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?’”