Anna Diop Is a Tangerine Dream in Gucci for The Book of Clarence Premiere

For her first red carpet of 2024, Anna Diop came out with a bang in the form of a bejeweled tangerine minidress straight off Gucci’s S/S 24 runway. “I wanted to communicate effortlessness and chicness while also being in something that catches the eye,” Diop tells us following the event. Check, check, and check! The bold number was the epitome of joy and the perfect look to not only usher in an exciting new year on screen for the actor, but to more specifically celebrate The Book of Clarence, a film that is nothing short of a good time.

Directed by Jeymes Samuel (The Harder They Fall and The Great Gatsby), The Book of Clarence is an epic biblical comedy drama about a man struggling to make a better life for his family who risks it all to carve his own path to a divine life. The film most notably features an incredible ensemble of Black excellence consisting of Diop, LaKieth Stanfield, Alfre Woodard, Omary Sy, Nicholas Pinnock, and rising star Michael Ward. “It’s a film that does the near impossible in that it hits the comedy nail on the head, it hits the drama nail on the head, and it hits the action nail on the head,” Diop says. “I’m excited for people to come to the theater and really be entertained in the way film is meant to.”

The January premiere in Los Angeles marked the first time the whole cast had been together since filming in late 2022 and was inevitably a jubilant occasion calling for an equally cheerful fashion moment. When Diop turned up to her fitting with stylist Jason Bolden, he had five looks on the rack. (This curated offering is standard for the duo and just how Diop likes it.) Her eye immediately keyed in on the Gucci minidress. “I’m a big color person,” she tells us. “I love wearing vibrant colors against my skin.”

Diop admits she initially had a different vision for the premiere. After the actor’s strike pushed back promotion of The Book of Clarence and canceled the surrounding events, the premiere was THE press moment for the film. So she wanted to go big, and in her head, that was a huge, statement-making gown. Bolden did have one of those on hand—a pink Marni number that she tells us was massive and had an insane silhouette—but ultimately the Gucci dress won out after she slipped it on and it brought her back to making the film. “I just gravitated toward it because between the color and the style of it and the girliness of it and the playfulness of it, it just felt like my experience filming The Book of Clarence. Jeymes is the most boisterous and fun and vibrant human being, and I made so many friends on this and felt so loved and had so much fun. And I knew the premiere would be so much fun in that same way, so for all of those reasons, I decided to go with it.”

To complement the look, the matching bag was a must, along with silver Gucci heels, Cartier jewels, and a glam look inspired by Naomi Campbell. Diop came across a photo of Campbell from an Interview Magazine shoot she did about 15 years ago and it’s been on her vision board ever since. “I shared that with the team and we emulated that because Naomi, to me, is and has always been an icon and such a staple of Black femininity,” Diop says. It was also a clever nod to her character Varinia whose identity is a love story and tribute to Black femininity.

As expected, the premiere was like a big family reunion. “Phenomenal chaos,” is how Diop affectionately described it. “It was like bringing all of your favorite thirty people together,” she says with a laugh. Photographers could barely get their shots between all of the hugging and conversations happening on the carpet. Not to mention, Jay-Z (a producer on the film) and Beyonce were in attendance. “We were all excited to see each other again,” she says. “Jeymes brought together a group of people who really melted into each other and really fell in love with one another.” By all accounts, and especially sartorially-speaking, it was a night to remember for Diop.