telling PEOPLE she is “all about being comfortable”. Bailey planned to take off her black heels when the red carpet was over, she said.
To celebrate the recent launch of three new lab-grown diamond collections, Pandora plans to “take over New York Fashion Week with diamond-tinted lenses,” according to the brand, and reimagine everyday moments in N.Y.C. through the installation.
The Grown-ish actress was joined at the star-studded event by Pamela Anderson, Pandora global ambassador Ashley Park, Julia Fox, Brandon Lee, Cara Santana, Caroline Polachek and Grace Coddington. Anderson and her sons star in Pandora’s latest advertising campaign.
Halle knows how to make a statement on the red carpet. She and older sister Chloe Bailey have been walking red carpets together for years, and Chloe, 25, admitted to PEOPLE last month that they rely on each other to keep their composure.
“I’m so lucky when sis and I go to a red carpet together so we can hold each other’s hands, because it’s pretty overwhelming to have people with cameras yelling at you with a bunch of lights flashing,” she explained. “It’s flattering because we’re happy that they want to see us and what we’re wearing, but it’s overwhelming.”
Though they sometimes struggle with nerves, the sisters said dressing up for a night in the spotlight gives them an instant confidence boost. “It makes you feel like a fresh, new woman,” Halle said.
The Ungodly Hour singer recently told Cosmopolitan that it took her a while to get her style right. “I’m definitely not a natural,” she revealed in the magazine’s September cover story. “I look back at some of my red carpet pictures and laugh.”
“But as I get older and my body changes, I’m learning who I am,” Halle continued. “I want to be sexy. I want to feel good. I want to wear clothes that embrace where I am in my life.
She credits Chloe with helping her find her way in fashion and become more confident in taking risks with her outfits. “My confidence has gotten deeper and bigger with the help of my sister,” she said of Chloe. “She’s always been an extroverted, sexy, sophisticated kind of presence.”
“Watching her, I’m like, ‘That’s so cool,'” she added. “I hope one day I can do that. She’s helping me find my footing in this whole adult woman’s world.”
Halle also told PEOPLE that she enjoys experimenting more now that she’s out of her teenage years and “more mature”.
“I’m more comfortable wearing more form-fitting things and embracing my curves now,” she explained.
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This December, fans will get a chance to see Halle on the big screen again when she stars in the new Oprah Winfrey-produced film adaptation of The Color Purple. In her Cosmopolitan interview, Halle said she had a blast filming alongside her co-stars, including Fantasia Barrino, Danielle Brooks, Taraji P. Henson and Ciara.
