It’s not often that a Hollywood actor shares their secrets to feeling powerful. Especially not one with as much cultural influence and impact as Yara Shahidi. Shahidi began her acting career as a child but it wasn’t until landing a role in the hit ABC comedy series, Black-ish, and its spin-off Grown-ish, that saw her catapult to stardom–and she hasn’t stopped there. Determined to make a meaningful difference, Shahidi is known for being an activist who encourages young people to get involved in politics and social justice, paving the way for younger generations to make their voices heard. Having appeared on the covers of publications like Harper’s Bazaar Arabia, Porter Magazine and Elle UK and on red carpets like the Met Gala, she is arguably one of Generation Z’s biggest style icons.

So, it’s no surprise that Shahidi is the perfect face to front luxury fashion brand, Jean Paul Gaultier’s, most recent fragrance, Gaultier Divine. Here, Gritty Pretty chats to her about all things visions of beauty, empowerment and her personal alignment with Jean Paul Gaultier.

Hi Yara! We’re so excited to speak to you today. So, let’s get straight into it—what vision of beauty did the women in your family pass on to you?

I think the women in my family really helped define my sense of what’s beautiful. Not only did I grow up with them as my examples and my role models, but in terms of understanding women’s beauty as the power that we hold, our ability to make big change, our ability to bring a community together. I’ve always grown up with that sense of how incredible women are.

In terms of aesthetic beauty practices, it was always about taking care of ourselves. The women in my family really had a basic idea of beauty as just pouring into yourself, making sure your body has what it needs. It was less about makeup per se, more about “are you hydrated?”, “are you moisturised?”

What do you wear when you want to feel powerful?

Honestly, it ranges. I was recently at the MET Gala in which I felt very powerful in that archive Jean Paul Gaultier corset. And, sometimes, it’s my big, bulky suits. I love a great suit; one of my favorites is from the brand Noah that I just live in, it’s a men’s suit. So, there is really no one thing that I feel powerful in. I think it has everything to do with my comfort: when I feel comfortable, I feel powerful.

What are the smells and scents you grew up with?

A lot of the scents that I recognize from my childhood surround food and my favorite meals, coming from backgrounds with really culturally rich scents and flavors (editor’s note: Shahidi is afro-American and Iranian). There are certain spices that automatically feel like home to me. I’ve always loved the smell of jasmine because it grows in the neighborhoods that I know. I remember taking night time walks and smelling it, knowing that spring had arrived. Scents of Persian new year, there are smells from the nutmeg of sweet potato pies that I just absolutely love.

On the House Jean Paul Gaultier, Jean Paul Gaultier has been an advocate for the plurality of bodies, gender identities and pride in being radically yourself as a woman for decades now. How do you relate to these values?

I think that’s why there was such a beautiful alignment for this campaign because not only was the creativity of the campaign really exciting, but I really related to the core values. Gaultier has always been very forward and progressive, in thinking about not only dressing women in things that are aesthetically beautiful, but really using dressing as a way of self-expression and as a form of empowerment. A way of saying: how can we use fashion as a tool to show up in the world as we want? T obe working alongside a brand where that’s always been a core value, and to get to execute that so creatively is really a blessing.

Define a Gaultier Divine woman in three words.

Comfortable, powerful, unique.