Kerry Washington on Books, Babies & Prada
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We’re at the fanciest event of the year and Kerry Washington wants to talk about child psychology. In the spirit of #askhermore, I’ve asked her what she’d like to be asked on the red carpet: “If you could go back to school and have another degree, what would you want it to be?” Her answer? “At this point in my life, for obvious reasons, it might be child development.”
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The new mom isn’t going back to school though. Instead of psych books, her nose is currently buried in Anita Hill’s biography. “I’m playing her this summer in a movie. So I’m reading it… again!” It’s the second book the Scandal actress mentions while we chat inside the Met’s epic Temple of Dendur. The first is From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler—”one of my favorite books from childhood!”—because even though this is her fifth gala, Washington’s still overwhelmed by the magic of being inside a museum late at night. “I love this museum so much… so to be able to be here after hours when no one else is here to preview an exhibit [is really beautiful],” she says.
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“There’s going to be a Degas exhibit in the summer, and I’m like, how do I get the same kind of access for the Degas exhibit? Because it’s just so much more fun to come when no one else is here!” And yes she’s serious: “Anyone who reads this! I wanna be invited.”
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Washington’s down to talk fashion too, though. This is, after all, the fashion party of the year. I can’t think of a single red carpet miss Washington’s made, which is surprising for a fashion-forward risk taker. On Monday night, she was determined to wear a new silhouette. “We knew we wanted to do something with a lot of detail and embellishment because that’s so important in Chinese fashion,” she said of the pink gown she worked on with both Prada and her stylist, Erin Walsh. “And then I wanted to wear a silhouette I’d never worn before; something really different.” Hence the bustle, which actually mirrored a handful of John Galliano for Dior gowns on display in the exhibition.
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Prada’s become something of a go-to for Washington (remember the two piece she wore while pregnant to last year’s SAGs?), but she swears her everyday style is significantly more casual. “I’m a real jeans and t-shirt girl, so I wear a lot of James Perse; there’s a new fitness line I really like called Alternative,” she says, before naming Tory Burch and J.Crew as other go-tos. If she does decide to go back to school, she’ll certainly have the right wardrobe!
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