Fictional Style Icon: Cookie Lyon

Empire as a whole has had a major influence on the fashion world from day one. Stores ranging from Torrid to Saks to Fox themselves have put out clothing lines inspired by the show. And before I even started watching Empire, I knew that the name Cookie Lyon was synonymous with “impeccable sense of style.”

Cookie is fierce and flamboyant, ultra-luxurious but never kitschy. Fashion is her armor and she’s winning the war. Actress (and total queen) Taraji P. Henson said it best herself to the New York Times: “You’re looking at a woman who was living for 17 years in an orange prison suit. She had all that time on her hands to think every day of her life, ‘When I get out, what am I going to wear?’”

Well, I have her answer right here.

Animal instincts

Have you ever seen someone wear head-to-toe leopard print and actually make it work? Well, you have now. No animal print is off-limits for Cookie, from snakeskin to peacock feathers. She also has a seemingly endless collection of fur coats in every print and color you could possibly imagine.

Also, never forget that time she showed up and out to a casual family dinner in a mink coat and lingerie, because I sure as hell won’t. #Iconic.

Unapologetically bold

“Casual dressing” is not a term in Cookie’s vocabulary. And when you own a wardrobe that fabulous, why would it be?

There is no color too bright, no print too loud, no heel too high for Cookie Lyons to at least try. She doesn’t dress to blend in. She doesn’t dress to stand out. No, Cookie dresses to make heads turn so fast, their necks break. And you have to appreciate the amount of commitment that goes into being that extra.

Gilded & glamorous

Everything about the Cookie Lyon look screams luxury and glam in the best way possible. With a wardrobe that boasts designers from Balmain to McQueen and the fiercest attitude around, she’s certainly in possession of a collection that would leave previous style icons shaking in their perfectly-polished boots. (And that’s what I adore about her.)

Want to get lost in more fictional wardrobes? Check out last week’s style icon, Domino Swift.